Queen of Pumpkin?

This fall, I have been doing a lot of baking.  This may be due to the fact that I have also been doing a lot of cyclocrossing, and cross is definitely better with a beer in one hand and fresh baked goods in the other.  At any rate, people have been quite taken with my pumpkin-related recipes - no idea why, but this year is the year of pumpkin EVERYTHING (just type pumpkin into Google and see what the most-searched terms are!) and I guess I've been perpetuating that trend.

So, without further ado, I post my very first blog recipe!  Yay!  Next Installment will be Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Enjoy ~ Happy Deeds

Pumpkin Bread (from a dear friend of my mother's).  It tastes like pumpkin pie, but without all the rolling and shaping of the crust!  I would post a picture but this gets eaten too quickly to be caught on camera!

Group A Ingredients:
2c canned or home-pureed pumpkin
3c sugar
1c water
1c vegetable oil
4 eggs

Group B Ingredients:
3 1/2 c flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 tsp. ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour two 9'' x 5'' baking pans.  In a large mixing bowl, combine Group A Ingredients and beat until well-mixed.  In a separate bowl, combine Group B Ingredients and whisk until mixed.  Add Group B to Group A and beat until smooth.  Pour batter into pans.  Bake 40-70 min or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool 10-15 min before removing pan from rack.  Serve plain, buttered, or with cream cheese/cream cheese frosting.

This also works well as muffins (makes at least 1 dozen - reduce cooking time to 10-20 min).