Indian Summer, the perfect time for this wonderfully yummy Pumpkin Bread.

As the leaves start to turn they signal the beginning of the harvest and holiday season. Every fall the harvest season brings seasonal foods, traditional scents, aromas, spices and flavors that help to bring the end of summer. This is the time of year when we start thinking about soups and specialty breads as we start planning for the holiday season ahead.

Winter Squashes and pumpkins are abundant and compatible with some of the season’s most aromatic and tasty herbs and spices. Spices like cloves, ginger and cinnamon add the aroma of fall to my kitchen and crisp apples, hot cider and pumpkin add new meaning to the term “comfort food.”

Many fall favorites are as easy to prepare as they are tempting to eat and this Pumpkin Bread is one of them. It’s moist, tasty and gluten-free. 
Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup apple sauce

3 cups white sugar

2 cups Buckwheat Flour

1 cup Soy Flour

½ cup Brown Rice Flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1t Xanthum gum

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F . Grease loaf pans.

-In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended.

-In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.

-Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.

-Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Get better taste and nutrition by using fresh pumpkin in your bread.

-To make your own homemade pumpkin purée, cut a small pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and strings.

-Lay the halves facedown on a foil- or parchment-lined baking sheet.

-Bake them at 350°F until soft, about 45 min to an hour.

You can also cut your pumpkin into pieces and roast or boil them until tender. This makes removing the skin much easier. Cool the squash, scoop out the flesh, and mash it with a fork. Freeze whatever squash you don't use and throw the rinds away (or into your compost pile).

No pumpkin? Try this recipe with sweet potatoes, instead. You can also use butternut or acorn squash.