Kitchen Adventures 7.2

I love a good bread recipe. I also love a good pumpkin recipe. So, naturally, I love a good pumpkin bread recipe. I fondly remember coming home from school and smelling freshly baked pumpkin bread when it got to be the later months of the year. My mom uses a great pumpkin bread recipe, and her pumpkin roll recipe is even better. However, I found another pumpkin bread recipe that I just had to try for sentimental reasons.

Last year, Alex and I helped a couple from McFarlin UMC here in Norman prepare an exhibit that is now on display at the church. They had existing pictures that they needed at different sizes, and they also needed a recent picture of the church. We helped them with this project and got to know them a little bit through this process. Then, a few months later, I learned that Mary, the lady who put this all together, had passed away. It was saddening since we had just finished working on this project with her. Shortly after that, I was at the annual cookbook swap and shop at the Norman Public Library and came across a gem, The University Cookbook. I saw it and hoped I would have enough money or tickets to get it and that it would be left at the end of the day. As my friend Shaye and I were looking at it, the organizer of the event, Judy Day, came over and raved about the cookbook. It was published by the University Women's Association at OU so included lots of recipes from professors or professors' wives. The recipe Judy flipped to was Mary's pumpkin bread. Well, when I saw that I got it immediately.

I finally got to make this recipe a few weeks ago, and I thought of Mary while the bread was baking. The note she left at the bottom of the recipe was appropriate for the moment, so I'll share it here.

"A nice way to be remembered often is to pass on a favorite recipe to a friend. This is how I got this all-time favorite pumpkin bread recipe. Even though the friend has moved far away, I think of her every time I make it."

That is one thing I hope for as I share all the recipes I make. I love sharing my creations with those nearby, but if I can't share the food I can share the recipe with those far away. I hope you enjoy this one! As a note, it does have a longer baking time, so plan appropriately.

Pumpkin Bread
Submitted by Mary Rodgers to The University Cookbook

Ingredients:
3 eggs, beaten
1 c. vegetable oil
3 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. canned pumpkin
3 c. flour
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. nut pieces (optional)

Directions:
Mix together eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients together, and add nut pieces if desired. Add dry ingredients to wet mixture and stir well. Finally, add the pumpkin and mix well. Bake at 250 degrees for 2-2 1/2 hours in two medium size loaf pans that are lightly greased and floured.

Here are a couple pics:

Kitchen Adventures 2.7

Many of us have weekly activities we look forward to when a new week begins. I am fortunate to have several different sets of friends, who are most definitely different from each other. I love my girls night friends who meet at O'Connell's every week and play bingo and drink $2 Boulevards. There are girls I can tell about random things going on in my life or things I hear about on the news and whatnot. And with the inclusion of the boys at girls night (contradictory, I know, but it works) we always have rousing conversation going on somewhere at the table.
Another group I always look forward to seeing is my small group from church. We started meeting two years ago and through there are only three of the originals left, we have an awesome group that not only meets to discuss the Word and our study, but also to share in our lives socially. Usually, at least lately, the boys have outnumbered the girls, but last week was an exception. With no boys in attendance, we had a girls night. Of course we discussed out study, Lead Like Jesus (which I highly recommend), but we were also able to share about life situations that I'm pretty sure we would not have discussed had the boys been there. It was nice to just have that girl time studying together and also just fellowhihpping.
Unfortunately for the boys, they missed out on delicious snack. Of course, I am biased since I made it. :) But I must say, it is delicious! I'm still eating the fruits of my labor for breakfast and thoroughly enjoying it!
Since I had extra zucchini lying around from the farmer's market I trolled the Internet looking for some kind of zucchini dessert recipe. I already made chocolate zucchini cake and have made zucchini bread before, so I wanted to try something different. After doing a little searching, I came across this excellent recipe from cooks.com. It's a little different, but delicious! I highly recommend it!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:
2 c. grated zucchini
4 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 c. oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 2 loaf pans. Grate zucchini
In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda and powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
In another bowl, combine zucchini, oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla.
Stir zucchini mixture into the flour mixture, just until blended. Mix in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
Cool on rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely.

Here are some pics of the finished product.