Fall on the Farm

The days are getting shorter, the nights colder, and the trees more colorful. I used to dislike Fall because it meant Winter was coming, but I am enjoying Fall in the mountains and trying not to think too much about Winter. I had a busy week for work with a couple large orders and subsequently we neglected to get our heater hooked up before we had a couple of freezing nights. Waking up in the morning in a 40 degree house is not fun.

There was frost on the ground and on the cars that morning. We brought in the extra heat lamp we used for the chicks and hung it in the doorway between the living room and kids’ room. HS watched TV from his top bunk while wrapped in a quilt while TS worked on the heater.

I decided to bake something so I’d have a reason to have the oven on. I also did some laundry so I could run the dryer! It was SO cold! Here’s the recipe for the dairy-free pumpkin bread we made. It’s also soy-free.

Dairy-Free Pumpkin Bread Recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups sugar (The recipe I modified said 2 cups, but I used a bit less.)
3/4 cup butter (Here is where I substituted – I used a combination of soy-free shortening, Earth Balance soy-free dairy-free spread, and a bit of coconut oil. You could use any of the three or a combination like I did.)
2 large eggs (as fresh as possible!)
1 15oz can of 100% pure pumpkin (I think fresh pumpkin would be better, but I didn’t have any on hand.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two loaf pans. Combine all dry ingredients and set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat butter substitute and sugar until blended. Add the eggs and continue beating until fluffy. Add the pumpkin next and beat til blended. Add the dry ingredient mix and beat til combined. Pour into prepared pans and bake 65-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Mine took a little longer to cook because we are at high altitude. (Yes, high-altitude cooking is a real thing!) Let cool about 10 minutes in the pan and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. YUM!