Marlen's Cantaloupe Bread 3 eggs,beaten 1 c vegetable oil 2 c granulated sugar 3 t pure vanilla extract 2 cups of pureed cantalope 3 c all-purpose flour 1 t salt 1 t baking soda 3/4 t baking powder 2 t ground cinnamon 1/2 t ground ginger 1 c chopped walnuts Mix eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. Add pureed cantaloupe to mixture. Sift dry ingredients. Add to liquid. Pour into 2 greased and floured 9x5 loaf pans. Bake 325* for 1 hour or until done. Check after 50 minutes. FRESH AUTUMN PEAR BREAD 8 TBL (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup sugar 2 eggs, slightly beaten 1 tsp vanilla 2 cups flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/8 tsp nutmeg 1/4 cup buttermilk or yogurt 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh ripe pears, skin left on Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 9" loaf pan. In a large bowl, using a mixer, cream teh butter & sugar together until light & fluffy. Add the eggs & vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda & nutmeg. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately w/the buttermilk, mixing gently but thoroughly. Gently stir in the pears. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan. Bake 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.~~More Than a Tea Party PEANUT LOAF 5 TBL butter, softened 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 1 cup shelled peanuts, chopped 2 cups flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 1/3 tsp salt 2 TBL peanut butter 1 egg 1 cup packed brown sugar 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9" loaf pan. Spread 3 TBL of the butter over the bottom of the pan; cover w/brown sugar & chopped peanuts. Whisk the flour, soda, baking powder & salt together. Melt the remaining 2 TBL of butter w/the peanut butter. Beat the egg until frothy & beat in the brown sugar gradually. Stir in the peanut butter mixture & the buttermilk. Mix the liquid mixture with the dry ingredients but do not beat. Pour the batter over the brown sugar topping & bake 1 hour. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert on a rack.~~Soup & Bread LEMON NUT BREAD 3/4 cup butter 1 1/4 cups sugar 3 eggs 2 1/2 cups flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1/2 cup milk 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice 3/4 cup chopped pecans 2 tsp grated lemon zest Preheat oven to 350°. Grease & flour 9x5" loaf pan. Cream butter & sugar until light & fluffy. Blend in eggs. Combine dry ingtredients & add to creamed mixture alternating w/milk & juice, mixing well after each addition. Stir in nuts & zest. pour into loaf pan. Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes, remove from pan & cool completely.~~Bountiful Arbor

Oh, my! I can't deal with an oven without mitts. My great auntie made lovely potholders but I can't use them. My skin cries. :) Word of caution--if the mitts you got aren't water shedding, don't use them near the hot water from the bain marie. It's like touching a hot pot with a wet potholder or towel, but your can't drop it until you can get the mitt off. Most are fine, but some are just pretty fabric. I have a pair of cute pink ones that I was given. Only, really, for taking a hot pot to the table because they're just cotton so not safe enough around water, and too pretty to use around spatter that will stain. :) The bread pudding will still be sweet, because there is sugar in the gingerbread, but it's going to have sausage and lots of spices and fresh ginger and onions. The other bread is one of my sourdough starter discard breads, also from the freezer, and it's very sour, so I'm hoping they'll cancel each other out. :) Congrats on delighting your suffering friend!!

Here are three, Tried and True recipes. Ann Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Pumpkin Loaf ============ 3 Cups sugar 1 Cup vegetable oil 4 eggs 3-1/3 Cups flour 2 Teaspoons salt 2 Teaspoons cinnamon (or to taste) 1 Teaspoon nutmeg 2 Teaspoons baking soda 2 Cups pumpkin 2/3 Cup water 3 Teaspoons Vanilla 2 bags chocolate chips. . Mix sugar, oil and eggs together, add pumpkin and vanilla. Set aside. Combine flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda. Blend into sugar mixture alternately with water. Bake at 350 for 1 hour if using large loaf pans, or for 50 minutes if using smaller loaf pans. Spray pans with Butter flavoured Pam. NOTE: The original recipe called for nuts (pecans or walnuts) which I used. Then I tried it with both nuts and chocolate chips, before settling on just chocolate chips. I use two bags of good quality chocolate chips. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Pumpkin Roll ============ 3 Eggs 1 Cup sugar 2/3 Cup pumpkin 1 Teaspoon lemon juice ¾ c flour 2 Teaspoons cinnamom 1 Teaspoon ginger 1 Teaspoon baking powder 1 Teaspoon baking soda ½ tsp nutmeg 1 Cup chopped nuts Filling 1 Cup powdered sugar 8 Ounces cream cheese 4 Tablespoons Butter 1 Teaspoon vanilla . Beat eggs 5 minutes at high speed, adding the sugar, until foamy. Fold in pumpkin and lemon juice. Sift together flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg. Fold into egg mixture. Spread onto well greased and floured 15 X 10 X 1 inch jellyroll pan. Top with nuts. Bake at 375 degree for 15 minutes. While hot , turn cake onto a pastry cloth sprinkled with powdered sugar. Roll in pastry cloth and let cool. Beat together filling ingredients. Unroll cake, remove cloth and spread filling on cake. Roll filling inside cake. Let stand until cold. Slices better when frozen, freeze, then remove for several minutes before cutting. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table ================== Pumpkins! They are everywhere now! I once heard that the white ones make the best pumpkin pie, but have never heard it confirmed. Can anyone comment on this and the merits of one variety of pumpkin over another for assorted uses? While I like the idea of cooking and pureeing my own pumpkin for pies, I wonder how much difference it really makes. Any comments? Posted by Eileen, (Browntoestoo) My favorite pumpkin pie recipe is one I found in Bon Appetit: Favourite Pie crust recipe or 1 Buttermilk Pie Crust Dough disk 1 16-ounce can solid pack pumpkin 1 cup whipping cream 3/4 cup pure maple syrup 3 large eggs 1 tablespoon all purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon natural maple flavor 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg Pinch of salt For Maple Whipped Cream: 1 cup chilled whipping cream 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup . Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll pie crust disk out on lightly floured surface to 13-inch-diameter round (about 1/8 inch thick). Roll up dough on rolling pin and transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie plate. Gently press into place. Trim edges of crust, leaving 1/2-inch overhang. Fold excess under. Crimp edges. Freeze until crust is firm, about 15 minutes. Line pie crust with foil, leaving 3-inch overhang. Fill foil with beans or pie weights. Fold extra foil gently over crust edges. Bake until crust is set, about 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Cool pie crust slightly. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Whisk all remaining ingredients (except Maple Whipped Cream) to blend in bowl. Pour filling into crust. Bake until filling is set, covering crust edges with foil if browning too quickly, about 55 minutes. Cool completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Chill.) Cut pie into wedges and serve with Maple Whipped Cream. To make Maple Whipped Cream: Whip cream with syrup in large bowl until soft peaks form. Makes about 2 cups. Serves 8.

3 cups of sugar 3 1/2 cups of pre-sifted AP flour 2 tsp of baking powder 2 tsp baking soda 1 1/2 tsp of salt 1 tsp (heaping) of cinnamon 1 tsp of nutmeg 1 tsp of ground cloves Heat oven to 325 4 eggs 1 cup of oil (I use veg. oil) 2/3 cu water 1 15oz can of pumpkin 1 cup of chopped nuts 1 cup of raisins In a medium bowl, stir first 8 dry ingredients with a large spoon. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs with a fork, then incorporate next 3 ingredients with a small spoon. With dry ingredient use a large spoon, fold dry ingredients into large bowl with wet ingredients, then mix in nuts & raisins. Grease your loaf pans with either Pam or butter. Spoon half the batter into each loaf pan. Bake 1-1/2 hrs or until wood toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool bread in pans on wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan & finish cooling on wire rack. This bread is yummy warm or cool. It also freezes well.