ROUND!

dudes,
who says pumpkin bread has to be in a loaf?
not ME, that's for sure.
i mean,
why not a sexy round one?
y'know, like cornbread wedges, but made from expert autumnal ingredients.
that's what i wanted,
and that's exxxactky what i set my sights on accomplishing.
uh-huh.
one greased and floured 9" springform pan later,
i had something worth eating sitting right here in the Folk Life & Liberty Fortress.
yup.
right on the counter, cooling off, after a touch-and-go estimation
of likely baking times and temperatures.
neighbors,
i'll tell you all about it,
but before all that,
y'gotta peep the art-shot food-head hottness i'm representing-
teleport:

C'MON!!
with the fern and sh!t??
hahaha.
i like the nicey-nice these days,
and i'm utilizing these lovely leaves,
before the glorious lapse into comatose indifference envelops this whole region.
i'm just sayin', there's a LOT of grayness coming our way,
but first, we get the chloropyllic fireworks as a suitable sight-symphonic send-off.
personally,
i just see more yard work looming on the horizon,
but i'm just sort of like that.
so,
i've been out walking crabtree,
and collecting little samples of the woodsly goodness
for use in taking pictures of food.
mmmhmmmm.
if i'm curating my own collection of memories, why would i want ugly ones?
real talk.
...
ANYway,
pumpkin bread. like banana bread, but better.
and this one has toasted pumplestiltskin seeds throughOUT the whole dang thing.
expert.
and guys,
i even used three kinds of flour.
that's right.
if i'm gonna freak it off, i'm gonna freak it off properly.
i got those heirloom spelt jauns.
plus the bulk and burliness of whole and ground oatmeal.
and all-purpz, of course, to fill in all the blanks in between the butterish and sugar.
would you like to know more?
ok.
here's how it goes:
-
1 stick of butts
1 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
^creamed, and whisked together with:
1 cup of pumpkin
1 cup of unsweetened coconut-based yogurt
and a healthy heavy dousing of cinnamon,
and a much lighter little pinch of nutmeg
^when that's all set, you add in the dry bits:
1 1/4 cups white flour
1 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup ground oats
one BIG strong handful of rolled oats
(if you have off-puttingly small hands, maybe use two of your weak handfuls)
1.5 tsp baking kapow
1 tsp bakey soda
1 cup buttery pan-toasted pumpkin seeds.
^ i gave 'em a splash of vanilla, and a little sugar, too,
for caramelized superior taste and texture,
but you could use raw babies if you were lazy, or preferred worse flavors.
i reserved some for the top, and i added some oats, too, to make it pretty.
then,
just to be sure it had the appropriate level of hottness,
AND that it followed the rules-
i.e. too much is the right amount;
i also hit it with raw sugar sprankles prior to entering it into the oven
i started out baking at 375F,
but,
after 33 minutes, the center was still shaky,
no worries, my dudes-
i turned on the convection, and kicked up the heat another 11 degrees.
(ok, it was only ten, but i mean, take it easy, sticklers)
i don't get bummed out about baking.
i really reaaaalllllly like it, actually.
mostly because i'm making it up as i go,
and then, also, i get to show-and-prove the results.
everybody wins,
or,
nobody wins, but everybody gets pumpkin bread.
i guess that's good, too.
*
i get one day off.
yeah, it's by choice-
yet, the choices are work all there is to work,
or cut myself some much smaller movie checks.
i don't want less of that,
which makes the choice an obvious one-
now,
i've got a week's worth of sh!t to squeeze into one free aternoon,
and as such,
i was up and at it at 4:30a.m. prepping for a big day.
what do we do at that unearthly hour?
we make.
and we bake.
and we try not to break.
what am i making?
how about tahini oatmeal chocolate chip cookies?
check.
two loaves of sourdough bulking on the counter?
check.
potatoes in the oven, for big breakfast magic?
check.
pastry dough cold-coolin' in the chillbox?
wordimus prime.
when the day starts in earnest,
and the retail world pens it's doors-
i'll be hallowe'en costume material searching,
and deep-dish pizza indulging,
and generally spending time and energy and money on making sure that
the day is a rad one.
i mean, rules is rules,
and as always, the prime directive is clear:
just be dope, or F* right off.
i don't have time to F* off.
therefore,
today has to be the day,
just like every other day;
never quiet, never soft......