Abundance

As a family we strive to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.  We enjoy growing our own food and have belonged to several CSAs. We also shop at the farmer's market when possible. In addition we  participate in a produce buying coop. It is not always seasonal or local, but it works for us right now. I volunteer and run the site closest to our home. Every Saturday morning you can find me at the park helping distribute produce very early in the morning. It has been great for our area. I meet a lot of our neighbors and recognize more faces when I am at the library, gymnastics class, and the park.

The contents of our basket change week to week. On Saturday I try to create a weekly menu from what we have received. Some weeks we fly through the food.  Other times, it takes a bit longer. Recently we have had a plethora of winter squash. We had a bounty of acorn, kabocha, spaghetti and butternut. Especially butternut. Our family loves Butternut Squash Soup and Baked Rice with Butternut Squash, but we can only eat so much of it. Luckily my mom had a different recipe. She had a recipe for bread. She claimed it was the best bread, and she was right.

I roasted two smaller butternuts and made the bread. I omitted a bit of the sugar in the interest of making it a bit healthier (snort). I took a loaf to a playdate, and everyone ate it. A few of the children took several pieces. I even saw a dad eat it. We have only a small piece left, so we have plans to make some more tomorrow.

I am sharing the recipe with you, because it is that good. Any changes I made are included in parentheses. Enjoy!

All that is left of 2 huge loaves

Butternut Squash Bread
1 c oil (I used coconut oil)
1 c water
3 c sugar (I used 2 cups with no problem)
2 c pureed butternut squash (I used two smaller squash)
4 eggs or equivalent egg substitute
3 1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
2 cups nuts, pecans or walnuts (I would use less next time)


Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour 3 loaf pans (I used two, because that is all I have). 
Roast the squash. (I sliced the squash and seeded it. Each half was placed cut side down in a dish with a bit of olive oil. I baked it at 400 degrees until it could be easily pierced with a fork. Spoon out the squash flesh.) 
In a large bowl, mix squash, egg, oil, water, and sugar until well blended. Set aside.
In separate bowl, whisk together all remaining ingredients except nuts.
Stir dry ingredients into squash mixture. Lightly fold in nuts. Pour into prepared pans.
Bake for 75 minutes or until toothpick is clean.