Pumpkin bread & autumn in Iowa

I think I've mentioned before that I'm trying to focus my time on family favorite recipes.  Now that canned pumpkin is on sale at the local grocery store, I'm baking up loaves of pumpkin bread to freeze and share with my family.  I can't believe how many recipe variations there are for simple pumpkin bread!  I finally settled on the version I found from Better Homes and Gardens.  It has my favorite fall spices -- nutmeg and cinnamon (I can't believe some pumpkin bread recipes don't have cinnamon!).  It also uses vegetable oil instead of shortening. 

It's a great recipe. My only complaint is I don't think my old oven is working right.  It takes forever to bake anything lately, including these pumpkin bread loaves.  And by the time it was finally cooked through the middle, the outside was a little dark and dry.  We probably should replace our oven, but we've got so many other projects on our list right now!

Before I share the recipe, I thought it would be fun to show off my neighborhood in the fall.  I live in a small town with a lot of old, large trees, and each tree turns a different color.

 Unfortunately, I also have quite a few leaves to rake up!

The first freezing night finally arrived two weeks ago.  I picked the few last flowers from my garden before they were gone.

For Halloween this year, I made the popcorn ball recipe from Two Chicks from the Sticks.  It was my first attempt at making popcorn balls, and they were so good!  They tasted like caramel popcorn.  You can buy the Two Chicks cookbook here.

Here's the pumpkin bread recipe, if you want to try it at home.  Enjoy!

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Pumpkin bread

• 3-1/3 C. flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1-1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1-1/2 C. sugar
• 1-1/2 C. brown sugar
• 1 C. vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 2/3 C. water
• One 15-oz. can pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of two 9x5x3-inch pans, three 8x4x2-inch or four 7-1/2 x 3-1/2 x 2-inch loaf pans; set aside. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, 2 tsp. cinnamon, salt and nutmeg; set aside.

In an extra-large mixing bowl, beat granulated sugar, brown sugar and oil with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Add eggs; beat well. Alternately add flour mixture with the water to egg mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Beat in pumpkin. Spoon batter into the prepared loaf pans, spreading evenly.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes for 9x5-inch loaves, 45 to 50 minutes for 8x4-inch loaves, 40 to 45 minutes for 7-1/2 x 3-inch loaves, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the centers comes out clean.

Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks. Wrap and store overnight.

Blue-ribbon pumpkin & pecan pies

Happy belated Thanksgiving, everyone!  I'm still full after our Thanksgiving feasting yesterday.  My husband and I stayed home again this year, and we made Thanksgiving dinner for ourselves.  Pretty much everything turned out really well this year, except for a new sweet potato recipe I tried in the slow cooker, so I won't be sharing that recipe with you all.

Our Thanksgiving meal, clockwise from bottom left: glazed sweet potatoes, homemade stuffing, turkey & gravy, and green bean casserole (my favorite!).

I also tried out a couple new pie recipes I found in one of my old Iowa State Fair cookbooks.  They both turned out pretty good. However, once again, I didn't bake the pecan pie long enough, and it didn't set and ended up runny.  I don't blame the recipe, however.  I just didn't give it enough time in the oven, but I needed the precious oven space for all the other side dishes I was making at the time.

Here are the two blue-ribbon pie recipes I tried this Thanksgiving.  Both were super-easy and delicious.  Enjoy!

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Harvest pumpkin pie

3 eggs, beaten
16-oz. can solid pack pumpkin
3/4 C. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
12-oz. can evaporated milk
Pastry for single-crust 9-inch pie

Beat eggs lightly. Add pumpkin, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell. Bake in 425 degree oven 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake 40 to 50 minutes more. Cook on wire rack.

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Pecan pie

• 3 eggs
• 3/4 C. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 C. dark corn syrup
• 1/2 C. butter or margarine, melted
• 1 C. pecan halves
• Pastry for single-crust 9-inch pie

Beat egg slightly. Add sugar and salt; stir until dissolved. Stir in corn syrup and melted butter; mix well. Fold in pecans. Pour into pastry-lined pie pan. Cover edge of pie with foil. Bake in 350 degree oven 25 minutes. Remove foil; bake 25 minutes more or until knife inserted off center comes out clean. Cool on rack.

Roasted pumpkin seeds

When I made pumpkin puree at home, I make sure to save the seeds.  I usually roast the pumpkin seeds in butter, but I wanted to try a healthier recipe.  I found this roasted pumpkin seeds recipe from Simply Recipes. The recipe uses olive oil instead of butter. Also unusual, you are supposed to boil the pumpkin seeds in salted water before roasting.  I gave the recipe a whirl, and it was pretty good. I still like the butter version better though :) It's definitely a fun recipe to try.

Pumpkin bread

 I was absolutely craving pumpkin bread last weekend, so I baked up this easy pumpkin bread recipe from King Arthur Flour.  I mixed up the recipe as written, except I added a teaspoon of cinnamon because I think pumpkin and cinnamon are the perfect pairing -- like chocolate and peanut butter.

Instead of canned pumpkin puree, I roasted a few pie pumpkins that I bought earlier this fall from the DeMoss family farms at the North Grand Farmers Market in Ames.  Here are easy instructions on how to roast pumpkins at home.

I recommend trying to get as much water out of the pumpkin puree as you can so whatever you are baking (pumpkin bread or pie) doesn't turn out soupy.  I placed the pureed pumpkin in a fine-mesh sieve over the sink and let the water drain out for about 10 minutes.

OK, so not the greatest pumpkin bread photo, but I didn't have much time before my husband and I gobbled it up!

Are you making plans for Thanksgiving already?  I bought a turkey for 98 cents a pound at our local Fareway store.  I'm not too picky when it comes to buying turkey.  I just look for the best deal and hope I don't overcook the bird :)

Visit an Iowa pumpkin patch

I've been super busy enjoying the gorgeous fall weather.  I didn't have time to try a new recipe last weekend, but I did stop by the Harvest Barn pumpkin patch east of Osceola in southern Iowa.  Look at all the cute pumpkins!

I should make a scarecrow for my little backyard garden.  Do you plan a trip to a local pumpkin patch every fall?  What's your favorite type of pumpkin?  I like the little round ones :)

Iowa recipes: Pumpkin bars

Pumpkin recipes are very trendy in the food blog world right now.  Over the past few weeks, I've seen recipes for pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cakes, pumpkin rolls, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin granola, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pastas -- and the list goes on and on.

I've actually tried a few of these recipes.  But nothing really compares to good, old-fashioned pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting.  These pumpkin bars are always a hit whenever I bring them to potlucks or family gatherings.  My husband has also requested pumpkin bars many times for his October birthdays.

 

Mmm ... Cream cheese frosting

Make these pumpkin bars, and be prepared for the compliments!  Enjoy!

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Pumpkin bars

From 2004 Iowa State Fair Cookbook

• 2 C. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 C. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 4 eggs, slightly beaten
• 2 C. pumpkin
• 1 C. vegetable oil
• 3/4 C. finely chopped walnuts

Sift dry ingredients into mixing bowl. Mix eggs, pumpkin and oil.  Add to dry ingredients. Mix and stir in nuts.  Pour into greased and floured pan.  Bake at 375 degree for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.  Cool; frost bars.

Frosting:

• 3 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 6 Tbls. butter or margarine
• 1 Tbl. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1-3/4 C. powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients; beat until smooth. Spread over bars.

Perfect pumpkin

A few weeks back before the early season frost, I visited a local farm to get my hands on a few pie pumpkins. It's so much fun to bake with fresh pumpkin. Pies, breads and muffins turn out moist and a vivid orange color that you can't get from canned pumpkin.


It's so easy to roast a pumpkin; the hard part is actually finding a quality pumpkin. I've bought pie pumpkins at the grocery store that were moldy on the inside. And I've tried to grow pumpkins myself, but been unsuccessful. I just can't keep the squash bugs and vine borers off the pumpkins.


Besides, you can't help but feel good when you buy from a local farmer. It's a great sign of support for both the local economy and for Iowa agriculture in general.

It took a little elbow grease, but I sliced the pumpkin in half, then scraped out the seeds and the stringly pulp. Then I baked the pumpkin halves upside down on a foil-covered baking sheet at 375 degrees for over an hour. The roasted pumpkin came out perfectly tender.

I gave the pumpkin a spin in the food processor until it was smooth.



This pumpkin was so sweet, it tasted great without any sugar. I saved some to eat for lunch the next day.

I measured out 1 cup of pumpkin into freezer bags, dated the bags, then stacked them in the freezer for future use. It's such a great treat to make pumpkin bars in the middle of winter.

Of course, I didn't let those wonderful pumpkin seeds go to waste. I coated them in brown sugar and cinnamon and roasted them in a 250-degree oven for 50 minutes. They turned out sticky, but delicious. I've been snacking on them all day.

Can't wait to make homemade pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving!