Pumpkin Bread

Confession: I've subsisted almost entirely on peppermint stick ice cream for the past two days.


Also, my kitchen looks like this:

I'm not kidding at all when I tell you that I have about three feet of prep space in my kitchen.  What you see is what you get, and the moment that you even think about preparing a dish, it starts to look like this. It truly makes cooking a feat of strength and wit.  Bearing in mind these unlikely conditions, its a wonder that I'm still able to cook the way I like to.

On to the point of today's post- I made pumpkin bread. It's quite delicious, fresh from the oven with some butter smeared on. I also think it would be amazing as a muffin, with a little sugar/flour/butter crumble on top. I, however, will be using it in my pumpkin bread pudding.  For now, though, just try the bread- its amazing.

(One thing- I want to talk about pumpkin pie spice. Although you can certainly make your own, I buy the premixed kind from World Market. Many, many, many bakers eschew the use of the premixed pumpkin pie spice, but I find it convenient and delicious and constantly use it to season things. I say...use what you like. Thats all :) )

Cast of characters:

• 1/2 stick of butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup water

Start by heating your oven to 350 and spraying your loaf pan. Mix the flour, salt, soda, powder and spices and set aside. In a larger mixing bowl, cream the butter, oil and sugar. Add the pumpkin and vanilla, then mix the eggs in one at a time. Once everything is combined, add the flour and water gradually- its really important not to over mix at this point!  Spread the batter in your greased pan, and bake for an hour or so, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in a pan for about ten minutes, then turn on to a cooling rack and enjoy!