Recipe of the Week: Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin is squash.
Pumpkin is a pet name.
Pumpkin is a great flavor for beer.
Pumpkin is a fall favorite for coffee.
Pumpkin goes well in recipes for dessert, breakfast, soups, sauces, smoothies, parfait, chili, and dips. Pumpkin is moderately successful at every combination it makes.
Apparently, pumpkin can do it all. 
I’ve certainly explored pumpkin more in the past few years than I had in my whole life before blogging. I decided that it was time to jump on the Autumnal Bandwagon with a pumpkin recipe. I took my Banana Bread recipe and substituted pumpkin puree instead of bananas and the result: Winning. This bread is like Fall in a bite, especially if you top it with apple butter.
Ingredients:
Wet Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 3 Tbsp butter, room temperature (1 stick = 8 Tbsp)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon almond extract ( or vanilla)
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 + teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 cups flour (I grind old fashioned oats into flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cream the sugar and butter (or use melted butter and mix) in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs one at a time beating until yolk disappears. Add pumpkin, milk and almond extract and mix. In another medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients- (oat) flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet, stir until just combined. Pour this batter into prepared pan and bake 50 minutes ~ 1 hour. Cool bread before slicing.
Being Healthier:
The bright orange color of pumpkin is a dead giveaway that its packed with beta-carotene, an antioxidant and carotenoid that assists with providing us Vitamin A. Here is what else you get in 1 cup of cooked pumpkin:
Calories 49
Protein 2 grams
Carbohydrate 12 grams
Dietary Fiber 3 grams
Calcium 37 mg
Iron 1.4 mg
Magnesium 22 mg
Potassium 564 mg
Zinc 1 mg
Selenium .50 mg
Vitamin C 12 mg
Niacin 1 mg
Folate 21 mcg
Vitamin A 2650 IU
Vitamin E 3 mg
Because of the antioxidants, it may also be an anti-ager and cancer fighter!
More Pumpkin Facts:
- The top pumpkin producing states are Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and California.
- Pumpkin seeds can be roasted as a snack.
- Pumpkins are used for feed for animals.
- Pumpkin flowers are edible.
- Native Americans flattened strips of pumpkins, dried them and made mats.
- Native Americans called pumpkins “isqoutm squash.”
- Pumpkins are fruit.
- Eighty percent of the pumpkin supply in the United States is available in October…
3 more weeks of October left to reap in the pumpkins people — go eat your pumpkins while you still can!!!!
I did not know that pumpkins are fruit?!
I feel so surprised, like a revelation.
Any revelations for you lately?
