The One Where I Command You To Make Pumpkin Bread
Honestly this email is just a vehicle to steer you towards pumpkin bread.
Well friends, we are back with another edition of FOOD & STUFF. “Where was last month’s edition?” you might be asking…Or not, I do not know how much anyone anticipates this monthly newsletter. Nevertheless, it is true that I didn’t send this newsletter in August due to an unprecedented amount of stress caused by…my dog’s toe. You read that right: a dog toe! My life was thrown into a chaotic, shambly mess because my golden retriever injured her toe, which led to the purchase of 4 different dog cones, 3 rounds of antibiotics, 1 surgery, and definitely more than 1 emotional breakdown! Despite the cones, emotional breakdown(s), etc. I did manage to feed myself some good food the last few weeks, which I will now share about with you.
In this month’s newsletter, we’ll go over some Everyday Eats that sustained me and can sustain you, too, and I’ll share a couple more recipe links for you to check out as we enter into Autumn! Eating!
Everyday Eats
Where I share recipes that I have eaten this month during breakfast, lunch, and dinner…
Breakfast
In August, I went on vacation with two of my best friends from college. I volunteered to do most of the cooking because I love cooking for other people and I think it’s fun! One thing I made were these Everything Bagel Muffins from the nearly-released cookbook Rise and Run, which is written by the same authors as one of my other favorite cookbooks that I’ve mentioned before—Run Fast, Eat Slow. I enjoyed eating them with some cream cheese!
Everything Bagel Muffins
Ingredients
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1½ cups)
Fine sea salt
1½ cups whole-wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
¾ cup almond flour or almond meal
¼ cup Everything Bagel Seasoning Mix (recipe follows)
Combine any of your favorite raw tiny seeds to equal ½ cup. Seed suggestions include black sesame seeds, white sesame seeds, whole flaxseeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, and poppy seeds. Add 2 tablespoons dried onion flakes plus 2 teaspoons flaky or coarse sea salt. Save leftover mixture for topping toast, eggs, etc.
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
6 eggs
½ cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1½ cups grated peeled sweet potato or yam (about 1 large)Directions
Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup nonstick muffintin with paper liners.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
In a medium bowl, combine the whole-wheat flour, oats, almond flour, 2 tablespoons of the everything bagel seasoning mix, baking powder, baking soda, and a ½ teaspoon salt.
In a separate large bowl, thoroughly whisk the eggs, yogurt, and remaining ¼ cup of olive oil.Stir in the sweet potato. Add the dry ingredients to egg mixture and stir until combined. Stir inthe cooked onions.
Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling to just above the brim. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of everything bagel seasoning mix on top of the muffins and press it slightly into the batter. Bake until the muffins are light brown on top and a knife inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
Transfer the muffins to a cooling rack or cool in the muffin tin. Serve warm, or cool completely prior to storing. Store leftover muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat in the oven at 300°F for 10 minutes or microwave on low power for 30 seconds.
Lunch
Now that the weather has cooled off a smidge, I’ve been able to get back to some favorite stove or oven-friendly recipes that make lunch feel a bit easier and more exciting. Some of my favorite fall lunches include:
Salad greens with shredded chicken, farro, roasted butternut squash, pecans, cranberries, feta or goat cheese, and a creamy balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
Hearty soups like this corn chowder or this chili.
Or trusty butternut squash mac n cheese!
Dinner…But Actually Let’s Just Eat Dessert
Listen: I don’t even know what I ate for dinner this last month. I really don’t. But I do know that you should be taking advantage of cooler evening and morning temperatures to be baking more things. We are in the blissful season where warm spices and apples and yes, even pumpkin spice, are back on the menu. This is good news, friends. It is very good news because autumn baking means MOLLY BAZ PUMPKIN BREAD!!!!! I cannot emphasize enough how good this recipe is. Every year, I am thrilled to remember that it is seasonally appropriate to bake it again, and I respond by baking it immediately.
Personally, I enjoy making them into muffins (shorten the baking time to 25-30 minutes), but the loaf is also great. Don’t skip the butter!
MAKE IMMEDIATELY: Pumpkin Bread with Salted Maple Butter
Some other great autumnal desserts:
Maple Brown Sugar Cookies via Sally’s Baking Addiction
Mom’s Apple Cake via Smitten Kitchen
My friend Cait just made this Chocolate Pear Almond Tart and said it was incredible! I 100% trust Cait to recommend good autumnal eats!
Pining Over Past Plates
I am thinking fond thoughts about the cooking class I took last December when we made a roasted chicken and mashed acorn squash with miso.
I don’t have the recipes on hand anymore, but I wanted to share some links to stuff that is pretty darn close that would be great for your autumnal eats!
& Stuff!
In honor of the chaos that was September 2021, I will conclude this newsletter with two chaotic Twitter findings that I’ve enjoyed this last month. How do you feel about possums?? Personally, I think they’re pretty funny, but I would also be terrified if I were to face one up close and personal.
Look at this little guy! He knows it’s important to brush your teeth after a long day of eating…
And a hilarious Twitter thread about a possum from one of my favorite authors…
Do you think the possum in the first tweet simply slipped into the bathtub on his way out of Tish’s bathroom after he was finished brushing his teeth? We may never know…
As I always say, I’d love to hear what you’ve been cooking, drinking, and snacking on lately. Do pass this newsletter on to friends that would be into this kind of thing, too! So that they can enjoy food and stuff, too. Because food and stuff is for me, for you, for everyone!