Friday Food for Thought—Blueberry Pumpkin Loaf

One year my husband came home with a dozen pumpkins and carved them into jack-o-lanterns for Hallowe'en. Instead of tossing the seeds into the garbage—and there were a lot of seeds—he put them in the compost bin. In the spring he worked some compost into our flower beds and—you guessed it—we had pumpkins everywhere!

Okay, now for the recipe. If you made your own pumpkin puree for last week’s pie, here’s a great way to use the leftovers.

2 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup shortening
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups pumpkin puree
2/3 cups water
3 1/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups fresh blueberries (if frozen, thaw first)

This recipe makes two loaves.

Blend the sugar and shortening. Stir in the eggs, then the pumpkin and water. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices. Fold the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture. Gently stir in the blueberries.

Pour the batter into two greased and lightly floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour and fifteen minutes. Let the loaves cool in the pans for about ten minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.

Not into baking? Try this instead.


Enjoy!

Until next time,
Lee