Monday Meals: Pumpkin Bread

As I mentioned last week, I love pumpkin-related things. Despite their overabundance during this time of year, I will always lean on pumpkin as a fall staple. A couple of weeks ago, I made an amazing pumpkin bread. It was my first time to make bread--I haven't done a ton of baking in my life--and it turned out pretty dang well, if I do say so. Here is the recipe I used (from a very random website that I found via Google), complete with fresh pumpkin that I puree'd in my mom's Vitamix, which I have complete access to while living at home... #gettingspoiled.

Before...

Pumpkin Puree

Preheat oven to 350. Cut pumpkin into fourths and scoop out seeds with an ice cream scoop. Place pumpkin on a large baking sheet (either face up or down) and bake for 45 minutes. Let it cool, then remove skin using a knife to help peel. Cut the "meat" into chunks and put in a blender (with a 1/4 cup of water) or food processor. Blend until smooth.

Pumpkin Bread

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. allspice
2 cups fresh pumpkin
1/2 cup water (2/3 cup if pumpkin is canned)
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, or raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and sugar. Add eggs, water, oil, and pumpkin. Stir until blended. Pour into 2 lightly greased 9x5 loaf pans, or muffin pans for muffins. Bake 1 hour, and test with a knife to see if they are done. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then cool on a rack.

...After!