Risk-taking in the Kitchen

Do you practice safe cooking? Always follow a cookbook or professional's recipe to ensure good results, even if it means a special trip to the store to get all the ingredients?

Or are you willing to risk a little? Omit the ingredients you don't like? Make substitutions for ingredients with whatever you have on hand? Personalize a recipe for your tastes?

Locavores - people who strive to only eat foods grown within a certain distance of their home - are well-accustomed to using what they have locally. This often means substituting for ingredients in recipes. Minced jalapeno peppers can spice up a dish instead of ground black pepper. Chopped tender broccoli stems can stand in for asparagus in a cooked dish, while shredded raw broccoli stems can take the place of cabbage in slaw. Most winter squashes are interchangeable and yams can substitute in a pinch.

As a vegan, I've had lots of practice substituting for meat, dairy, and eggs. I also use very little added fat, which means many recipes also need to be altered for that. I've tried a couple of times to make a very lowfat pumpkin bread but had gooey results. My pumpkin muffins are tasty but a bit overly moist and quite high in sugar. The last time I made banana bread for my sweetie, I wondered if I might be able to make the recipe with pumpkin puree instead.

This morning, I decided to give it a whirl. I knew this was risky because pumpkin puree, after all, is not the same as mashed bananas. Besides not having the same amount of natural sweetness, I really wasn't sure how they would behave in this recipe. To cut the risk, I decided to use a very small amount of vegan margarine. Call it my safety net. I also changed up the spices and altered a few other things in the recipe.

When the timer dinged, I tentatively peeked in the oven and tested the bread. It was done. Not gooey, not burned. So far, so good. I impatiently waited 10 minutes while it cooled slightly. This is the perfect amount of time to wait before turning fatfree or very lowfat baked goods out of their pans. Muffins are baked in silicone muffin pans while all other baked goods are cooked in a plain glass pan with a silicone mat cut to fit. (You can see the red silicone mat at the bottom of the pan in the photo above if you click on it to enlarge the photo.)


Although it is better to let a quick bread cool completely before slicing, I wanted needed to know if it was edible. At first bite, I thought it might need more sugar. As I continued eating, though, I realized it is just fine the way it is. This is not your usual oily or buttery, very sweet pumpkin bread. Instead, this recipe yields a dense bread with a subtle understated flavor. It would be just as fitting on a lunch plate as the breakfast plate.

If you are looking to reduce the amount of fat or sugar that you eat, give this recipe a whirl.

Pumpkin Tea Loaf
2 1/4 cups whole white wheat flour (such as King Arthur's brand)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/16 tsp ground nutmeg
1/16 tsp ginger
2 tbs vegan margarine, softened
3 tbs sugar
1 1/2 cups + 2 tbs pureed cooked pumpkin (or other winter squash)
3 tbs maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a large loaf pan with parchment paper or silicone mat cut to fit.
Mix together dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
Cream margarine and sugar together in another bowl.
Add pumpkin, syrup, and vanilla to the margarine.
Add wet ingredients to dry mix and stir. The batter will be very thick.
Spoon into the prepared pan.
Bake 50 minute on center rack in oven.
Let cool for 10 minutes and then remove from pan.
Allow to cool completely on rack before slicing.