By Khaula Siddique

So it’s that time of year again when ( if you have kids) you somehow end up with pumpkins. I am the lucky recipient of three fine (and free woot!!) manageable-sized pumpkins. They sat on my doorstep to welcome in the Fall and now they have come in. To be slaughtered, mashed and exposed to extremely high temperatures. For thus is the life of the noble orange pumpkin. To sacrifice itself for our gastronomical pursuits. Without further ado, I give you all le recipe. 

Ingredients:

  • One small pumpkin.
  • 4 eggs
  • 2/3 cup of water
  • 1 cup of vegetable oil
  • 3 cups of raw sugar (demerara)
  • 3 ½ cups of whole wheat flour (or a mix of white and whole wheat – I do both ways and they both turn out fine)
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 ½ half teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ or 1 teaspoon depending on your taste ( I use half a teaspoon) of ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger (dry)
  • Chopped walnuts ( or pecans-as many as you like- the more the merrier!)

Steps: 

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 F

  2. Wash your adorable little pumpkin. Take a huge knife and cut it in half, clean out all the seeds. After you have dried your tears, stick your pumpkin halves facing down on a baking sheet or foil tray and bake them till very soft.

  3. I clean the seeds, sprinkle them with salt and bake those as well, they are good to munch on!

  4. When a knife goes in very easily you know your pumpkin is done. It usually takes about an hour or hour and a half, depending on the size of the pumpkin.

  5. Scoop out the pulp. Mash it all up well. This should make about two cups of pumpkin puree. You can use 1 ½ to 2 cups depending on your taste. Mine ended up just a little less than two cups so I dumped all that orange gooeyness right in.

  6. In a large bowl mix the puree with eggs, water, oil and sugar. In another bowl mix all the dry ingredients.

  7. Stir your dry ingredients into the pumpkin mix. Pour into two 9 X 3 inch greased loaf pans (or whatever size you have). You may need to use three loaf pans if your pans are small.

  8. Bake at 350 F for about an hour. Keep checking! When your knife comes out clean your glorious pumpkin bread is done. Enjoy!!

If you try this recipe, please be sure to share your thoughts, questions, or suggestions!

About the Author:

Khaula Siddique, artist at Khaula’s Art, has written for Dawn Pakistan and now paints stories on large walls. She loves bringing art to the community and achieves this through interactive art activities and public art projects. When she is not painting, she is over-indulging her large eccentric orange tabby who part-times as her critic and her muse. You can find her art shenanigans on her website, Khaula Siddique.com.