Be thankful for pumpkin bread
Today's recipe is a beautiful example of what it truly means to be thankful. My friend, Pauline Byron, is originally from Holland and grew up in South Africa. She moved to the United States some 20 years ago and became a U.S. citizen. She has since embraced all it means to be an American. Thanksgiving is one of her favorite holidays.
But Pauline doesn't have the extended family that a lot of us do here in the states that she can visit for the traditional celebration of the Thanksgiving meal. And she didn't grow up with family Thanksgiving favorites like my mom's amazing sweet potato casserole, which I shared in this column last week. (Check it out at kitchenscoop.com.) Instead, she bakes Pumpkin Bread for all of the members of her “U.S. family.” It's her way of saying, each and every year, just how thankful she is for them.
I've been the lucky recipient of her delicious efforts ever since our kids were in kindergarten together, about 17 years ago. Without fail, every Thanksgiving she shows up on my doorstep with a freshly baked loaf of her spicy Pumpkin Bread and a handwritten note telling me how much she loves and treasures our friendship.
Because this year she and I won't be living in the same city at Thanksgiving, she has shared her recipe with me. And I wanted to share it with you. Pauline's Pumpkin Bread is truly a food to be thankful for!
ŸBeverly Mills and Alicia Ross are co-authors of “Desperation Dinners!” Write them at Desperation Dinners, c/o Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106, or tellus@kitchenscoop.com. More at Desperation Dinners Web site, kitchenscoop.com.