halloween's over...

now what? i'm not thinking about any other holidays just yet. i want to stay in the moment of fall & fun & spooky goodness; or denial, denial, denial.

besides catching every “shout out to scary movie” marathons on the tele, i've been in the kitchen savoring october smells. my favorite ingredient...pumpkin!

did you save your seeds after carving your jack o' lanterns? we did. this super easy & healthy snack goes like this...
separate seeds from pulp
clean seeds & spread onto a cookie sheet
i sprinkled mine with cinnamon & sugar & baked at 350* for 25 minutes (flipping/moving seeds around at 10 minutes in)

 



the possibilities are endless. make them plain, sweet, salty (sea salt, perhaps) or any spice, usa; even toss them in something fun like taco seasoning...could be interesting.

holy pulp...what do i do with you?

 

i've never made a pumpkin bread before, so that's exactly what transpired today. i found a great recipe & had all but one teensy teaspoon of baking soda (which i borrowed from my pops)

i crossed my fingers & got to baking.

2 stick(s) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing pans-only i just used my standby non-stick baking spray
2.5 cup(s) all-purpose flour (plus a bit for dusting pans)
1 cup(s) light-brown sugar
1 cup(s) granulated sugar
2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
2 teaspoon(s) cinnamon
.75 teaspoon(s) ground cloves
2 cup(s) grated pumpkin (use a small-holed grater)
3 large eggs
.5 cup(s) buttermilk
1.5 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract

does anyone else have these extra pats of butter in their fridge?

 



i was just shy a couple of tablespoons (thank goodness, the boys decided to get pancakes Saturday morning) oh, & i totally lied about other ingredients…i never have buttermilk, but i used the ole 1 cup buttermilk = 1 cup milk plus 1 tablespoon vinegar (or lemon juice) let stand 10 minutes before incorporating into your recipe.

oh, yea…back to the bread…

preheat oven to 350°f. butter and flour two 9- by 5-inch loaf pans or two 8-inch cake pans and set aside. combine flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and spices in a large bowl. add grated pumpkin and toss. whisk eggs, buttermilk, butter, and vanilla in a medium bowl and stir into dry ingredients. transfer to prepared pans and bake on middle shelf of oven until a wooden skewer inserted into center of bread tests clean, about 35 minutes. (mine seemed "done" closer to 40-45 minutes) cool in pans on a wire rack. run a knife around edges to release bread from pans.

 



i definitely think you folks should try these two yummies out if it sounds good to you. actually, pumpkins have dropped in price already & may make for an inexpensive welcome to november in these next few day.

i’m sad to see it go, but i hope everyone had a wonderful halloween!