Applesauce, and Cinnamon Almond Applesauce Bread

I am in Los Angeles. We don't really have seasons. Sometimes that's kind of a bummer. Other times it's nice.

Boyfriend Unit's family is from New England, where autumn is a regional obsession. Sweaters! Scarves! Hats! Boots! The leaves change color! Everyone drinks Dunkin' Donuts coffee (oh wait, they do that in summer too)! Also, there is apple picking.

One day last week, I came home to find that Boyfriend Unit's aunt had gone apple picking and picked us some apples, which she mailed here.



It was exceedingly nice of her to do so, and I'm sure they were lovely apples when picked. They did not, however, survive the journey without severe bruising. I let them sit on the counter for a few days while trying to figure out what to do with them. They were McIntoshes, so pie was out of the question. The apples grew increasingly fragrant. Finally, when the entire apartment began to smell of New England Fall (minus the damp leaves), I made applesauce.







I made a lot of applesauce. Consult your Joy of Cooking. Don't put in as much cinnamon as I put in. I also added ground cloves and a bit of nutmeg (because clearly, applesauce should taste like apple pie). This is 3x a Joy of Cooking recipe. I had a lot of apples.

Then I realized that I had a lot of applesauce, which I eat but Boyfriend Unit doesn't.



"You COULD let me eat the applesauce," said Gromit. "Or you could stop taking pictures of me and give me a cookie. You're probably just going to make the applesauce into bread anyway, and for some reason, I won't be allowed to eat any of it."



My dog is pretty smart.



"But why can't I have any? IT SMELLS GOOD AND I AM SO CUTE."



Cinnamon Almond Applesauce Bread
Mix:
1 cup applesauce, preferably homemade
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed (adjust according to sweetness of applesauce; mine was pretty sweet to start with, and this turned out about right)
1 tsp vanilla
Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves to taste, if applesauce is unspiced (I'd go for 1 tsp, 1/4 tsp and 1/4 tsp, respectively)

In another bowl, sift together:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup almond flour (seriously, this is my favorite discovery of the year--it makes things awesome)
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until blended. If desired, stir in:
1/3 cup chopped, julienned, or sliced almonds

Pour into greased loaf pan. I chose to garnish the top with some sliced almonds. A streusel topping would also be highly appropriate.

Bake @ 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until done.



Refuse to share with dog, thus making him pouty.

Media Pairing: I got fourteen apples, but that's a big number (I'm in the humanities). We should start with ten.

Pumpkin Bread to Inspire Shouting

Okay, I'm going to confess something terrible right now: while I love pumpkin pie beyond all reason, I don't go crazy for other pumpkin-flavored things. In fact, many of the seasonal pumpkin things rather baffle me. I tried a pumpkin latte from Starbucks once, and found it unworthy of trying again (and definitely unworthy of the price tag). I have not tried Jamba Juice's pumpkin smoothie, because quite frankly, I find the combination of icy/pumpkin both perplexing and upsetting. Why would you want to DRINK something that tastes like a PIE? A pumpkin pie is already in its ideal state. It shouldn't be frozen and go through a straw. It should be custardy, served in a flaky pastry crust, topped with obscene amounts DIY whipped cream (a little sugar, a lot of vanilla). I made just such a pie last week, but did not blog it, because the ideal pumpkin pie recipe is the one on the back of the Libby's can with a little extra cinnamon added.

This pumpkin bread is pretty good, too. It's sort of the inspiration for this little Society of Cinnamon and Media Studies - I posted the recipe on Facebook and there was a lot of virtual yelling. It's also inspired actual yelling, in our department offices, directed at me and coming from our office manager. Something about how I must have laced the bread with illicit substances because she couldn't stop eating it.

Unless bourbon vanilla is an illicit substance, I have done no such thing.

In the interests of full disclosure, I stole this recipe from somewhere on the internet, but the stolen version turned out not that great. I've made changes. I'm still making changes. I am TINKERING. It's good enough to publish now, though.


Set oven to 350 and grease two loaf pans.

Mix:
15 oz. (one can) pumpkin
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 to 3/4 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar OR 2 cups white, one cup light brown
1 tsp. vanilla

Sift:
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. ginger

Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until just blended.

Optional: Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups nuts (walnuts! pecans! almonds! possibly cashews although I haven't tried that and it sounds weird even though cashews are my favorite! hazelnuts would probably not be good!), 3/4 cup dried cranberries, OR (I just tried this for the first time, but haven't tasted it yet; if it's bad, you can blame my Aunt Nancy whose idea it was) 3/4 cup chocolate chips.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until done.



I'll probably be hanging around campus with some of this stuff tomorrow. I can't eat two loaves of pumpkin bread by myself. I'll share if you're nice.