Pretty as a Pumpkin

I hear that Pumpkin is one of the 10 superfoods, so I found this recipe and thought it sounds like a good way to get your daily dose of pumpkin. Just in time for fall!

Pumpkin Bread
Whenever we carve up a pumpkin for Halloween I'm always reluctant to throw the pieces out. That's good squash! We salvage the seeds and roast them for a tasty snack, put what to do with the pieces left over from carving out noses, eyes, and ghoulish smiles?

This year we decided to make pumpkin bread and found an easy, straightforward recipe in the classic Fannie Farmer Cookbook. The recipe calls for a cup of pumpkin purée which you can either get from a can, or make yourself by steaming or roasting the pumpkin pieces, removing the skins, and blending in a food processor.
I think if you use pumpkin purée from a can you'll get a stronger pumpkin flavor. We use baked and steamed Halloween pumpkin, which is essentially squash and doesn't have as strong of a pumpkin flavor. The spices make this quick bread quite tasty, and the squash helps the loaf stay deliciously moist. It's a lot like a pumpkin version of banana bread. Very yummy and very easy to make.
1 1/2 cups (210g) flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (1/4 L) pumpkin purée
1/2 cup (1 dL) olive oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup (1 dL) chopped walnuts
(metric measurements in parentheses)
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda. Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup of water, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly. Stir in the nuts. Pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes until a straw poked in the very center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn out of the pan and let cool on a rack.
Makes one loaf.

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