baking 101

I am certainly no Martha Stewart.

Cooking food like meat and veggies always ends up like a science experiment gone bad. Poor Tim has had to suffer through my attempts to make meatloaf and stuffed flounder. He does eat it which is more than I can say for the kids. "Yuck! Please can I have cereal?" is always heard on those nights I get inspired and try for fancier than tacos and pasta.

However, I love to bake cookies, pies, cakes, and cobblers because they are tasty and easy to make. The kids like "helping" me cook, but only 1 child can at a time, due to a shortage of counter space. My dream kitchen will have a big island so all the children can crowd around on chairs and pour and sift, and stir.

Fall seems be an ideal season to start baking in earnest, with cooler weather and the holidays coming soon. Seeing all the pumpkins parading up people's front steps gives me cravings for rich spices and the tang of winter squash. I made a few batches of pumpkin muffins last week, but they were too light and dry. Yesterday, Charlie helped me with a pumpkin bread recipe that promises to be a long-time favorite. And it will be, especially cool and slathered with cream cheese. It would be perfect to bake in little loaves and give to the neighbors as Christmas gifts, especially if you add some chopped pecans to the batter.

Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar

1 cup oil

4 eggs, beaten

1 can pumpkin

3 1/2 cups sifted flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

2/3 cup water

Cream sugar and oil. Add eggs and pumpkin, mix well. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves. Add to pumpkin mixture alternately with water. Pour into 2 well greased and floured loaf pans (9x5). Bake at 350 for 80-90 min, checking to see if knife comes out clean from center. Let stand for 10 min. Remove from pans to cool.