Giving Thanks

As Thanksgiving approaches, holiday recipes have been on my mind.  Fall pumpkins recently arrayed on the porch were moved inside when temperatures dipped into the upper 20s and a foot of snow blanketed our neck of Sierra Foothills woods.  Snug as cats curled up in a cozy ball, pumpkins of all sizes, shapes and colors have taken up residence in our living room, dining room and garage. Some will be set outside to feed the squirrels this winter, and leftover seeds will sprout come summer.  In addition, cans of Libby’s Pumpkin Purée in our pantry will soon go into loaves of pumpkin molasses bread or classic Thanksgiving pies.

When our grandson Nico called this week, we talked about what he and his partner Mel have been cooking this season.  Mel has been making cozy dishes and soups. I also learned that Nico has been making pies from scratch with seasonal pears and pie-sized pumpkins.  In 2017, Nico visited us at Boomerang Creek and announced that he wanted to learn how to make an old-fashioned pumpkin pie.  It’s one of my fondest memories of the two of us baking together in our kitchen.  Wearing a western plaid shirt, one of Kit’s felt hats, and a chef’s apron, Nico learned how to prepare and crimp the edges of the pie crust.  While the crust chilled in the refrigerator, he assembled the ingredients that go into Libby’s Famous Pumpkin Pie—a true classic recipe that my mother shared with me when I was Nico’s age.

Libby’s Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

• ¾ cup white sugar

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon ground ginger

• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

• 2 large eggs

• 1 (15 ounce) can Libby’s Pumpkin purée

• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

Directions

Step 1. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C)
Step 2.  Combine sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and cloves in small bowl. 
Step 3.  Beat eggs lightly in large bowl.  Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture.
Step 4.  Gradually stir in evaporated milk.  Pour into pie shell.
Step 5.  Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.  Reduce temperature to 350° (175° C)
Step 6.  Bake 40-50 more minutes until knife inserted near center comes out clean.
Step 7.  Set on a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Logo owned by World Central Kitchen.

This Thanksgiving, organizations around the world remind us of the need to share with those experiencing food insecurity.  For more than eight months, chef José Andrés and his World Central Kitchen teams have been supporting Ukrainians by serving more than 175 million meals.  Donations to help Ukrainians get through the winter can be made online (www.donate.wck.org). WCK is also preparing meals in Florida right now following rare November hurricanes Ian and Nicole. In communities across America, there are organizations helping to feed those in need this Thanksgiving. 

Feeding America donation letters include Thanksgiving recipe cards for Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip, Garlic Herbed Mashed Potatoes, and Pumpkin Molasses Bread.  I’ve already made three loaves of pumpkin molasses bread and shared two of them with our daughter Heidi and neighbors Carol and Jim Lee. I’ve also submitted one of Feeding America’s recipes with the Common Ingredient—a recipe sharing website based in Columbia, MO, and its “new” River Valley TCI chapter just launched in Blacksburg, VA.  This holiday, share one of YOUR family’s Thanksgiving recipes, along with a picture of the dish and a few sentences about its place in your family’s story. The Common Ingredient. Happy Thanksgiving, readers!

Pumpkin Molasses Bread

Ingredients: 

• 1 15-oz can pumpkin purée

• 2 large eggs

• 1/3 cup cooking oil

• ¼ cup molasses

• ¾ cup sugar

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon ground ginger

• ½ teaspoon nutmeg

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon butter

• (Optional: add ½ to 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, or add golden raisins)

Directions:

Step 1.  Preheat the oven to 350° F. 
Step 2.  In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin purée, eggs, oil, molasses, and sugar.
Step 3. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, three spices, salt, and baking powder.
Step 4.  Pour dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients, stir together until just combined.
Step 5.  Coat inside of a loaf pan with butter.  Pour batter into loaf pan and smooth the top.
Step 6.  Bake about one hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Step 7.  Cool on a wire rack, then slice and serve. Delicious with cream cheese!