One day I hope to be a good cook.
I’m talking about the kind of woman you know and admire from afar. Crisp white apron, flour scattered on her chin, smile on her face, utensils in order, the most incredible smells coming from her kitchen and not a cook book in sight. When you ask a good cook for a recipe for one of their delicious concoctions, they look at you with an expression of bewilderment. They have no idea how to explain the breakdown of measurements they used. They didn’t add a cup of this or a teaspoon of that. They just “knew” when enough was enough.
Ahhh yes. That is a real cook and one day I hope to be one.
Like my mother, aunts and mother in law.
Until then, I’ll use my trusty recipes.
So I thought – for all of us ‘non’ cooks – trying to navigate the holiday season with some dignity, it might be nice for us to share some new recipes to surprise our friends and families with. To make them think we got “good” since Christmas 2008. I’ll go first. This is the recipe for my mother’s famous Pumpkin Bread. It’s a legend in my family and with tons of friends. It’s bread but tastes like cake. SO GOOD. We beg for it every chance we get. (For the record, it freezes wonderfully.)
Lois’ Pumpkin Bread
2 cups Pumpkin (1 15oz can will do)
1 cup oil
3 cups of sugar
4 eggs
3 1/4 c flour (I have substituted freshly ground wheat for white and it works wonderfully)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp clove powder
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
Stir dry ingredients together. Then, mix pumpkin, oil, sugar, and beaten eggs in another bowl. Add wet to dry and stir. This will make about 2 dozen muffins or 2 loaves. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes for muffins and 45 minutes for loaves. I think that it really takes more time than this but this is what I set my timer for before I start sticking the bread with a toothpick checking for doneness. One of these days I’ll figure out exactly how long this takes in my oven 🙂
Ok. I’m sitting on the edge of my seat to see what recipe you’ll send in. Just put your recipe in the comments below. My holiday meals are depending on you.
From a “good” cook in the making,
Priscilla
