Recipe: Fall Shepherd's Pie

Yes, it's officially cold enough for Shepherd's Pie and heaters and sweatshirts. That makes me happy. Although leaving the house for work and finding out that it's 38 degrees is a little shocking. Not in a bad way, necessarily.

So yesterday afternoon I saw this recipe for Fall Shepherd's Pie. Backing up: This year, I intend to have my first Thanksgiving Dinner. I eat other people's Thanksgiving dinners every year but have yet to make my own. I haven't made my own Thanksgiving turkey! Ever! This is not good and this year changes it all. First turkey, first Thanksgiving in our house at our dining table, not another person's house and dining table. I've been writing up menu ideas and shopping lists and I'm getting my HoneyBaked Ham ordered. I'm feeling very festive.

Anyway, I found this recipe and got very excited about it since it made me feel like Thanksgiving and football (I don't even like football) and cold air and falling leaves and cocoa and Hot Toddys. It's a seasonal twist on the classic recipe: instead of ground beef, ground turkey (you could totally use actual Thanksgiving turkey leftovers, too), cranberries and sweet potatoes. It tastes like those last few bites of Thanksgiving dinner where everything on your plate has become one and there is sweet from the potato and tart from the cranberry sauce and savory from the turkey and gravy. Yeah.

Here is the recipe from Tablespoon.com - they seem to have a thing for rainbow foods but have other non-rainbow foods, too.

I split the recipe in 1/2 because it just seemed like a lot. It still filled two medium casseroles. Quantities below are original, not halved but I've added notes about my process next to applicable ingredients or instructions.

Fall Shepherd's Pie

Preheat oven to 350

2 pounds ground turkey

3 ribs celery, chopped [I still used 3, even though I split the recipe ]

1 onion, diced small 

2 carrots, chopped [I used 3 carrots, but mine were small-ish]

2 T butter [I used 3 T]

2 T flour [again, 3 T ... when in doubt more gravy is always better!]

1 box chicken stock

1 bag frozen corn

1 bag frozen cranberries

4 sweet potatoes

1 Russet potato, though any regular 'white' potato will do [I used 2 sweet and one regular potato]

Pinch Cinnamon & Allspice

1 cup milk

1/2 stick butter

Peel and dice the potatoes. Arrange on a baking sheet and roast til tender [I just boiled them on the stove]

Meanwhile, brown the turkey in a large skillet then set aside.

In the same pan [I added a little olive oil], saute the celery, onions, and carrots. Add and melt the 2 tablespoons butter, then whisk in the flour and let it cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly so it doesn't clump.

Add the cooked turkey back into the pan, then add the stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes to thicken the gravy.

When the potatoes are tender, drain and mash them, then mix in the half stick of butter and milk. Mix in the cinnamon and allspice. [I forgot about the spices until the potatoes were already spread in the dishes, so I just sprinkled them on top of the potatoes]

Add the turkey mixture to the bottom of a casserole dish.

Next, mix together the corn and cranberries and add them on top of the turkey. [I warmed the corn and cranberries in the same pan for a few minutes before adding]

Finally, spread the mashed sweet potatoes smoothly over the top and bake at 350 for about a half hour.

When things are getting bubbly and the top is starting to brown, pull it out of the oven.

Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

I could not resist extra helpings of this! It's definitely a go-to cool weather dinner from now on. I decided to make it spur-of-the-moment but the ingredients are pretty much kitchen staples (except for the berries, but I did have a couple bags on hand) so you don't have to make a special trip to the store for this recipe.

Enjoy! And let me know if you love it, hate it or made any of your own modifications. =)

Thinking about Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of those sadly overlooked holidays.

Take my neighbor, for example. She put her Hallowen decorations up - including a lighted, inflatable Jack-O-Lantern-Scare-Crow-on-a-Harley (fact) proudly standing guard on her front lawn. She is one of 'those' people; perhaps she didn't celebrate Halloween as a kid and is making up for it now, tenfold? When I was growing up, Halloween - erm, Reformation Day - was the one night annually that we, ignoring our usual alert and vigilant crime-detterance, intentionally left our porch lights off, shut ourselves into the living room and watched 'Martin Luther' (1953).

The day after Halloween is when many people traditionally turn to Thanksgiving: planning a menu and figuring out what side of the family you will grin and bear for the day, thinking of cinnamon rolls and coffee while watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade and that lovely feeling as you realize Christmas is just around the corner. No. Not my neighbor. November 1st, I come home from work (and it's dark around 6:15pm since Daylight Savings has kicked in): her house is aglow with flickering, colorful Christmas lights, her cactus draped in a white strand, her roofline twittering in full-color, her porch festooned in strands of snowflakes. She completely skipped Thanksgiving! Who does that?


When I was a kid, Thanksgiving was a good holiday in my house. No sadly-disappointed expectations of gifts (even when we get what we want, it's not quite as electrifying as imagined; I blame Hollywood!), no decorations to tear down and if it didn't snow, you really didn't care. The food is the centerpiece on Thanksgiving. Maybe this is partially to blame for my food addiction, even now. Mom's spread was over the top and more delicious than words can convey. Hers is the best Thanksgiving meal I have ever had. What is sad though is that I haven't had it in 6 years. I really miss it.

I really miss my mom's great cooking. Her turkey and homemade turkey gravy - lots of it (I hate going to people's houses and there is one boatful of gravy for like, 10 people. Doesn't each person get their own boatful of gravy? Btw, I love that boat and gravy are friends here...mmm). Her cornbread dressing with celery and sage and lots of garlic; her wild rice dressing with mushrooms, green bean casserole (after many years, she updated the delicious traditional green bean casserole with fresh beans and carmelized onions), sweet potato casserole, jello salad (not like any jello salad you have ever had so don't judge!), corn casserole and most years canned cranberries (apparently, the comparative qualities of canned vs homemade is a topic of debate). There is something magical though about a slice of gelatinous cranberry 'sauce' on a turkey sandwich with mayo the day after Thanksgiving. Homemade is lovely, but it just doesn't compare.


I miss the warm kitchen on Thanksgiving morning and knowing mom was up early, at least for a few minutes, to put the massive bird in the oven. I miss the din of the parade and then football in the TV room, our simple table and mom's French Countryside dishes (I love how the raised sides held in our huge platefuls of food - some plates are just too flat for Thanksgiving feasting!). My dad is a piemaking pro and he would always make his famous (yes, famous) Lemon Meringue and Coconut Cream Pies. They were divine. I remember in the old house we would put them in the laundry room on top of the drier, one in a vintage Tupperware pie carrier and the other covered in a lime green plastic bowl; it was cooler in there during the winter months and kept the pies but without being too cold in the fridge (you have to respect the meringue!). Dad's homemade crust and flour on the countertop, mom's Frugal Gourmet apron, our very old carving knive buzzing over the brown turkey (all of us vying for the crunchiest pieces of skin!), casserole dishes everywhere. Good times.

However bizarre my little family is, there will never ever be a Thanksgiving that will compare until I can eat my mom's Thanksgiving dinner again.


I'm thankful this year for my good husband, our new home, our health, and the small things.

The Weekend Update

This weekend has been so lazy. I have slept entirely TOO much, but enjoyed it in the moment. This evening I have a headache though; interesting how wonderful, luxurious sleep backfires when you indulge a bit too much. The last 2 days have gone quickly, too; I guess that's another side effect of sleeping 1/2 the day. ;)

Saturday I slept in and woke up to a late breakfast and coffee. Kevin and I spent some time in the yard in the afternoon then went on a couple errands including a stop at Garden Ridge where we found a curtain rod for the new curtains I got at Target last week. We still have the white curtains up that the previous owner used but I thought something colorful would be nice. The grommet top will be easy to push them open and closed. Now I just need to get some hold backs; I'm thinking something with beads - maybe something I can make myself. =) Saturday night, I pulled out the Christmas decorations and put the tree up. I usually don't decorate til after Thanksgiving but I think I was too excited about seeing the tree in our new house for the first time. I love it! As if our living room wasn't cozy already, it's now extra cozy. Plus I acquired a few new ornaments this year and I love admiring them on the glowing branches. Of course the soft and unbreakable ornaments are on the bottom branches so my curious cats can play with the tree without breaking any of my favorites.

Kevin informed me I am no good at fluffing branches, so he decided to help me out. ;)

One of my new owl collectibles - a sparkling gold owl ornament for my tree. Isn't he handsome?? I knew he would look wonderful glowing against the lights on the tree.

Sunday I slept even later. Not surprising since we stayed up til the wee hours playing games on Saturday night. I had some Cheerios with a banana and we spent the afternoon watching 'Avengers', napping (!), and playing games together. This evening I made a big pot of sausage and vegetable soup with homemade cornbread that was the perfect dinner on a cool(ish) evening. Kevin hasn't been feeling too well and he asked for soup: the perfect feel better food! I just threw the soup together with items I had in my kitchen; here is the recipe in case anyone is interested in replicating it.

Sausage and Vegetable Soup

12 c water on high heat

Add and bring to a boil:

1/2 white onion, diced

3 ribs celery, diced

3 medium/large red potatoes, diced small

4-5 sausages - I used bratwursts, prepackaged and cut in half (I cut them into bite-sized rings before serving)

Cook this for a while until the vegetables start to soften and add:

1/2 c corn (I used frozen)

1 can butter beans, drained and rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes with liquid

5 cloves garlic, minced

Simmer everything til the vegetables are completely soft. Remove the sausages and cut into bite-sized pieces; return to the soup and turn off the heat. Leave the pot on the warm burner and add about 1/4 head of cabbage (green or red) and cover to let the cabbage wilt. I seasoned with generous pinches of Kosher salt; then added dried parsley, oregano and paprika.

Cornbread

Whisk together:

1 c cornmeal

1 c all-purpose flour

1 T baking powder

1 t salt

Then add:

1 egg

1 c milk

1/3 c vegetable oil

Mix until smooth and pour into greased 8x8 pan. Bake in preheated oven (400 degrees) for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

What a beautiful day!!

It's been really cold (in Texan terms) for over a week now - wonderful, jacket-worthy weather. But today I went outside expecting the same and found that it is a perfect, mild day. I turned the heat off and opened my kitchen windows to the light breeze and the rustling leaves. Smiley was snuffling about in the ground cover and Kevin spotted Samantha again, but only for a minute. I went out to water all our plants and got my arm wet: it helps if the hose is connected to the spigot before turning it on full blast! I tried to take a picture of Kevin in the natural light but he decided instead I should be wrestled into the ground; I'd forgotten how fun it is to roll around in the leaves.

My plants are still doing really well, though I think my Morning Glories have bloomed their last for the year. They are yellow and wilty now. My Forget Me Nots are pretty, though still not a single bloom, and my Basil is, of course, still hearty. My jalapeno and avocado seeds have sprouted. I think it's almost time for them to come inside -- I think we're going to make a spot for all of them in the garage, though I'm worried about the lack of sunshine.

There is more and more color to all the trees and plants. I've noticed another bush at the side of the yard is yellow now - it was still green just last week. And of course the crepe myrtle is stunning. I can see the tops of the trees in our neighbor's yards and across the street and they have turned as well. Such a pretty array of Fall colors.

Kevin pruned one of our plants while I caught Smiley eying the yard through the glass door - I think he wants to come outside again.

They didn't come out after all. I think something startled them back inside.

My roses bloomed again, too. I think these are about the largest roses I've seen on this plant; flawless and fragrant. Something about flowers like this make me want to pick them and put them in a vase. Although my intention would be to enjoy their beauty while it lasted, it seems more shameful and selfish than anything.

My First Rice Pilaf

My mom used to make this great rice pilaf; fluffy rice with peas and tiny shrimp and ... I'm not sure what else. But I remember my dad really liked it. He and my brother had favorite things they always requested her to make: dad had his German's Chocolate Cake for his birthday and my brother had stuffed peppers. I never had anything like that. I have never had a niche, gastronomically speaking (or otherwise). I just ... love food.

Anyway, I haven't had pilaf in forever and I decided to try some tonight with my herbed chicken. I started some chicken (boneless, skinless) in the oven after seasoning it: Kosher salt, freshly cracked pepper, (a tiny dusting of) granulated garlic, paprika and parsley with a drizzle of olive oil on top.

I guess I never thought about the 'trick' for keeping the grains of rice from gumming together in pilaf like they tend to when you just boil rice on the stove. Apparently it just takes a little time in the hot pan before adding the liquid (I used chicken broth) to sort of toast the grains. I don't make Rice-A-Roni all that often so this step isn't top of mind when it comes to preparing a rice dish. The rice turned out wonderfully: individual, fluffy grains and not a hint of gum! I am very pleased with my effort!

To start, I melted 2 tablespoons of butter and added 1/2 an onion, diced, to a warm pan over medium heat; then I added 2 ribs of diced celery and let them soften for a couple minutes. I poured in 1-1/3 cups of white rice (though I'm sure brown or Jasmine would be just as good) and let it toast for about 2 minutes, stirring to make sure all the rice had time at the bottom of the pot. Add the broth (2-1/2 cups) and 1/4 cup of golden raisins (mmm); let it steam with a lid on til all the broth is absorbed. I stirred it just a couple times because I always worry my rice is going to stick. When I boil rice the usual way, I sometimes add a drizzle of olive oil to the water which seems to help. While the rice cooked, I toasted about 1/4 cup of pine nuts in a dry saute pan (not the non-stick variety) over low heat for just a few minutes and then set them aside. Once the rice is done, add the pine nuts and a handful of course-chopped basil (fresh) and some salt and pepper. It made the perfect accompaniment to my baked chicken.

Do you know of a great pilaf? I'm always up for a new recipe. =)

New Cat on the Block

This morning I was pouring another mug of coffee (brr!) and saw out my kitchen window a cat walking on the gardening ledge on our back patio. I'd seen her a couple times before walking on our back fence, but never IN the yard, right by the house. She (I discovered later she was a she) was very comfortable and relaxed. She sat down at the corner of the ledge, by the back door, and just watched Carmen as she hissed at her from behind the glass, tail fat and bristled and ready for a fight, tiny but vicious teeth bared.

Samantha just watched curiously and didn't hiss or growl even once. I decided she looked like a Samantha - Sam for short. I took a couple pictures of her from the house and thought she might be hungry so I filled an old feeder with some water and a bit of food and slowly opened the back door, watching for Smiley or Carmen to be hot on my heels. At this point Smiley was all worked up, too; he and Carmen had been stalking each other around the living room as though they each were a foreign invader cat and they were protecting their territory.

Are you coming out or not?

I shut the door behind me and Samantha walks right up and rubs against my legs, flopping herself on the ground and rubbing her little face into the patio, her soft white belly and brown ears covered in dirt and leaves. She has a short face, not as long a snout as Smiley and Carmen; she has a shorter tail, too, more like Carmen – Smiley’s is long like a monkey’s tail. She is very friendly and seems to be comfortable with humans but doesn’t have a collar. I wonder who she belongs to and who is missing her. Hopefully she has a home; I hate for animals to be stray or orphaned and not have a consistent place to stay.

Samantha is more interested in rubbing my knee - I'm sitting crossed-legged by the door now - than in her food which I've set down beside me. I snap a couple more photos and she sniffs my basil and jalapeno sproutlings. She finally takes a few bites after thoroughly sniffing the food and the tray and my hands a few more times.

After several minutes with her and lots of petting and cooing on my part I am rather cold and go back inside. Samantha peers up at me through the widow in the door, held tilted to the left, as if to ask why I'm leaving so soon. I think how nice it must be to have a fur coat. She walks around the grass some and uses our yard as a toilet (even scraping up some leaves and grass when she's done).

She walks over to the corner of the yard and hops effortlessly onto the middle fence rail and then onto the top of the fence. She takes a few steps onto our neighbor’s fence and jumps - gone into the alley for more stray cat adventures. I just hope she remembers our yard is a friendly one and I'll always have some food for her if she comes around again.

My week in photos

I realize that I take a lot of photos. Most of them are random and sometimes superfluous. I don't really need 12 photos of my cookie baking process, for example. But I have noticed that I end up with at least one 'good' photo every day. So I thought I could (at least in very surface terms) chronicle my days and weeks in photography. Not especially fascinating, but still somewhat interesting (at least to me and my 2 blog followers ;).

Monday

I had a nice Monday overall. Spent some time discussing our office expansion with the administrative staff and started training the new temp. Kevin fell off a ladder trying to retrieve what we learned was a doll that had been thrown onto our roof over the weekend by the kids next door.

Not quite sure how this happened but it certainly didn't fail to startle me at nearly midnight, thudding onto my roof.

Tuesday

I had a gray and foggy commute this morning and a very (very) busy day at work. I think I will have very very busy days for a long time; it's just the way it seems to go this time of year, and even more so this year. We have a lot going on all at once. Kevin and I went to Chili's for dinner and then went to Aldi for some grocery shopping. We watched the latest episode of 'Dexter' before bed.

Not an unattractive downtown. And yes, I'm driving and taking photos at the same time.

Wednesday

Hump day was more than crazy. I feel sometimes it wouldn't hurt to have a cot at the office; it would make it easier to stay as late as I sometimes need to and not have to drive back and forth. It's probably *not* a good sign that I am even considering that idea though. I had lunch today with my friend Michael whose birthday is tomorrow. We had chicken and mashed potatoes and peas for dinner and I made some potato soup with the leftover mashed potatoes. I baked some sugar cookies and Kevin spent some time with a friend. I bought a few things online at Metrostyle using a great discount.

Still warm from the oven as I pour a glass of milk.

Thursday

I can't even remember what I did at work today but it was a lot! The new space downstairs is coming together well and the cubicles are set up. Now all we need to do is encourage everyone to pack before it's down to the wire. We have big red crates and dollies all over the office and huge computer carts blocking the halls. I came home this evening a tidied a little and had my good friend Bonnie over for yoga. It was enlightening and so therapeutic; we plan on doing this together a couple times a week and I'm SO excited. Oh, and my neighbor is apparently excited about Christmas; her decor went from Halloween straight to Christmas, blinky lights and all.

Friday

Woke up feeling spectacular today. I credit the yoga. Good thing, too, because it was a long day. I showed those expense reports who is boss and completed 5 of them, including making minor corrections to 2 others. I helped like, 7 people throughout the day and decided however stressful that can be, at least I know people can rely on me; that's a good feeling. I didn't leave work til 7pm because I was helping one of my Officers pack his office. I think I knew that at least one person would procrastinate and not pack til the last minute, but we made the most of it - working together we got it all packed and moved (or put in the shred bins - there was more to shred than there was to keep!) in an hour and a half. I was so tired. Got home and freshened up a bit and went for dinner with Kevin at Rancho la Sandia, "our" Mexican place up the street. They recognize us now. ;) Live music, enchiladas and a margarita was a great way to relax.

"We shall find peace...we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds."

This morning I realized our crepe myrtle in the backyard is on fire with fall colors. I am not sure when this happened but it took me by complete surprise. It is red and orange and gold and brown and yellow and green all at once. It is simply stunning and I had to admire it for a moment and drink it in.

I so appreciate - more and more over the years - the beauty of things I can observe in my natural surroundings. I am fascinated at how little seeds can sprout into tall, beautiful plants and how trees are so in tune to the Earth's energy, it doesn't take more than a fortnight of cool weather for them the respond in kind and turn their colors to the fall. It's all so rhythmic and primal. It's like yoga for plants. Yoga is one of those things that makes me feel very alive and aware of myself as a living organism. Very flowing and natural and simply amazing.

Mug of coffee in hand I stepped outside today to drink in the chilly air - I love how it feels inside my lungs - and to soak up the sunbeams that beat onto the leaves and the grass and my face. A little chilly breeze and a squirrel running along the fence. Otherwise, perfectly quiet and perfectly peaceful.

If I was a bird, I would live here ...

Crystal clear skies.

Bright sun and tissue paper leaves.

The perfect Fall morning ...

(Quote Credit: Anton Checkov, 'Uncle Vanya')

The Weekend Update

This weekend had some great goings-on, but mostly has been epically chill. Kevin and I have stayed up entirely too late ("is it really 4:45am?!") and watched a few great DVD's, finished the final season of Monk (*sniff*), and enjoyed this beautiful weather - it's been in the 70's all weekend! In California, 70 feels perfect; here, it's cold (but that is far from a complaint).

Thursday night we went to a Stars game. Friday at work, I was unexpectedly offered 4 tickets and a parking pass for that night's basketball game - Dallas Mavs vs Memphis Grizzlies (I am so current on sports, I have never even heard of that team! ;) I wasn't sure I could put them to use with the late notice, but my boss (who is awesome, by the way) gave them to me anyway. I asked around and made some calls ... ultimately it was just Kevin and me at the game, and we had a great time.

The seats were awesome for sure and the game was great, though we lost by one point. I don't watch sports on TV; I am of the opinion the best way to enjoy sports is live and with great seats that I can't afford myself but will gladly accept as gifts. ;) I was sorry we couldn't share them with friends ... next time!

 

Mavs in action. (we were 5 rows from the court!)

Mavericks Dancers at halftime.

Got our picture taken for the fan page.

Rooting for the home team!

Saturday was a quiet day; cleaned up the house some, watched some more 'Six Feet Under' which we just recently started; I think Kevin got it since Michael C. Hall is in it, and we love 'Dexter'. It's a pretty good show, though some of the characters are really irritating. I suppose I have this feeling at the start of any new series or a movie: I have to take a little time to figure out if I like it depending on how the character(s) develops to know if I can relate to them and therefore stop being irritated by them. For example, the mom on 'Six Feet Under' is hugely obnoxious to me, but I think I'm starting to see that I can understand her vulnerability and the reasons why she has closed herself off to her feelings - and I can respect that she's starting to let them out again. Some people close up shop mentally and emotionally and never bother opening again and being themselves. You have to respect people who - even though they were dead before - try to live again and get in touch with themselves. You have to see that you are a certain thing in order to take action on that thing (or feeling or whatever). If you don't know that you don't know, you can't fix it. That's a pretty sad reality for humans. Enlightenment is the ultimate achievement but if you've never achieved it, you don't know how great it really is and just brush off people who promote its greatness. What else is there if we can't at least be enlightened and go through life with deeper knowledge and levels of thought?

Today is Halloween. I have to get some candy before it's too late! We have been procrastinators this year and haven't gotten anything but a little bag of chocolate eyeballs and some candy corn for ourselves.

The cats are acting crazy right now; they are chasing after one another in the den, galloping around the room and hiding behind furniture. They take a quick break for 2 bites of food and are back at it again. Then yowling to go outside since it's so pretty out today. I don't mind them hanging out in the backyard, but I am a little on edge if I can't see where they are, if they are hiding under a shrub or have turned the corner of the yard. I have had both of my cats run away on separate occasions and do not enjoy running after them, or worrying that they are getting run over by a car or getting scooped up by another person in the neighborhood who will then keep them without posting signs or calling the vet's number on their tag. Some people think I (and others like me) are crazy but ... my animals are like my kids. I don't have human children to know what that feels like, so those of you who are offended by my comparison can go off with your internal dialogue about how sacred parenthood is and how your kids changed your life and finally gave you meaning and that you would stand in front of a Mack truck for them ... I respect that though I have to say if your life was meaningless before your child came along, then something is wrong with you. But in the absence of human children, my cats are my babies. And I love them. If they run away, I'm scared; if they never came back, devastated.

And yet, we wrap them up in rugs just to be silly ... can you see the disgust on her face? 'Stupid humans' ... If we ran away, I think she'd be thrilled!

Carmen burrito. So cute, and yet so vicious.

This morning I slept in again. It was nice; though I hate feeling like I've wasted part of my weekend just sleeping. It feels so slothful. Anyway, I got up and made some coffee (coffee = functionality!) and whipped up an omelet. Eggs, salt and fresh-cracked pepper, then some chives and a handful of grape tomatoes, whole and a small sprinkle of cheese. Best Sunday brunch-fast ever!

Pumpkin Bread: Take 2

A new day. A new recipe. And a delicious loaf of pumpkin bread, at last. Good ole Martha came through for me. The only changes I made were to replace the Ginger with Cinnamon and Allspice and to decrease the sugar.

Preheat oven to 375.

Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl ...

2-1/2 c all-purpose flour

2 t baking powder

1 t salt

2 T cinnamon

1 t allspice

Mix sugar and wet ingredients, then add the dry ingredients ...

1 c brown sugar, packed

1/2 c granulated sugar (recipe called for 1 c)

1 15 oz can pumpkin puree (plain pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling)

3 eggs

12 T butter, melted and slightly cooled

Once all the ingredients are combined, pour into a greased bread pan (I had enough batter leftover for 6 muffin tins) and bake for 55 minutes til toothpick comes out clean (muffins were done in about 25 minutes). Cool for a few minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a cooling rack.

A cute way to serve this is on a cake pedestal with a small pumpkin in the center and then surround it with halved slices of the bread. The cake stand I used is blue (you can see the base of it in the photo below) -- it contrasted nicely with the warm orange tones of the bread and the baby pumpkin.