Pear Studded Pumpkin Bread

I spent the day roasting pumpkin and making puree.  If you haven't done it yourself, this is the year you must!  It's practically effortless, and much, much less expensive than buying the prepared solid packed pumpkin in the stores; I picked up pie pumpkins as the farmer's market for 75 cents each.  Use homemade puree the same as you would the canned puree.

To make your own puree, simply cut your pie pumpkin in half, and scoop out the pulp and seeds (save the seeds for roasting later). Cut each half into 2 chunks (now you have 4 pieces per pumpkin),  place the quarters in a roasting pan, cover with foil, and bake at 325F for about 45 minutes (or until tender).  Remove the pumpkin meat from the shell with a spoon, place it in a food processor and puree.  It's as easy as that.  I freeze mine in 1 and 2 cup portions.

Along with pancakes, waffles, muffins, pies, and soups, homemade pumpkin puree works beautifully in this healthy, hearty, breakfast-worthy quick bread. The bread remains moist because of the pumpkin and the fresh pears.  The sweetness comes from the pears and raw honey, but if you want your bread a little sweeter, you can safely add another 1/4 c honey without compromising the loaf.  Personally, I find it sweet enough (especially once the bread is cooled completely), but often, when people go from white flour and white sugar to whole grain flour and natural sweeteners, they get discouraged because the sweetness is more subtle than it is with refined sugars.  If this is you, I'd like you not to be discouraged, so go ahead and add the extra 1/4 cup of honey.  If this is not you, and your taste buds are already used to the difference, keep the measurements just how they are.

Pear Studded Pumpkin Bread
makes 1 loaf

• 1 3/4 c whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp aluminum free baking powder, such as Rumford
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 c pumpkin puree
• 1/2 c raw honey
• 1/4 c oil (coconut, olive, canola, butter, etc...)
• 3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract, such as Simply Organic Pure Vanilla Extract, or homemade
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 medium pears, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 c walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.  Oil and flour an 8x4 loaf pan.

With a paper towel or pastry brush, smear the oil or butter all over the inside of the pan

Add about 1 Tbs flour to pan and shake it around until it coats the oil; discard any loose flour

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, honey, oil (be sure to warm your oil to a liquid state if using butter or coconut), vanilla, and egg until well combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until combined (batter will be thick).

Fold in the nuts and pears.

Spread into prepared baking pan.

Bake 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes.  Run a butter knife around the edges and carefully turn the bread out onto a cooling rack and cool completely before cutting.