FFF-Inspired Pumpkin-Carrot-Cake-Bread

Again, thank you so much for the great comments and advice on my dealing with failure post, and also for the shares about 'home-alone' time.

I didn't grow up with pumpkin. Halloween wasn't much of a holiday where I grew up, although I do remember reading a picture book about it at a friend's house, but I only remember that because the text was all rhymed and so stuck in my head ("sister's a witch all dressed in black/brother wears bones, front and back/I'm a ghost with no face/in an old pillowcase").

They didn't even have winter squash at the stores in England when I was a kid, let alone jack o'lanterns, but they do now. In Israel, there was pumpkin in the fall and my grandmother would make it as a side dish, steamed, gloopy, unseasoned, never very appealing (I wonder about that: she is an incredible cook and that's the only thing of hers I never liked--must have been some sort of traditional dish).

Over the past decade, I've come to appreciate pumpkin (and squash in general) for its versatility, working well both as a main course and a dessert vehicle; for its heartiness and nutrient-density while being very low in calories; for its usefulness in vegan and gluten free baking; for its distinctive flavor that still manages to carry other flavors beautifully.

I last wrote about pumpkin as the key ingredient in chocolate mousse (in place of tofu, avocado, etc) in my review of Peggy Kotsopoulos' Must Have Been Something I Ate. I haven't used it since then--I probably prefer sweet potatoes overall, even though they're more caloric. But having pretty much yammed myself out (here, for example), and with the season upon us, it felt like time.

And then I saw Tina's Pumpkin Carrot Cake Bread and was thoroughly intrigued that something could be both pumpkin and carrot, both cake and bread--two delightful pairings delightfully conjoined--and I knew that I had to make a gluten free and vegan version.

 So, I proceeded to do so! At the same time (but at the opposite end of the cabin) I made a regular version for Phil. He gladly ate a big slice and took the rest for journey food.

I also made this version low-sugar.
Here it is--Pumpkin Carrot Cake Bread with thanks to Tina; vegan gluten free, low sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix together dry ingredients:
3/4 cup quinoa flour (I ground quinoa grain freshly)
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup potato starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a separate bowl, mix together wet ingredients:
1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon flax mixed with 1/4 cup water
1/4 cup xylitol
1/4 cup molasses

Combine dry and wet ingredients and stir in:
1 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup goji berries (or whatever you prefer--for Phil's, I omitted the gojis and added pumpkin seeds)

Bake for 25 minutes.

Baking is tricky here, since all I have is a toaster oven. At that time and temperature, the breads were just starting to burn on the top and were still doughy in the middle. Luckily, doughy in the middle is exactly how Phil prefers them and in a regular oven, I think this would have been perfect.

Oh, and I thought it was delicious, too. It's very moist and toothsome and spicy, but holds together well. I love how the pieces of carrot have retained some crunch and texture, not mushed completely. Carrots are definitely one of my favorite foods and were a huge selling point in this recipe. Minus the baking soda, I think this would be a great dehydrator bar recipe also.

Do you tweak recipes from cake into bread into bar, from smoothie into mousse into pie?

Kitchen Creation Update and 'Lori-Rocked Banana Bread'

Thanks for all the love on the carrot coconut bars. They really are good: I've already made a second batch, and left it out in the sunny window to dry for longer storage. They're much nicer when moist and soft, but still good at a drier and chewier point.


Kitchen Creation Update
Remember this "toss it in there and shut the door" space?

Now, it's looking like this:

 Here's the south wall (counter still needs quite some work)

 Since I took that photo, I also built the drawers for the cabinet on the right of the pic. "Built the drawers"--sounds so nonchalant and easeful, but once again, it's an IKEA item, and mostly just snapped together (although I did 'snap' a fair chunk out of the pad of a finger when I pinched it in a snappy spot).

We found some shelving at Home Depot that juuust fits inside the closet, now pantry--

 I'm so grateful to Phil's daughter and her mom for all their help and expertise: they've been making this process fun, too. We sure had a geometric dance building those two shelving units in that closet.
The pictures above show a work in progress. It's still a building site in there. I welcome the opportunity to consolidate our pantry: up till now, jars and bags have been squirreled away in all kinds of nooks, and most of the dry goods were inconveniently accessible in the low, deep cupboards under the counter in the main room.

The danger of ending up with haphazard (non)organization in the new pantry is large, as things get moved in helter skelter. I've never had the opportunity to create a kitchen as I wish it (space and geometry permitting): my kitchens have been either minimalist, non-existent (?existentialist), or scattered (sometimes across more than one homestead, back in HI). Amazing how much food prep I've done over the years despite that!

'Lori-Rocked Banana Bread'
We have dinner with Phil's daughter once a week. She does better without gluten, and I enjoy creating desserts that she'll enjoy and her tummy will too. Yesterday, we had several ripe bananas. Banana bread's a favorite with both her and Phil, and I have several go-to recipes, but I was intrigued by one Lori recently posted and ended up making (a version of) it.

 I didn't have pumpkin, so I used three bananas instead of pumpkin and bananas. I used half a cup each of mixed pecans and pumpkin seeds, protein powder and oats. And since they both love their sugar, I added two tablespoons of honey to the recipe, and two tablespoons of peanut butter just for kicks.

 It looked pretty good when it came out of the oven. I was roasting veggies and left it on top of our little oven so that it was warm until I served it.

The verdict? Here's how much was left when Phil had had his fill (yes, that pun again).

(His daughter had seconds, too.) He had fun cutting out all kinds of funny shapes, just completely vanquishing the notion of linear square pieces. So, Lori adjusted a bodyrock recipe, and then I adjusted a 'Lori-rocked' recipe with gratitude and homage.

Btw, I did use an egg for this time, but I think it would be just fine with no egg and extra banana, or with some flax meal and a tad extra liquid. Nice, flexible recipe, great texture and moisture, apparently very toothsome indeed. Definitely one I'll want to try to make when I'm done yeast cleansing and can try it myself (the list seems to be growing, but pleasantly enough, I'm not feeling at all deprived in the interim).
Thanks, Lori!

Any advice on kitchen organization strategies humbly solicited and gladly received. Please tell me your thoughts.
much love