This super easy, one bowl pumpkin quick bread is delicious. Served plain or with a dollop of fresh whipped cream, it is one we all enjoy.
I was very fortunate a good friend brought me a Long Island Cheese Pumpkin to use when making the fresh pumpkin puree for this bread.
Did you know?
Before European colonists arrived in America, many nations of Native Americans lived from the land. They shared food preservation techniques as well as the Three Sister practice of growing corn, beans, and squash with the European colonists.
Pumpkin, an American native that is a cultivar of the squash plant, is celebrated as a symbol of autumn, and harvested for both decoration and good eating. The Long Island Cheese Pumpkin is one of the oldest varieties cultivated in America. Well suited for the region’s climate, it is an invaluable part of Long Island food history, culture, and tradition, and a delicious choice for many types of cooking.
In the 1800s, cookbooks and farmers almanacs in the Long Island Sound frequently cited the Long Island Cheese Pumpkin as a regional favorite, and in 1807, Bernard McMahon introduced the pumpkin to the commercial market. In an issue of “Michigan Farmer” from 1855, D.D. Tooker noted, “the sweet pumpkin alias cheese pumpkin or pie squash is the only true article in my opinion for making the most delicious of Yankee notions - pumpkin pie - and I am not alone in my opinions, for I have yet to see the individual who would not agree with me in this matter. The shape and color of this fruit resembles that of a small sized dairy cheese, its flesh is very firm, fine grained and brittle, is of a rich color and very sweet. They will keep all winter in a cool dry cellar if picked and stored before Jack Frost touches them." (source: slowfoodusa.org)
RECIPE
Ingredients
1 cup fresh pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
* 1/4 cup water (omit this when using fresh baked pumpkin puree)
Method
Preheat oven to 350 F. Whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, oil, brown sugar,vanilla and *water (if using). In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon.
Spray a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with baking spray and pour in batter. Bake 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Let cool 1 hour, then removed from the loaf pan and transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Slice, serve and enjoy.
Enjoy,
Mary
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