~Recipe Monday – Pumpkin Flax Quickbread

Instead of pumpkin pie why not change it up and make some pumpkin bread?  Why not try this healthy flax quickbread from Allrecipes?  I bet this not only tastes delicious but also smells wonderful while baking. 

Pumpkin Flax Quickbread

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 1 hr 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons flax seed meal
• 6 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. Whisk together flax seed meal and water. Mix in sugar, pumpkin and apple sauce.
3. In a large bowl, stir together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, and cloves. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture; stir until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 65 to 70 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.

~Cinnamon Anyone?~

Cinnamon is one of my favorite spices and is used in so many different items.  You wouldn’t know it but cinnamon is actually a small evergreen tree and is native to Sri Lanka.  According to wikipedia cinnamon is harvested by growing the tree for two years and then coppicing it.  Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management in which young tree stems are repeatedly cut down to near ground level.  The next year, about a dozen shoots will form from the roots. These shoots are then stripped of their bark, which is left to dry. Only the thin (0.5 mm) inner bark is used; the outer woody portion is removed, leaving meter-long cinnamon strips that curl into rolls ("quills") on drying; each dried quill comprises strips from numerous shoots packed together. These quills are then cut into 5–10 cm lengths for sale. 

Cinnamon is mainly used in cooking and flavoring but has been known to have health benefits.  For more information click HERE.

I decided to go window shopping on Etsy to find items that contain the spice, remind me of it, or are named after it. 

This little Cinnamon Toast Guy Card is bound to put a smile on the lucky recipient’s face.  This card could be used for any occasion and can be found in Jackeyo’s Etsy Shop. 

This Natural Cinnamon Soap comes to you from Dragon Soap’s Etsy Shop.  Each ingredient in this soap is 100% natural and creates a luxurious lather.  This soap would make a perfect gift for you or for that special someone.  This dragon even comes with a lucky coin!

I couldn’t post this without adding in some real cinnamon rolls!  These yummy cinnamon rolls can be purchased from Dreamy Pleasures Etsy Shop.  You will receive about 15 delicious hand made cinnamon rolls loaded with cinnamon!  Sounds good to me. :)

If you are looking for a fat free and no calorie version of the cinnamon roll check out these Cinnamon Bun Earrings from The Scoop Pat Boops Etsy Shop.  These earrings are made with polymer clay.  They look good enough to eat!    

Thanks for stopping by!

Feel free to post a comment, especially if you have some yummy cinnamon recipes. :)

~A Recipe For The Best Pork Roast Ever~

The only thing I had defrosted for dinner yesterday was a boneless pork roast. Since I do not have many roast recipes I decided to browse through some recipes at www.allrecipes.com. I found this recipe titled: Easy Roasted Pork. If you like applesauce and pork you will looooove this recipe!   Here is the original recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cinnamon applesauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 pounds boneless pork loin roast

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly flour an oven bag.
2. In a small bowl, blend brown sugar, applesauce, and ginger.
3. Place pork roast in the prepared oven bag. Pour the brown sugar mixture over the roast. Seal bag, and cut several small slits in the top.
4. Cook the roast 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until the internal temperature has reached 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

I did modify the recipe slightly.  2/3 packed light brown sugar seemed like a lot to me so I used 1/3 of a cup.  It was perfect.  Also, I didn’t bother flouring the oven bag.  Since I didn’t have any cinnamon applesauce I used plain unsweetened and added a teaspoon of cinnamon. 

To go along with the roast I cubed some red potatoes and put them in a plastic bag with some olive oil and lawry’s seasoning.  After coating the potatoes I spread them out on a cookie sheet and sprinkled with dill and some paprika to add color.  Bake for 20-25 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

For a vege I heated up a sugar snap pea steamer bag.  Dinner was complete and very delicious.

*Recipe courtesy of www.allrecipes.com*