bread

Pumpkin Bread, Revisited

by Lisa on November 1, 2012

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Oh, MAN I love this pumpkin bread recipe. So much so that I’ve written about it before, and I felt the need to share the recipe again. Two years ago when I started this blog I 1) had barely any idea of how to take good food photos {and I’m still learning—every day!} and 2) I wrote recipes with photos interspersed. Great if you’re reading, not so great when you’re trying to follow along and cook without getting your computer all dirty.

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This is seriously my very favorite pumpkin bread ever. Talk about hyerbole, huh? There was a point in time when I couldn’t find the recipe so I tried a few others. None came even close to this one. Thank God my mom had her copy of the recipe. Because honestly, if I couldn’t make THIS pumpkin bread, I probably never would have eaten pumpkin bread again.

Pumpkin Bread

by The Splattered Apron

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Keywords: bake bread pumpkin fall

Ingredients (1 loaf)

1 2/3 cup flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup pumpkin {I always use canned, but I bet fresh would be great too}
1/2 cup canola oil
1/3 cup water
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together the dry ingredients.

Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl until smooth.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until they are all incorporated.

Grease and flour a loaf pan. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for an hour.

Allow to cool in the pan until it can be handled, then transfer the bread to a cooling rack.

Store, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature.

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Some people like to butter their bread, but I love how this one tastes just as it is. The nutmeg really stands out and gives it a delicious spiciness. The texture is crumbly and moist, dense and chewy. If you’re a pumpkin fan, I urge you to bake this bread as soon as you can.

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Enjoy!

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{ 3 comments }

Zucchini Apple Muffins, Take 2

by Lisa on July 23, 2012

Zucchini Apple Muffins

Remember these muffins from last year? I loved them. But I thought I could make them better. This weekend, when the temperature was low enough {yaay high 70s – low 80s!} to actually turn on the oven, I did just that.

I added in almond meal in place of some of the all purpose flour and omitted the walnuts and shredded apples. And let me tell you, I like these ones better.

Zucchini Apple Muffins, Take 2

by The Splattered Apron

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25-30 minutes

Keywords: bake bread vegan dairy-free zucchini summer

Ingredients (1 dozen muffins)

1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1 medium zucchini, shredded and squeezed to get out excess moisture
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 flax egg {1 tablespoon flax meal plus 3 tablespoons water}
1 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

Set aside the flax egg to gel and shred the zucchini. Squeeze the zucchini to get rid of as much excess water as possible.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Next, combine the dry ingredients {flour, almond meal, sugars, baking powder, salt and cinnamon}.

In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients {applesauce, flax egg, milk and vanilla}.

Add the wet to the dry and mix until just combined. Then stir in the zucchini until just combined.

Spoon the batter into a prepared muffin tin {I prefer not to use muffin liners}.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the muffins are puffed up, brown around the edges and a toothpick comes out clean.

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I have to confess. I baked these at 11 pm on Saturday night. As soon as they came out of the oven, I ate one. It was an awesome midnight snack on what was clearly a wide and crazy night.

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The combination of apple and zucchini is one of my favorites.

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I can’t wait to have one of these for breakfast.

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Okay, fine. I’ll be eating two.

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Enjoy!

{ 9 comments }

Cooking with Clare {Naan}

by Lisa on June 2, 2011

As a monthly feature on The Splattered Apron, my friend Amadie and her daughter Clare post about cooking together. Cooking with your children is a great way to get them interested in food, where it comes from and why we need it. I’ve also read that if your child is involved in creating a meal, they will be much more likely to eat it—even if it has vegetables! I can’t wait to be able to cook with my kids. Take it away, Amadie and Clare!

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Cooking with a kid requires many things — patience, a sense of humor, the willingness to overlook spills and messes — but most of all, it requires a plan. That can be particularly challenging for me, because I am very much an improviser in the kitchen. However, Clare wants to cook, and I want her to have the experience of working with fresh ingredients and understanding the transformation of ingredients to food. One way I do that is by trying to recreate recipes of packaged or restaurant food she has tried and really liked. That is why, for this blog post we decided to try making…well, I’ll let her tell you about it.

Hi! Clare here. This time we made naan, it is a type of bread. We chose naan because one time, we were eating dinner and we got naan! I loved it so much, that my mom suggested that we should do it for our blog. I loved making naan! I even got to flatten them with a rolling pin! I made the last naan shaped like a heart! We were grilling them on the outside grill. It was so fun! But unfortunately, it started to rain hard and we had to go inside )-:

In the times I had made naan previously, I learned that it is really a two-person effort. It takes one person to roll out the individual portions of dough and another to cook them because the cooking time is so short. Other than that, it is a very easy and kid-friendly recipe to make.

We used this recipe that we found at AllRecipes (minus the garlic, but I think I’m going to try adding it in next time). It starts with one cup of warm water, to which you add a .25 oz package of active dry yeast. Let it sit for 10 minutes to activate the yeast.

Then, add in the sugar, salt, milk (which I might try replacing with yogurt in the future to see how that works), egg and flour.

Knead this mixture for about 6-8 minutes until it is smooth and elastic and shaped sort of like a ball. Place the dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray, cover it with a damp cloth and set it aside to rise for an hour.

After the first rise, the dough should be about double the original size.

Punch it down, divide it into individual golf ball sized portions and place them on a baking sheet. Let them rise for another 30 minutes.

While the dough is rising, heat the grill and oil the grate. After the 30 minutes is up, roll out the dough into 5 or 6 inch circles and place them directly on the grate to cook.

It works best if you have one person rolling and the other person at the grill.

Cook for about 3 minutes on one side, flip it over, brush the cooked side with some melted butter, and cook for another 3 minutes.

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They’re best eaten fresh, so be sure you have a hungry family or friends over to enjoy this tasty treat!

{ 3 comments }

Baked {Zucchini Walnut Bread}

by Lisa on May 25, 2011

I have always loved zucchini. I loved it even as a kid and I was kind of a picky eater. I remember my mom would make delicious zucchini pancakes, so when I saw this recipe a few years ago in Food and Wine magazine, I had to give it a try. I’ve altered it slightly to add more zucchini and flaxseed.

This was my donation to Carrots ‘n’ Cake’s blog bake sale a week ago and I am thrilled that this loaf raised $40 for Team for Kids. Melany, I hope you enjoy your bread!

{Zucchini Walnut Bread}

Ingredients

1 cup walnut halves
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup ground flaxseeds or flaxseed meal
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt
2 cups coarsely grated zucchini {1 large or about 2 small}

Method:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Spread out the walnuts in an even layer on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 8 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer to cool.

Prep a 9×4.5 metal loaf pan with butter and flour, then prepare the rest of your ingredients.

Grate the zucchini, chop the walnuts {once they’re cooled} whisk all of the dry ingredients together {flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and ground flaxseeds} in one bowl. In another, combine the wet ingredients {sugar, Greek yogurt, oil and eggs}.

Mix everything together in the largest bowl until it is all evenly combined, then spread in the loaf pan.

Put this in the oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes. When a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, the bread is ready.

Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing it to cool on a rack.

Wrapped tightly in plastic, this loaf will keep for 4 days at room temperature. If it will last that long.

It can also be wrapped tightly in plastic and foil and frozen for up to 1 month.

I didn’t cut into this loaf since I had to send it on its way to North Carolina, but I took this picture when I made this bread last year.

I love that this is packed with nutrition and tastes great. The yogurt keeps the bread moist while the walnuts and flaxseed give it that extra punch of nutty flavor. One loaf doesn’t last more than a few days in our house.

{These nutrition facts are based on getting 14 slices out of this loaf.}

Enjoy!

Do you have a savory ingredient you like to put into baked goods? Share in the comments!

{ 1 comment }

Brunch {Challah French Toast & Bourbon Bananas}

by Lisa on March 30, 2011

I made a lot of brunch dishes this weekend. Can you tell? I don’t remember the first time I had French toast using challah bread, but I know that I loved it. Months ago when my friends and family were in town for my bridal shower and bachelorette party, I made this for them the next morning. And trust me when I say, I was in no shape to be cooking, but I am nothing if not a good hostess and I wanted to give my guests a delicious meal before they went home.

Luckily, I was able to recreate this a few times and now have a recipe that I love. Plus who doesn’t love adding bananas with some bourbon to breakfast? Not drinking really hasn’t been that difficult for me, but I did enjoy the flavor of bourbon on Sunday morning.

Ingredients:

1 loaf of challah bread
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk {I use 1%}
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2-3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:

Slice the challah into approximately 1 inch slices.

In a shallow bowl, whisk together the rest of the ingredients.

{I whisked the mixture a few times throughout the process to keep it well combined.}

Place 2 pieces of bread, or as many as can fit in your bowl, into the mixture to soak, turning once. Feel free to push down on the bread a little to make it absorb more of the egg mixture.

While the bread is soaking, heat a skillet or a griddle pan. Be sure to use some butter or cooking spray so the bread doesn’t stick. Shake off the excess egg mixture and place the soaked slices on the griddle.

Leave for 3-4 minutes, until one side is golden brown, then flip!

Continue this process with each piece of bread. Place a cookie sheet or an oven proof plate in a 200 degree oven and put the French toast in the oven after it cooks to keep it warm. This recipe was just enough to cover all of the bread, but I was wiping the bowl clean with the last piece! If I had used an additional egg there probably would have been too much.

While your toast is cooking, assemble the Breakfast Bananas “Foster”.

Ingredients: