For You, Pumpkin

Last weekend completely got away from me. Between my husband working all weekend and a sick dog, I was officially in survival mode. (Actually, I'm not sure we've ever left survival mode since entering it with the birth of our first son, but some days/weekends/weeks/months are easier than others. Last weekend was not one of them.)

But this weekend is looking up. We have soccer games, pumpkin carving parties, food festivals downtown, a birthday party, a BABYSITTER, and other general merriment. Squeezed in to all that fun will, without a doubt, be some time for making pumpkin bread.

Even if I had managed to make this last weekend I would have been late. This recipe makes 2 loaves, so my usual tradition is to make the full recipe every Sunday in October. We eat one loaf during the week, and I freeze the other ("during the week," is, of course, a euphemism for "on Sunday afternoon and finish it off by Monday morning"). By the time November rolls around I have enough in the freezer to pull out one each week and hold us for another month. It's a true family favorite. In fact, it's such a family favorite that last Thanksgiving, when my husband's family came to stay with us, we literally went through a loaf of this each day. (One of my favorite memories from last year: my brother-in-law agonizing over whether to take the last slice, and the great look of relief on his face when I told him there were 3 more loaves in the freezer). It's great all by itself, but the boys and I also like it with cream cheese for breakfast.

Pumpkin Bread
3 cups of sugar
1 cup of no-sugar added applesauce
4 eggs
1 15 ounce can of pumpkin
3 tablespoons hot water
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugar and applesauce in a large bowl. Add eggs and pumpkin and whisk well. In a separate bowl, stir together hot water and baking soda until baking soda is dissolved. (Note: I have no idea why, and yet I follow this instruction faithfully year after year simply because my recipe tells me to. Where is Alton Brown when I need him?) Add to the pumpkin mixture. Add flour and spices and mix well. Pour into two greased and floured 5x9 loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until done. Cool in the loaf pans for 10 minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack. Particularly good when still warm with a cold glass of milk.

Happy eating!