Falling in love

Frost speckled my window this morning when I woke up.  I was actually planning on making my way to the kitchen for some morning hot tea before school (no morning practice today!) but when my alarm went off I could barely roll over to reach it.  There was no way I'd make it all the way to the kitchen.  So, as the minutes ticked away all too fast, I lay in my new flannel sheets in a state of hazy semi-consciousness enjoying the feeling of warmth.  When I finally fumbled out of bed I selected my thickest woolly sweater for school and set off for a day full of comfort.

All these feelings are so indicative of Fall for me.  Cozy, relaxing days filled with heady scents and comfort foods.  Therefore, I decided it was the perfect day for pumpkin bread!  I used a recipe from Alton Brown because he tends to have really great classic comfort food recipes.  I made sure to use a chemical leavening agent because I have found that works best for making quick breads that aren't too light.  To keep it moist I decided on using vegetable oil in stead of butter since butter has water content which can actually dry out a cake.  Here's the recipe!

 This is the batter before adding the pumpkin seeds the recipe calls for.  I substituted them for chocolate chips because I personally much prefer chocolate to nuts or seeds, but you can put in whatever you fancy!  

 My loaves were done before the full thirty minutes was up, so check yours early!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons cinnamon (I added a dash of allspice)

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/2 cups sugar

• 3/4 cup vegetable oil

• 3 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 3 cups shredded fresh pumpkin (I used canned)

• 1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.

In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Combine both mixtures and fold in the shredded pumpkin and pumpkin seeds. Once the ingredients are all incorporated pour into a non- stick 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. If your pan is not non- stick coat it with butter and flour.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. At this point a knife inserted into the middle of the loaf should come out clean. Cool for 15 minutes and turn out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely. For muffins temperature should also be 325 degrees F., but bake for 30 minutes.