Mrs. B. Brews Up…. Prosperity Pumpkin Bread

October is definitely the month where I start baking again. Some days are still warm, but other days I can turn the oven on without worrying about making the house unbearable. October is also when I start anticipating foods made with pumpkin and spices. Yum!

This pumpkin bread is, on it’s own, a really good recipe. It’s the kind of pumpkin bread that is really dense and rich, and you just need a thin slice. It’s also so full of flavor!

However, any kitchen witch worth her salt knows that a recipe doesn’t have to be just a recipe. It can be a way to infuse your food with your intentions. To send out your wishes to whoever is listening, and hope that they take notice.

This pumpkin bread is bases on traditional foods for prosperity. While you whip it up, concentrate on your wishes for a new job, a raise, or some sort of “found” money (but remember, you still have to do your part for it!).

Lets look at the ingredients:

Canned pumpkin, eggs, flour, sugar, walnuts, butter, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger (not shown), dried fruit bits, vanila (not shown).

First things first. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To a large bowl add 2 cups canned pumpkin, for abundance (NOT pumpkin pie mix); 1 cup melted butter, for prosperity; 3/4 cup water, for prosperity and purification; 1 tsp of vanilla, for happiness;  and 4 eggs, slightly beaten, for rejuvenation.  Give it all a good stir with a whisk. And don’t forget to concentrate on your prosperity wishes!

In another bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: 3 2/3 cup flour, for abundance and prosperity; 2 1/4 cup sugar, 1 1/2 tsp salt, for prosperity; 1 1/2 tsp nutmeg, for luck and anti-hunger; 2 tsp cinnamon, for success and luck; 1/2 tsp ginger, for luck; and 2 tsp baking soda, to remove negative energy.
Pour the dry ingredients, a little at a time, into the wet ingredients, stirring after each addition. (Are you still concentrating?) Now is a good time to employ some help, as the mix gets really stiff.

Of course the help isn’t always that thrilled to be helping, lol.

Once all of the flour mix is incorporated into the wet ingredients, add 1 cup chopped walnuts, for increased earnings/getting a raise and 1 cup dried fruit and mix well.

Now here is where I like to mix it up a bit. A lot of pumpkin breads will just call for raisins. I like raisins okay, but I like to keep a bag of mixed dried fruits on hand. You can get all sorts of mixed dried fruit bits, in organic, sugar free, etc. I happen to like the plain old Sun Maid mixed fruit bits. They contain raisins (for wisdom and longevity), apricots (for energy), apples (for love), peaches (for happiness), plums ( to bring happy surprises), and cherries (chase away depression and brings happiness). Now that’s a powerful bag of fruit! It covers just about anything you could need for a recipe.

By now you should be able to tell how good this is going to be by the smell. Mmmmm!

Dig out your loaf pan. Usually, I would just whip out the non-stick cooking spray. But for a prosperity bread, I go back to the old fashioned grease and flour. Greasing the pan is symbolic of greasing the wheels of change.

Before I flour the pan, I mix a little flour with cinnamon to use for this. Not only does it darken the flour, so you don’t have a white powdery outside, but it adds even more luck to your bread.

Make sure the pan is thoroughly coated,

Then scrape the pumpkin mix into the pan.

Tap the pan down on the counter a couple of times to flatten the top and release any big pockets of air that can cause holes in your bread. Now off into the oven! This bread will take between 1 hour and 1 1/2 hours, depending on your oven heat. It’s done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean.

Oh, yeah, look at that! I wish you could smell how wonderful this is! Very good stuff! If you try it, let me know how you like it!

Mrs. B.’s Prosperity Pumpkin Bread

2 cups canned pumpkin (not pie mix)
1 cup melted butter
3/4 cup water
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
3 2/3 cup flour
2 1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1 cup dried fruit (mixed or of your choice)
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Blend well with a whisk: pumpkin, butter, water, eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, a little at a time, mixing after each addition.

Add dried fruit and nuts; mix well.

Grease and flour a loaf pan. Add pumpkin mix to pan. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes, or until a pick inserted into center comes out with just a few clinging crumbs. and top is golden brown.