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.

Roasted banana bread

Every once and a while, I like to visit the bookstore and buy a bunch of cooking magazines, not necessarily to cook every recipe, but to keep up on all the latest food trends. I especially enjoy the Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications. The photography and design are so beautiful and fun, even if the recipes tend to be a little above my cooking skill level. (But most everything is!)

I ended up buying a copy of the latest BH&G publication, "Cook's Secrets."  And, boy, is this issue a keeper.  I recommend you pick up a copy if you find one at the store.  Lots of basic recipes for a so-so cook like me.

The very night I brought the magazine home, I broke out my mixer and made the roasted banana bread recipe.  Unfortunately, I didn't remember to take a photo of the finished banana bread (but I'm sure you know what banana bread looks like).  I did snap a few photos of the roasted bananas as they came out of the oven.  Yes, they are supposed to look black!

The recipe says the benefits of roasting the bananas are that you can use bananas at any stage of ripeness, and you don't have to mash the bananas, just mix them in. Here's a video I found from BH&G that explains the roasting banana process and how to make the bread.  If you try it, let me know how it works for you.

Iced lemon bread (baked with Truvia)

I always look forward to getting the new issue of Hy-Vee Seasons magazine.  I enjoy learning a little bit more about how the foods I shop for at Hy-Vee end up at the stores.  The latest issue features a terrific article on different types of citrus fruits.  I loved the look of the iced lemon bread recipe in the magazine, so I decided to give it a try.

At the last minute, I decided to replace the sugar in the bread with Truvia baking blend.  I usually don't use sugar substitutes, but I bought the Truvia baking blend on the suggestion of a Hy-Vee dietician, who gave a presentation on healthy holiday recipes at our workplace last month.  She likes the Truvia sweetener because it comes from a natural source (the stevia plant). I found the Truvia in the Health Market aisle of Hy-Vee.

This was my first attempt at baking with the Truvia, and the bread turned out great.  I actually forgot that I used the Truvia until my husband complimented me on this recipe.  The top of the bread was nice and brown when I pulled it out of the oven. However, I only used the Truvia in the bread batter; I stuck with regular sugar to make the glaze and icing.  I assume the Truvia works best in cookies, bars, quick breads and muffins.  I wouldn't use it for making frostings, pie crusts, candies, etc.

Sorry that these photos aren't the best.  I was more interested in eating this bread, then taking pictures of it!

Have you ever baked with sugar substitutes?  I'm going to be experimenting more with the Truvia baking blend now that I've had such good results with it.

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 :)

Cranberry Banana Bread

I saw cranberries on sale for the first time last week, and I couldn't resist bringing a bag home, even though I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them.  I've been craving banana bread, so I baked up this cranberry banana bread recipe from Joy the Baker. 

 

I love that this recipe is so easy to make.  I didn't even need to break out a mixer.  The banana flavor is perfect, plus there's a tart "pop" from the cranberries. I highly recommend this recipe if you're like me and can't resist those cute little cranberries in the produce aisle.

Meyer lemon bread

I always get excited when our local Hy-Vee grocery store offers its annual citrus sale in January.  I can't resist buying a bag of those cute little Meyer lemons whenever they are on sale.

This year, I baked a new recipe I found online for Meyer lemon bread.  As you can see from the photo above, I had a little trouble getting the bread out of the pan.  I used my grandma's old bread pans, which aren't non-stick, but I love baking with them anyway.  The lemon bread is topped with a lemon glaze, which soaks in to make the bread extra moist and flavorful.  My husband thought this bread was actually a lemon pound cake.  It's definitely a dessert bread.  And the Meyer lemons really shined in this recipe.  If you can find Meyer lemons, give this bread a try.  Enjoy!

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Meyer Lemon Bread

• 1 C. sugar
• 1/3 C. butter, melted
• 1/4 C. Meyer lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/2 C. flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 C. buttermilk
• Zest of two large lemons (about 1 heaping Tbl.)

Glaze:

• 1/2 C. powdered sugar
• 1/4 C. Meyer lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For the bread, combine the sugar, butter and juice.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the sugar-butter mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in zest.

Pour into a greased 8-inch loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.  While bread is still warm in pan, pierce top with a fork several times.

Mix the glaze ingredients together, then pour over bread.  Let it absorb for 1 hour.  Then remove from pan, wrap in foil and let stand overnight before serving.  Bread freezes well for up to 3 months.

Carrot quick bread using Ultragrain flour

A couple weeks ago, I won a free bag of Ultragrain flour from the company's Facebook giveaway.  I discovered Ultragrain flour at the Iowa State Fair this summer, where the company reps were handing out free, warm chocolate chip cookies made with Ultragrain.  Even though Ultragrain is a whole-wheat flour, you can bake with Ultragrain like white flour.  It has more fiber than all-purpose flour, without the whole-wheat texture.

My husband and I are trying to eat healthier, but my hubby isn't a big fan of whole-grain breads and pastas.  That's why I buy the soft white whole-grain breads at the grocery store.  The Ultragrain flour is used in a lot of those breads, according to the company's website.

I've been using Ultragrain flour for the past few months in my cookie and quick bread recipes.  For the most part, I haven't noticed a difference in the taste of the baked goods, although sometimes the texture seems a little heavier, but it might just be imagining a difference.  My husband hasn't noticed a difference at all.  He'll gobble up anything I make for him!

I have found Ultragrain flour at the East Lincoln Way Hy-Vee in Ames and at the Fareway store in north Ames.  I believe the packaging has been redesigned and is no longer called "Eagle Mills" flour, according to the company's Facebook page.  Instead, look for the "Ultragrain" name.  The flour is available in both all-purpose flour and white whole wheat flour varieties.  I've been baking with the all-purpose flour.

One of my husband's favorite recipes is a carrot quick bread I found in Cooking Light magazine years ago.  It's a fun breakfast bread to make, mostly because it uses not one -- but three -- different types of flour, including soy flour for added protein. I thought it would also be a great recipe to showcase the Ultragrain flour.

Look for soy flour in the baking aisle, with the other flours.

As you could probably guess, the real reason why my husband likes the carrot quick bread is because of the cream cheese frosting!  It's like eating carrot cake, but a lot healthier.  You can find the recipe on the Cooking Light website.

Iowa recipes: Zucchini bread

This year at the Iowa State Fair, I met a couple of local bakers who published their first cookbook, "Two Chicks from the Sticks: Back Home Baking."  I've been trying not to buy any new cookbooks lately, since I still have so many recipes from my old cookbooks that I haven't tried yet.  But I couldn't resist buying "Two Chicks from the Sticks."  The recipes looked like they came straight from my grandma's kitchen.  The book features many of my childhood favorites -- like apple pie bars and monster cookie bars -- and one of my new favorites, zucchini bread.

The Two Chicks' version of zucchini bread turned out perfect.  The pretty loaves were speckled with shredded zucchini, which I bought at the Valley Junction Farmers Market in West Des Moines. 

If you would like to try the Two Chicks zucchini bread recipe, you can find it on their blog, which is updated frequently with recipes from their baking book and from their own kitchen experiments.  They recently posted a recipe for whole-grain pumpkin bars that I'm looking forward to trying.

Gobble! Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends!  I hope you are enjoying the day with family and friends.  I'm winding down after a marathon in the kitchen, preparing a Thanksgiving meal for my hubby and me.  I can't imagine what it's like preparing a holiday dinner for a huge family.  I'm exhausted just from cooking for two.

To be honest, I'm not much of a cook.  But I live to bake.  So while the turkey was only so-so, I made a pretty good pumpkin pie.

And my husband's favorite, pecan pie.

Thought I'd share one of my new favorite Thanksgiving-time recipes: cranberry banana bread.  I can't resist the bags of cranberries on sale this time of year.  I decided to use them in a quick bread, and after a quick Internet search, I found this cranberry banana bread recipe on the Ocean Spray website.  There are so many excellent recipes from Ocean Spray.  There are a few more I'd like to try while cranberries are still in season.

I've been having fun baking with my grandma's old bread pans.  I think it's funny to see all the indentations on the bottom of the pan from her attempts to "pound" the stuck bread out from the bottom of the pan.

Now I'm off to take a nap, maybe go for a chilly bike ride and eat another piece of pie.  Enjoy your day!