Allergen Free Pumpkin Bread

The main recipe is gluten and dairy free, and is low sugar.  There's (as always) some variations listed also.  I make this recipe in 2 9x13 glass baking dishes, then freeze some for later. 

Ingredients:
    4 c. Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour Mix
    3 tsp. cinnamon
    1 tsp. ginger
    1/4 tsp. nutmeg
    1/8 tsp. cloves
    4 tsp. baking powder
    1 tsp. baking soda
    2 tsp. salt
    1 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
    3 c. cooked, mashed pumpkin
    4 eggs
    1 c. rice milk
    2 tbsp. vegetable oil
    1/3 c. honey
    3 tbsp. molasses

Mix liquid ingredients with pumpkin in large mixing bowl.  Stir together dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Then add the dry to the wet ingredients and stir until moistened.  Pour half of batter into each greased 9x13 baking dish and bake at 350° for 30-55 minutes, until toothpick comes out almost clean.

NOTE:  This recipe is for fresh or frozen (in other words, high liquid content) pumpkin.  For canned pumpkin, increase the milk or rice milk by 1/2 c.  You can substitute cooked, mashed sweet potatoes for the pumpkin in this recipe - it turns out even better! Again, add 1/2 c. liquid to the recipe, with milk or rice milk.  That's the alteration noted in the update....  UPDATE:  It takes a slight alteration of the recipe to make it with sweet potatoes...  here's the post:  http://tuckaluckyridge.blogspot.com/2011/01/update-allergen-free-pumpkin-bread-with.html

Variation:  you can add 1 c. chocolate chips or 1 c. chopped walnuts...  or both, to make this really yummy!

Update: Gluten Free Sweet Potato Pancakes... or Waffles!

Well, I've got some new experience with these yummy pancakes that I thought I'd share.  In the past couple months, I've tried the original recipe with two different brands gluten free pancake mix (besides Pamela's, which I usually use) and made waffles as well as pancakes with one of them.  And had a little fun with it besides!

I've found the original recipe works pretty good for the Arrowhead Mills GF Pancake Mix, although adding 1 Tbsp of honey or agave to the liquid ingredients works well.  Waffles with this pancake mix turn out well, too.  For Bob's Red Mill GF Pancake Mix, I had to use more rice milk by about 1.5 times (3/4 c. for 1 recipe) what I usually use, and could have added another quarter cup - using 1 c. rice milk for 1 recipe batch of pancakes.  The added liquid makes more pancakes from one batch, but I really don't prefer this mix. I'll list the waffle recipe below, as well as the link to the original recipe, which uses Pamela's Gluten Free Baking and Pancake Mix. 

First, the Arrowhead Mills Gluten Free Pancake Mix waffle recipe:
     Ingredients:
         2 c. mix
         1 tsp. cinnamon
         2 eggs
         4 tbsp. vegetable oil
         3 tbsp. honey or agave (or sugar)
         2/3 c. mashed, cooked sweet potato
         3/4 c. + 2 tbsp. milk
         1 tsp. vanilla
     Separate the eggs and whip the whites until peaks form.  Add the other liquid ingredients, including the sweet potato, to the eggs yolks and mix.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.  Fold in the eggs whites and cook in your waffle iron, using the instructions.

Note:  these were yummy, but pretty heavy.  You could try adding baking powder or reducing the mix by 1/4 c. to see if that helps lighten them up a little.

Rainbow

Vermillion Cliffs, Arizona...  one of those moments that makes you appreciate being alive...  or it works that way for me, anyway.  We were 700 miles into a 1200 mile trip, and had started off the morning in chilly, misty rain.  We left town on a two-lane road, headed into a canyon, and started up the side of the mountain...  into 6 inches of that slippery white stuff (SNOW) -- yikes!  30 white-knuckled miles later we descended in elevation back to the rain level.  All morning, it rained off and on, and the clouds stayed as thick as peanut butter.  Finally, it began to clear and as we topped the hill, this was our first view of the cliffs.  We wound down into the valley and got to look at them closer as we drove alongside, but this first view was the most spectacular.  What a great beginning to a Thanksgiving trip to see family -- with a reminder from nature of all that we have to be thankful for.