Pumpkin Spice Bread

I meant to post this yesterday, but then the day kind of got away from me: I wasn't feeling well, it was so cloudy here there wasn't enough light to take a good photo (I never use flash,) and there was no running water (very unusual for November) so all my housework took at least twice as long as I lugged bottles of water around from room to room. Fortunately, Sognatrice of bleeding espresso had pumpkin on her mind too, and posted a very tasty-looking muffin recipe. So there was no lack of pumpkin inspiration yesterday. Given that today is Thanksgiving, it still seems like a good idea to post a pumpkin recipe, so here's mine:

Pumpkin Spice Bread

A moist, mildly spicy pumpkin loaf. It's so small in the picture because we've been eating it since yesterday morning.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
2/3 cup sugar
6 tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. almond extract or amaretto
1 1/2 cup canned pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350°. Whisk together the dry ingredients together in a bowl. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, melted butter and extract. Whisk in the pumpkin until well blended. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, and mix until just combined. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the top of the bread is golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Notes:
I originally intended to make this recipe with crystallized ginger, but I didn't have any and I was too lazy to make some. I also intended to add 1/4 tsp. of ground cloves, but didn't have any cloves already ground, and was too lazy to grind any. Next time I make this recipe, I'll be reducing the ground ginger by 1 tsp. and adding about 4 tbsp. of minced crystallized ginger, and I'll also add the ground cloves.

If I had guaranteed access to brown sugar, I would have used it instead of granulated sugar. But I need to ration what I have, and this recipe already called for another precious and rare commodity: canned pumpkin. The thought of squandering so much treasure on one recipe was just too much to bear, and I had to leave the brown sugar in the cupboard for this one.

I had also planned to make muffins instead of a quick bread, but I was too lazy to grease the muffin pans, so went with the loaf at the last minute.

I bet that the icing Sognatrice used on her pumpkin muffins would be perfect on this bread. I wanted to try it out myself, but didn't because we didn't have any cream cheese in the house, and yes, you guessed it, I was too lazy to run to the supermarket and buy some.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Does this make me look fat?

Well, I didn't think it would ever come to this, but the moment has finally arrived:

Yes, the belly shot. In my defense, I'm halfway through my third trimester and this is the only picture that's been taken of me while visibly pregnant. Here I am one week shy of eight months and sporting the basketball look that's all the rage among pregnant women. So far I've only gained 5.5 kg (12 lbs.) So that belly you're looking at is pretty much all baby. And just think, she has six more weeks to fatten up.

Talk about the weather

A real conversation:

Zia L: Have you and N done the shopping?

Me: Which shopping?

Zia L: The shopping.

Me: I don't understand. The shopping for what?

Zia L: For the groceries!

Me: Um, yes, why?

Zia L: I wanted to know because now that it's cold you can't go out anymore.

Current weather in Sessa Aurunca: Sunny, 11° C (52° F)

Good things come to those who wait

Even if they aren't very patient about it. I am now in possession of a five-year permesso di soggiorno, and remarkably, the last act in the saga of obtaining it was actually painless.

Saturday morning, N and I left bright and early for Caserta to pick up the permesso. When we arrived at the Questura, there was already a line of about a hundred people. Fortunately, we had brought along a collapsible stool for me, which turned out to be an even smarter idea than we originally thought. As soon as I sat down at the end of the line, an officer noticed me, came over to us, and led us directly into the office where they hand out numbers.

Next, I waited for the immigration office to open while N went off in search of cornetti. I wasn't in the first group they called, so once N returned I had some time to enjoy my cornetto while everyone else waiting in the courtyard stared at me as though they'd never seen a pregnant woman eat before. Just after I finished the cornetto, someone came out from the office and asked who else was waiting to pick up a permesso. I showed him my number and gave him my receipt and passport. About two minutes later, he came back out, asking specifically for me. I followed him into the office, where he indicated that I go directly to the sportello to sign the new permesso, effectively jumping ahead of everyone else waiting there. I was a bit slow to follow his instructions at first, being that they seemed so unreal to me after all previous absurdities I'd experienced while attempting to renew the permesso.

Then, N and I, finding ourselves with several free hours we hadn't counted on, decided to spend the rest of the morning at Ikea, which, overcrowded and overheated, was not nearly as pleasant as the Questura.

Fête!

Pardon my French! Just a little reminder about the party fellow blogger Robin is having over at mymelange. She'll be giving away the beautifully illustrated book My French Life, by Vicky Archer, one week from today, November 9th. Head over to her site now to see how you can participate!