by Hilary Crowell, Assistant Farm Manager
My favorite kind of pumpkin is called Winter Luxury. What a perfect name! It is a beauty to look at with its cream colored webbing that softens the brightness of its orange skin and gives it an interesting visual texture. And it’s this time of year, when I start to get back into baking, that I remember how much I love this squash for eating, also, not just for looking. Pumpkins are often stringy, watery, and tasteless – not something you want to eat unless you add a lot of sugar, eggs, milk, and spices (read: pie or custard). However, this pumpkin could almost be eaten as a side dish to a meal. It is meatier than your average pumpkin and has a delicious, rich flavor. It has a deep orange color and its unusual outer webbing gives the shell a little more substance when you are scooping out the flesh after baking. Did I mention I love this pumpkin? All in all, it is perfect for, well, just about anything: soup, bread, pie, custard, pudding, cookies, etc.
Like most pumpkins, it isn’t a great keeper so when I notice the squashes are starting to get a little soft I cook up a huge batch. I cut the pumpkins in half between the stem and the blossom end, put them upside down on a cookie sheet, and bake at 350 F for about 40 minutes or until a fork pokes through the skin easily. If you aren’t interested in roasting pumpkin seeds, I find that removing them from the squash is easier after they are cooked. Once they have cooled I scoop the seeds into the compost and then, in 2 cup increments or whatever quantity is useful, fill quart size freezer bags with the squash. Many of the recipes I use call for 2 cups of squash but I’ll make some larger bags for soups. I like to date and label everything that goes into the freezer. Done! So easy.
Lately I’ve been making a lot of this particular bread from CDKitchen because it is sweetened with molasses only and uses equal quantities of pumpkin and flour. Plus, it calls for milk and I like to use our farm milk any chance I get. For this recipe, and in general, I like to use half again as many spices except for the cloves.
Ingredients:
1 ½ cup flour
2 ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoon ginger
¾ teaspoon nutmeg
⅜ teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons softened butter
⅔ cups molasses
2 eggs
1 ½ cups pumpkin
¼ cup milk or water
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup chopped walnuts
⅓ cup raisins or chopped dates
Directions:
- Whisk together the first 8 ingredients.
- Beat the butter for a minute or so, then gradually beat in the molasses, and beat til lightened.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the pumpkin.
- Combine the milk and vanilla.
- Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk misture to the pumpkin mixtrure. (f you’re using white or wheat flour, don’t overbeat). Fold in the nuts and raisins.
- Bake in a greased 9”x5”x pan at 350 F for about an hour, until a pick comes out clean.
- Let cool a few minutes before unmolding.
