Waiting out the storm....

 Well, I never thought living in Northeast Ohio that I'd be waiting out a hurricane, but, Sandy is on her way across the East coast, and her winds are hitting us hard!
I have spent the day frantically running around, trying to squeeze in as much laundry in our just-installed-last-night-washing machine as possible, as well as filling up pitchers and jugs full of water, just in case the power goes out.

Once all the water jugs were full, and the last load
was in the washer, we ate an awesome dinner, and realized half way through that were going to have TONS of spaghetti left over, so we called my parents and invited them down to finish the rest of it. (Leftovers don't often do well at our house. They get shoved into that dark, forgotten corner of the refrigerator and accumulate mold, so if we have a lot, we usually try and share with my parents, since they live right next door.)
There's something about having company for dinner on a cold and rainy day that makes me want to bake, and today was no exception, so what did I do after we cleared the table? Threw together a big ol' loaf of pumpkin bread.
I've probably baked 10 loaves of this stuff since September 1st. I am obsessed with it. This year was the first time I ever attempted it, and let me tell you, it will be a tradition from now on. It's perfect straight out of the oven, with a little bit of ice cream as a dessert, or the next day (and the next) with a cup of coffee for breakfast. And everybody loves pumpkin! (or they hate it, and that...is very sad.)
So tonight, on this gusty, rainy, cold evening, I shall share my super secret pumpkin bread recipe with you that you absolutely could not have found on simplyrecipes.com....

Firstly,pre heat the old oven to 350 degrees. Then, gather all your ingredients. You will need:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 water
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 really cute little girl (or boy) to help out.
(The recipe also calls for 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, but I never have nuts on hand, so I never make this loaf with nuts. You could also add chocolate chips for an even sweeter take on this loaf, if you want)

Mix together all the dry ingredients. Sing a song whilst doing so. This adds extra magical flavor!Then add eggs, olive oil, water, and pumpkin puree. Take a deep breath in and smell those spices!

 Mix all ingredients together!
Now, take your 9x5x3 loaf/bread/whatever the heck it is pan, and spray it with non-stick cooking spray or butter it to help prevent the loaf from sticking to the pan.
Pour your bowl full of awesomeness into the bread/loaf pan, and stick that puppy into the oven!
You'll want to bake it for about an hour. I usually set the timer for about 50 minutes and check it with a knife or fork to test for done-ness. (If the knife comes out gooey, bake for another 5-10 minutes, if it comes out clean, it's done!)
Now, we wait!
And what do we do while we wait?

Light a delicious smelling candle to alert everyone in the house that you're baking something! Hey, it's gonna be a while until we can smell what we're baking, so why not speed the process along with a decoy smell? 

Start the pellet stove! A cozy fire on a crappy, cold night is never a bad idea!
Dance! Entertain your guests as they await the yumminess in the oven!
Brew a big pot of coffee for everyone. This step is NOT optional. You must brew coffee or at least heat a kettle on the stove for tea to enjoy with the pumpkin loaf. Caffeine is never optional for me. (obviously...)

 Stare at the loaf baking in the oven. Drool over it. Imagine how awesome it's going to taste.
Wish you had a time machine to go forward in time another 30 minutes to when it will be done.
 Ponder time travel and worm holes.

Look up Hurricane Sandy memes online. Try and explain what a meme is to your 62 year old father. 

And FINALLY, after a long time of waiting.....



Pull that baby outta the oven! Wait about 2 minutes, and flip the loaf out of the pan onto a rack or plate, or whatever you want to let it cool. Or don't let it cool and eat it right away. The choice is yours!
(Due to my impatience with this particular loaf, I took it out of the oven a little too soon, and when I flipped it out, the top came out and the bottom stuck to the pan, and well, lets just say it turned into more of a "pumpkin bread pile" and less of a "loaf", hence the reason I don't have a finished product picture to share with you. The way it looks is neither here nor there. It's allll about the way it tastes. And this one? WINNER!)
We paired our pumpkin loaf/mess with caramel heath frozen yogurt and coffee. It was yum!

So, if Sandy doesn't rain on your parade and knock your power out, you can give this a try!
Until next time, stay dry, safe, and full of yummy foods! 
~Marinda