Fall in Love... with Autumn! It's Pumpkin Time!

During the Autumn months you will generally find me stuffing my face silly with all things pumpkin - seeds, lattes, pies and my personal favorite, bread! Here's a flawless recipe adapted from my favorite Food Network chef, Alton Brown. I swapped out the pumpkin seeds for pistachios and added a salty, buttery twist to this already excellent loaf! Plus, I opted out of the weird canned stuff and shredded a pumpkin myself. Trust me, it makes ALL the difference.

Shredding a pumpkin is a remarkably easy thing to do. Here's how:

• Slice the pumpkin in half (do this carefully, pumpkins can be very tough to slice).
• Scoop out the seeds - they taste great roasted with a little butter and salt!
• Using a vegetable peeler, carefully peel the thin orange layer of the pumpkin. You'll be pleasantly surprised to learn pumpkins have a orangey-beige color to them. 
• Once the peel is removed, slice them into large pieces and toss them into a food processor or grate on a box grater.

Adapted from Food Network's Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups shredded fresh pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons crushed pistachios 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Combine both mixtures and fold in the shredded pumpkin and pumpkin seeds. Once the ingredients are all incorporated pour into a non- stick 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. If your pan is not non- stick spray it with a non-stick cooking spray (ahem, rhymes with ham).
4. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. At this point a knife inserted into the middle of the loaf should come out clean. Cool for 15 minutes and turn out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely.  

Slice and devour!

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