A little taste of fall ...
August 07, 2008
I baked pumpkin breads recently and the house smelled just like fall ...
If you're doing any autumn planning these days, bake yourself something spicy and warm ~ your house will smell fabulous! A slice of pumpkin bread with a cup of tea will really put you in the mood for fall thoughts.
Of course, if it's really hot where you live - it happens to be in the 70s here this week - turn the AC up a bit before you start all that baking and brewing. ;)
Have a great Thursday, everyone!
P.S. For Heather ~ My Favorite Pumpkin Bread Recipe:
Mix-and-Match Quick Bread (Frozen Assets)
- 3 cups flour (whole wheat and white make a nice blend)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons cinnamon (we play with this element ~ ginger, cloves etc.)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup oil
- 2 cups sugar (we cut this down and see very little difference)
- 2 cups Mix-N-Match (see list below)
- 3 teaspoons vanilla (use pure vanilla not imitation)
- 1 cup chopped nuts or seeds (we leave these out)
Sift together dry ingredients. In separate bowl, beat eggs; add oil and sugar; cream together. Stir in Mix-N-Match and vanilla. Add dry ingredients; mix well. Stir in nuts. Spoon into two well-greased loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees F. for 1 hour. When cool, wrap bread in foil; label and freeze. Makes 2 loaves.
Mix-N-Match (one of more of the following to equal 2 cups) *we've used this ingredient before
- Apples, grated or chopped*
- Applesauce*
- Apricots
- Bananas, mashed or chopped*
- Berries*
- Carrots, cooked and mashed or grated*
- Cherries
- Coconut
- Cranberries, dry or raw, chopped*
- Dates or figs, pitted and finely chopped*
- Lemon, 1/2 cup juice
- Marmalade (omit one cup sugar)*
- Mincemeat
- Oranges, chopped
- Orange juice, 1/2 cup juice
- Peaches, fresh or canned, chopped* (we've also used peach butter)
- Pears, fresh or canned, chopped* (we also like to use pearsauce)
- Pineapple
- Prunes, chopped
- Pumpkin, canned* (we like fresh, cooked and mashed too)
- Raisins*
- Rhubarb, finely chopped (add 1/2 cup more sugar)*
- Strawberries, well drained* (I dice them)
- Sweet potato or yams, cooked and mashed or grated*
- Zucchini, grated and well drained*