(Above sketch in inks with Lexington Grey diluted used for shadows.)

I was doing my own studio things and decided to surprise Mitchell with Pumpkin Bread.
I have many of my mom’s things in the studio — I just went through all her boxes —
and we are leaving many cooking things out so we don’t have to bring them
in when we want to prepare a party or lunches.  How nice!

This was an old recipe from Lou Grant out of Bon Appetit 11/1977,
one mom tore out and put into her favorite recipe books.
I began to think about what I wanted to do differently — I wa clearly going to mess with it.
As I thought to do this, I heard my mom loud and clear saying,
“Don’t mess with the baking recipes until you’ve tried it!”

Of course, now I know that it doesn’t make any difference
because I am not a good enough baker to know what I can change based
on how it feels and tastes in my mouth — I should say feels,
because my flavors are wonderful.  But I don’t bake often.

Anyway, I messed with it… doubled it — and heard mom saying that
“You can’t double all recipes”, but I thought that this one was probably okay.  It was!

This is the doubled recipe for
Lou Grant’s Messed With Pun’kin Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease the two loaf pans with butter.

2/3 c softened butter
2 2/3 c brown (not white as it stated) sugar
Cream and set aside.

4 eggs, beaten
1/2 c water
1 1/2 c canned pumpkin (added 1/2 c to get 1 1/2)
In second mixing bowl, combine and set aside.
Add the creamed butter-sugar…

2 1/3 c All Purpose Flour (which it did not call for but I had that)
2 t baking soda
1 t salt (less salt in mine than called for, which was 1 1/2 t)
1 t baking powder
HEAPING t cinnamon (close to 2 t they called for 1)
HEAPING t powdered ginger (they did not call for at all)
1 t cloves — LEFT OUT!
Sift the dry ingredients together (don’t have mom’s sifter so didn’t) and add into the wet bowl at about  a heaping cup… my rules.  Stir well each time, duh.

1 1/2 c walnuts (doubled because everything is better with nuts; forgot to chop oh well)
1 1/2 c dried sweetened cranberries, they wanted less and raisins, but yum)
raw pumpkin seeds
Obviously add them walnuts and cranberries, stir!  Divide into the two loaves and sprinkle the tops with the raw pumpkin seeds.  They are so yummy… I grew up eating pepitas by the handful!  Bake 55-60 minutes.
I had to cook them in our small oven for the full 60 minutes.

They tell you to wait until the next day to slice and it also freezes well. HAHAHAHAHAAAAAA no way!
Maybe the second loaf will make it!

Izzee has just made a leap to being a non-biting snuggle cat…
for the longest time she constantly nibbled on everyone and everything!
Now she follows me around, getting underfoot, at desk, at computer, in the galley.
She helped, especially when it came out of the oven.
She smelled that bread and did a 180 and to see what that smell was!

In keeping with my sketch every dang day I used the image to sketch it.
The bread just went too fast; that’s a compliment to the cook!

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