A wholesome take on an autumnal standard...

Thanks to my friend, Lisa, and her creative ways with baking I managed to whip up three loaves of this amazingly moist pumpkin bread before the weekend. For an extra ker-pow I topped a couple of loaves with whole walnuts. The nut-less loaf is, of course, nut-less. Through and through.

Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup apple sauce
4 eggs
1 5/6 cups flour
1 1/6 whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2/3 cup water
1 15 oz. can of pumpkin

1. Grease 2 9x3x5 loaf pans, set aside
2. Mix sugar, oil, and apple sauce until well blended
3. Add eggs. Mix well. Set aside.
4. Combine all dry ingredients.
5. Alternately add flour mixture adn water to sugar mixture, sirring constantly until just combined.
6. Beat in pumpkin.
7. Spoon batter into pans.
8. Bake in a 350 oven for 55-65 minutes or until a wooden toothpick instered near centers comes out clean.
9. Cool completely on wire racks.

(cruddy photo taken by my cruddy iphone)