Pumpkin Cranberry Loaf

Wow, 2 dessert type recipes and no savoury recipes to balance it out! The night that I made the loaf I also made sweet potato soup. It was a very orange day! For the soup I went to the mothering Mother website, http://motheringmother.com/Recipes/, rather than pulling out the tired hand written recipe.

The oven was on for some homemade pita pizzas so I cooked up some fresh pumpkin for the loaf. The cranberries were left over from Canadian Thanksgiving (Columbus Day weekend in the US) and were calling out to be used soon. Most cranberry loaf recipes call for oranges, and look dry. The mixture of the moist pumpkin with the tart cranberries and a little sweetness from the raisins and the loaf itself, make this a loaf that does not require additional butter for flavor or moisture.

The ground pumpkin spice brought the flavors together. I bought the spice using the mothering Mother mini sealed bulk bag from a store that sells bulk herbs and spices. Some of the spice did not fit into a jar and so the aroma from the cotton bag was wafting into the kitchen for several days! You do not have to have pumpkin spice. A homemade alternative is listed at the bottom of the recipe.

Halloween is coming, Thanksgiving (US) is coming! Enjoy the magic of savoury root vegetables!

Shanthi Shanthi

Pumpkin Cranberry Loaf

Ingredients:2 cups flour (half whole wheat and half white flour)
3/4 cup sucanat sugar
1 Tablespoon turbinado sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1/2 cup safflower oil
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup chopped cranberries
1/2 cup raisins

Sift together the dry ingredients (the first 6 ingredients) and lightly whisk together the wet ingredients (pumpkin, eggs, oil). Pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and gently whisk together.

Using a spatula fold in the half of the pecans, cranberries and raisin.

Spoon into the loaf pan and smooth the top with a knife.Sprinkle the remaining pecans on the top.

Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325F, cover and bake a further 20-30 minutes, until it is completely baked.

How to Bake Pumpkin

Slice a baking pumpkin in half, removed the seeds and place it cut side down into an oven proof glass dish with an eighth of an inch of water at the bottom.

Bake in a 325F oven.

When outside of the pumpkin is soft with the press of a finger, take it out of the oven and remove the soft flesh from inside the pumpkin. Cool slightly, then puree.

For an alternative stove top cooking method, see Simple Squash Lunch.

Pumpkin Spice

Combine the following spices:

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Namaste,

Sydney