. . . olive oil, honey, pumpkin bread

Pumpkin

October is. . .

Scoop

. . . so close. . .

Comp

. . . I can almost. . .

Loaf

. . . taste it. . .

Pumpkin.bread

. . . so I did.

Is there anything more symbolic of October than pumpkins? This beautifully fragrant pumpkin bread has all of the spice and flavor of the season with half of the refined sugar and a few other healthy additions as well. Real pumpkin, fresh ginger, olive oil, and honey take this classic to the next level.

Olive Oil, Honey, Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup pumpkin puree (I highly suggest roasting your own, but store bought would work as well)
2 eggs
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground clove
1 packed tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger root (you could do 1 1/2 if you really love ginger)
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 375 (you will lower it later).

Cut your pumpkin pie pumpkin in half and scrape out the seeds. Place face side down on a baking sheet and prick the outside with a fork. Roast for 35-45 min or until a fork easily slides through. Allow to cool enough to handle and scrape out the squash flesh into a bowl. Use an immersion blender to puree (a blender would work just fine as well). Measure 1 cup and save the rest for more pumpkin recipe goodness.

Lower heat to 350 degrees.

Mix the pumpkin, eggs, water, honey, ginger and sugar together. Once everything is thoroughly combined, gently stir in the olive oil. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and ground spices. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until everything just comes together and fold in the pecans. Do not over mix.

Line a 9 1/4" x 5 1/4" loaf pan with a sheet of parchment paper (like a sling) between the longer sides. Leave a little paper sticking out on either side (you will use these "handles" to pull out the loaf later). Pour the batter into the lined pan. Bake for 50-60 min or until a knife comes out clean when inserted in the center.

The bread is tasty right away, but even better the next day.

With the Kids:

Invite the kids to go to the grocery store, farmers marker (or better yet, a real farm) to pick up a pumpkin pie pumpkin and any other ingredients you may need.