Good deeds and pumpkin bread

Remember Hurricane Sandy? Way back when? Oh so long ago, before Halloween and Mabel's birthday and November started and all that stuff. We bunked in the basement and the wind blew and things got wet. Ancient history, right?

But not so much for people in New Jersey and New York who are still deep, deep in the throes of cleaning up, recalibrating their lives, starting over, and somehow at the same time getting through the day-to-day requirements of staying warm and fed and dry. Not to mention the fact that nature threw a snowstorm at them a week ago.

Justine lives in New Jersey, and she's going to use her lovely blog for even more good than usual - as if thoughtful posts, delicious food, and lovely pictures weren't enough - by hosting an online auction for bloggers' baked goods on November 26th. As I both blog and bake, I offered to take part. You can read more about it here, and I'll link again when it's happening. I predict there will be delicious things available for a really good cause, so you might want to bear it in mind.

I won't be making pumpkin bread for it, as a loaf would be pretty heavy to ship, but apparently there's a great outcry for this, perhaps by now my signature recipe. It's certainly one thing I bake that both children will eagerly eat.

I found it on the internet somewhere but I'm afraid I've no idea where at this point, and the addition of chocolate chips is my own, so it's almost original. Or else so ubiquitous that it can't belong to anyone.

Pumpkin Bread
(chocolate chips optional but recommended)

1.5 cups (200g) all-purpose flour (or you could probably use half white, half wholewheat)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 cup (200g) white (granulated) sugar
1 cup (200g) pumpkin puree (half a 14oz tin)
1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/4 cup (60ml) water

1/2 cup (85g) chocolate chips (I like semi-sweet)

Mix the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices together in a large bowl.
Mix the rest of the ingredients except the chocolate chips in a medium bowl.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing until just combined.
Mix in the chocolate chips.
Pour into a prepared loaf tin and bake at 350 F (180 C) for one hour or until a skewer comes out clean (without hitting a chocolate chip).


P.S. What do you think of the new banner? Seasonal, yes, but does it make the title hard to read or not? Feedback welcome.