Saturday, October 22, 2011

Pumpkin Bread....

Wow it has been a long time since I have posted here...the Hurricane is finally behind us and we are just in the process of going through things that we do not want to put back in our basement...things from our kids, toys and Legos and things that they have had a hard time letting go of and we have kept, almost as a shrine to their childhood. But they are almost 19 and almost 21...it is time to let go of these things and have an adult or semi adult space to share together. We now have an empty nest, both of my sons are happily away at college, and we are actually enjoying just being us again. Of course we miss them like crazy...but it is a good thing. The way life is supposed to go on...we give them wings so they can fly...

Son #1 was home two weeks ago for fall break and he was under the weather. I fed him, took care of him, made an emergency pot of chicken soup...we enjoyed him and then sent him back to school rested and much better. Junior year in engineering takes its toll, long nights working with very little sleep. Son #2 was home last weekend for his fall break and it was a very short one....he told me what he wanted to eat for the two dinners he spent with us and in a flash he was gone. A friend of mine was going to visit her son in DC today and was kind enough to bring some food down to mine, he told me he is always hungry, he does not like the food...so I baked him Pumpkin Bread that he loves...he loves this one because it does not contains nuts,or berries , or anything but pumpkin and spice. It has a lovely moist texture...

My friend Becky/chefbeck gave me this recipe quite a few years ago. It comes from Bon Appetit. There is an addition of  a Pumpkin whipped cream that can be served with this bread. That is lovely as well, but more often than not I make it straight...I always think of her when I make this. I do that with just about every recipe that I receive from a friend that becomes a tried and true addition to my life....I think of it as a gift that I always treasure. I hope you will enjoy this as much as we do. I am glad to be posting again...I have missed you all.


Pumpkin Bread With Pumpkin Whipped Cream 
adapted from Bon Appetit
Makes 2 loaves

3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 can (15 oz.) solid-pack pumpkin
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
2/3 cup warm water

1 cup chilled whipping cream
3 T. sugar
1/2 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350.

Lightly butter two 9x5x2 1/2-inch loaf pans.

Beat 3 cups sugar, oil, eggs and 15-oz. can pumpkin in large bowl to blend. Sift four, baking soda, baking powder, salt, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg into another large bowl. Stir into pumpkin mixture. Slowly mix in 2/3 cup warm water.

Divide batter equally between prepared pans. Bake until tops are golden brown and toothpick comes out clean (about 1 hour). Transfer loaves to rack and cool 10 minutes. Run knife around edges to loosen. Turn onto rack and cool completely. (Can be prepared up to 1 month ahead. Wrap in foil and freeze. If desired, rewarm thawed, wrapped loaves in 350 oven for 10 minutes.)

Beat cream and 3 T. sugar to stiff peaks in bowl. Fold in the 1/2 cup pumpkin. Slice bread and arrange on platter. Serve, passing pumpkin whipped cream alongside. 


My Notes: I got 5 of these little French paper baking pans out of this recipe...they took about 45 minutes to cook. If you use smaller baking pans I would start to check them at 25 minutes.


16 comments:

  1. They are adorable:) So well packaged.

    Linda(Keep the Legos..) you'll be amazed how fast it goes before they have their own kids..and you will wish you had some of "their " things for your wee ones..
    I regret some things.. look at me.. only girl toys..and we only had boys:) I am a fine one to talk:)Still..save some..please..Nanaxx

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  2. I agree with the previous comment. KEEP THE LEGO. I also kept all the story books that I used to read to and with my boys. If they have children the memories will be wonderful.
    The pumpkin loaf sounds so good. I love the fall just for these very reasons. Good food and smells from the kitchen.

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  3. Thank you both so much for stopping by and taking the time to comment.

    Nana...we are not throwing the Legos away...we still have all the huge Star Wars Legos, put together...they take up lots of real estate...so the ones he wants to keep have been moved to his room to a bookshelf just for that purpose. All the Brio and Thomas trains and tracks are packed in huge plastic bins for the day he can give them to his kids...All the electric trains will stay...it is just going through everything and shifting it around that is time consuming...these kids had a lot of stuff! This morning I was going through bins full of all their school work and art work...OY VEY...it will all get done soon. But I would like my dining room back before Thanksgiving! LOL...

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  4. Lovely recipe..I'm definately going to give it a try.
    It is true..I loved reading about all your boys' toys..I too, regret I didn't keep more.
    Shel

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  5. I love the fall and pumpkin bread! I will give your version a try.
    I made a mistake letting go of the My Little Pony Castle and the Barbie Townhouse...seems that they want them, if I store them! I am reminded frequently that I gave away the treasures.

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  6. Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting my friends!

    Kate...you know what? We will always do something wrong, that is what Moms do right? LOL...My Mom could not give my Barbies away fast enough...I had the original with the black ponytail...and the first Ken...I got over it. LOL...but it took me a while.
    If you could have seen what we still had on display in the little boy/teenager cave...it was just too much. Something Had to just be packed up and stored instead in plain sight...it was time....so that was the bright side of the Hurricane and the flooded basement!

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  7. What gorgeous loaves of bread. Truly gorgeous. Can't wait to try this new spin on an old favorite!

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  8. Your son likes his pumpkin bread the way we do, without "stuff" added to the recipe. My son went to engineering school and I remember well how demanding it was. Isn't it wonderful when they come home even if they are a bit under the weather? I'm happy to read you are at last getting your life back together after all you have been through.

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  9. Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!
    It is nice to be able to baby them a little, even though they are adults!
    They are always our babies...forever!

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  10. So great to see a post from you again...hope after you get your house in order, we'll be seeing a lot more of your wonderful recipes. This pumpkin bread is very similar to the one I grew up with...except I use cloves instead of nutmeg and no pumpkin cream (though that sounds awfully tempting). I have a feeling I'll have to make Nick a loaf or two when he's in college next year.

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  11. I still have all my kids legos - and they are 31 and 34! Those are classics you can't rid of and someday I hope to pass them to grandchildren. The pumpkin cake is in my futur e- but I will add nuts and raisins.

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  12. Thanks for stopping by my friends...

    Yes indeed Linda...I love nuts and raisins too!

    I have only made the pumpkin whipped cream once...it is really good...but these breads disappear in an instant around here. Sometimes just a plain unadorned bread/cake hots the spot!

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  13. Wow Linda, now you're talking! Pumpkin bread with pumpkin cream cheese frosting?? Wowza! When this time of year rolls around I start thinking about pumpkin challah, pumpkin cake, pumpkin pie... sigh. I love autumn!

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  14. I love it too...even though they say we may get 6 inches of the white stuff here in New jersey in Saturday night!
    The pumpkin whipped cream takes it to another level!
    Thanks for stopping by Tori!

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  15. The Hurricane thing doesn't sound too exciting but the idea of having a basement (not a popular feature in Los Angeles) is a fantasy of mine. Your pumpkin bread is beautiful!

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  16. Thank you Susan...
    We had 5 days without power here in a freak Halloween snow storm....
    Locusts are coming next...I just know it!:X

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