If there were a bar graph of things I cook, it might look like Manute Bull in Munchkintown. The Manute Bull, of course, would be Pumpkin Bread. I always make Pumpkin Bread. It's my go-to recipe. Here's why...

To make pumpkin bread all you need is a can of pumpkin and that's it. I mean, that's not it---but it's the only rare ingredient. Otherwise you have the flour, you have the sugar, you have the vegetable oil; maybe you have the ground cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg; and hopefully you have a bread pan and a sifter. But if you cook at all, you have all those other ingredients. So buy some cans of pumpkin and go make pumpkin bread.

It's so easy. [I use this recipe from Epicurious.]

First you butter and flour the pan.

Then combine the vegetable oil and sugar:

Next add the eggs and hold up a can of pumpkin.

Actually, I should address an egg issue here. I halved the recipe to make only one loaf and in the process had to turn 3 eggs into 1.5 eggs. How did I do this? I plopped the first egg into the mix and then cracked the second egg into a bowl, which I scrambled a bit and then poured out half. Good thinking?

Here's the pumpkin out of the can:

Now we bring in the spicy triplets:

I love these spices. They're quite autumnal, I'll admit, but they taste good any time of year.

Sift them, the flour and baking soda into a separate bowl:

Mix the flour into the other stuff in two additions:

Pour into the bread pan:

And bake for 70 mintues at 350 degrees.

This might be a good time to admit my tendency to underbake things. It comes from my original training as a brownie chef: then it was always ok to underbake; in fact, it was preferable.

But I'm starting to understand the merits of fully baking whatever you're baking. Something wonderful happens texturally when something is fully baked and Pumpkin Bread is a good example. The top gets crustier and sugarier and--well--you'll know it when you taste it.

Check it out:

Cut myself a slice? Don't mind if I do!

Delicious!

It took longer to write this post than it did to make the pumpkin bread. And now I have a whole loaf just waiting to be devoured. Which is more than I can say for you. Hmph!