Pumpkin Cornbread

I invite you to try this recipe as soon as humanly possible. Make sure your pantry is stocked with pumpkin, cornmeal, flour, and molasses and go to work. Really. I am certain this recipe is new to you. How have I lived 29 autumns already without having this gem of a recipe?? This is what my mystified mind is contemplating and pondering.

It's complicated to find exact words for describing this. It's not dry like most cornbreads- so if that's your qualm, then fear no more. And I know adding molasses to your cornbread mixture seems absolutely goofed and inexact, but you barely taste it- all it does is add slight flavor but big moisture and subtle color. The pumpkin acts similarly too- moisture, color, and slight flavor. The "cornbready" texture is really diffused by so many layers of ingredients.

If you can't already tell then, I think it's sensationally delicious, very tasty, and wildly moist.

Eat with chili, on Halloween night, and you will be spooked-out happy.

Pumpkin Cornbread

{Two Peas and Their Pod}

1 cup flour

1 TBSP baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoons ground nutmeg

½ cups brown sugar

1 cup cornmeal

2 whole eggs

1 cup pumpkin puree

¼ cups olive oil

1 TBSP molasses

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and grease an 8×8″ baking dish.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, spices, brown sugar, and cornmeal.

In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs, and then stir in the pumpkin, oil, and molasses.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined, and then pour the batter into the pan, smoothing out the top as much as possible. Bake 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm.

Whole Wheat Molasses Bread

I have never been one to have lively inclinations towards making bread. It seems like the domestic homemaking apogee of all homemaking skills and unfortunately for me, is one that hasn't turned into a passionate past time.

Not only is bread-making, to some degree, dauntingly intimidating for me, but my day and schedule and responsibilities see no room and little desire to sit around and babysit a bread dough that needs consistent and drawn-out processes of punching down, raising, and yadda yah.

Of course I greatly appreciate and admire people in this profession and skill and I will gladly be the recipent of the hard work and techniques used to create gorgeous- tasting breads. I think that is one of the reasons why my mission to Germany for my church must have been divinely inspired. In order to get through some of the harder days, a visit to the bakery (oder, auf Deutsch, die Backerei) was enough to buoy me right up. Indeed, 18 months later and 15 pounds later, I knew good breads had to be a part of my life. Forever. Forever.

This recipe is a new favorite, I lie not. Why? Because it's easy and very uncomplicated, fast, and satisfying. We loved the texture and the taste-- and for my husband who served his LDS mission in mother Russia and for me, the wanna-be German native, this kind of darker bread is like a trip back to our second homes for us.

May I also recommend you eat this warm with salted butter slathered all over. You will not be sorry for the extra calories.

Whole Wheat Molasses Bread

{Recipe from NY Times}

1 2/3 cups buttermilk

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup molasses

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8×4 or 9×5-inch loaf pan, though I recommend using a smaller pan if possible--- the larger of a pan it bakes in, the more chance it has of drying out (note my top picture—indentation in the middle of the bread means under-baked—and I think had I baked it much longer, it would’ve been very dry. Hence, use smaller pans if possible. My pan was a 9 x 5).

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, salt and baking soda. In a small bowl whisk together buttermilk and molasses. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold to combine. The batter will be slightly thick, but not dry. Spoon batter into prepared pan and place in the oven. Bake loaf for 30-50 minutes . You may want to rotate the pan in the middle of the baking to ensure evenness. But use caution and handle the bread carefully. .

When a skewer inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, remove the loaf from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes in the loaf pan. Run a butter knife along the sides of the pan and carefully invert onto a wire rack.

Loaf keeps, well wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days. Serve with salted butter, jam, cream cheese, or nutella. Oh geez.

Zucchini Spice Bread

Hmmm... how do you spell delicious??

Z-u-c-c-h-i-n-i S-p-i-c-e B-r-e-a-d

And for some reason, this zucchini bread recipe tastes different to my taste buds than the conventional loaves of zucchini bread we see spilling out of kitchens June-October. Something about the spices used... something about the substantial amount of brown sugar...so very scrumptious and warm and soothing and comforting and satisfying and addicting. All at the same time, all in the same bite.

Whatever it is, this is my new go-to for all that leftover green squash stuff that we all have "coming out of our ears" during these early and later Autumn months.

You note in my picture that poor loaf number one on the left is suffering from a case of caved in middleness but I deliberately underbaked these by just a couple minutes for I fear nothing more than a dry loaf of what could've been deliciously moist bread. So, if you're wondering why in the hay my bread is caving in, that's the reason: underbaked. Just nature doing its thing!

Okay. I'll stop fawning over my latest zucchini bread crush and keep this post laconic.

Ciao!

Zucchini Spice Bread

{Martha Stewart}

Nonstick cooking spray

1 large zucchini

1 cup packed light-brown sugar

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan with cooking spray, and set aside. Grate zucchini on the large holes of a box grater (to yield 1 3/4 cups); set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together sugars, oil, vanilla, and eggs.

Into a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, and stir to combine well. Stir in grated zucchini.

Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes; invert onto a wire rack, then reinvert, top side up. Cool completely before slicing.

Only a Half Loaf I Ate

Hejo and I like to pounce on my husband in the morning after letting him sleep in until 7 30 or 8 AM (hey, being a student does have some perks).... we really can't wait too long before we start yanking gently at his hair and making babbling noises and disturbing his sleeping beautiness.... Hejo was telling me through his baby gibberish that he was aching to go to the market this morning for some fresh pints of $1.50 blueberries and a 16-oz.-er of some wonderful smoothie blend with pineapple and banana in it.... I wasn't about to set my foot down on this one, so we awakened Chris with our typical childish and annoying rituals, made like cows, and moooved as fast as possible to grab our blueberries, smoothies, and freshly baked off pretzels from the cute Amish gals.


The morning air shocked me. The humidity was unbelievably low (yippeee) and having just rained, it was surprisingly unsticky, fresh like fall, and a sweet zip to my face. Of course it started toying with my head about sweater weather, soup kitchens, and warm carbs.... i.e. bread that you can barbarically tear off with your pearly whites and use as sponges to clean up your soup bowl... that kind of bread. Know what I'm saying??

So we left the market with smoothies, bloated stomachs, and bags of produce. I got my game face on and became suddenly busy making a few rounds of this Peda (not "pita", Peda) bread, using some fresh rosemary, tucked deep inside the wrinkly brown bag.

Must tell you... I'm no bread-baking diva and I fully and freely admit it without shame or guilt.
Cupcakes, cakes, and "quick" breads as they call them, I can handle... but once you start throwing in yeast and the kneading and the neediness of "babysitting" these high-maintenance doughs, FORget it. That's why I was so delighted when my friend Chaci, served us this at dinner a few weeks back and explained how easy and quick it is.. not to mention one of the tastiest homemade breads I've yet had... So here's her recipe for it. You should try it. Really.

Chaci's Peda Bread

2 Tbsp yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
1 cup + 2 Tb warm milk
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cups flour
Fresh herbs, chopped*

To warm milk, heat in a small saucepan over medium heat (do not let boil). Add it to the sugar and yeast. Next, add the flour, salt, olive oil, and the herbs. Knead 10 min, let rest 10 min. Shape into circle. Let rise (I let mine rise for 20 or so minutes), brush with egg yolk, sprinkle with kosher salt and herbs. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.


*I used rosemary for this trial run... my friend likes to use basil, thyme, oregano, etc depending on what else she's serving with the bread. If you want to be really fancy-pants, she also recommended using onion, feta cheese, or whatever your stomach desires for the topping. Good luck!

Biscuits
If you want a good Sunday roll, but don't want to hassle with yeast, these are fabulous. Besides, we all need a good biscuit recipe and my friend Liz H (would link you to her blog but it's private) gave me this one. And they are scrumptious- almost tastes like a sugar cookie:)! If you end up using honey instead of sugar, don't be alarmed if the finished product looks almost "speckled". Ta ta.

3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar (honey works as well)
3/4 cup butter (cut into small pieces)
1 cup buttermilk

Mix the dry ingredients together. Blend in the butter with pastry cutter, hands, or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in buttermilk. Cut into desired shapes (these were in heart shapes when we ate them. fun!) and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.