One day, while relaxing under a great walnut tree, Djuha turned his thoughts to the greatness of creation and wonders provided by G-d. “Surely He is great and good in all things,” Djuha thought, “but I wonder why He made things the way He did.” His eyes lit upon some pumpkins growing nearby, their thin vines coiling along the ground, heavy with huge orange fruit. He then looked up into the huge branches of the walnut tree.
“For instance,” he pondered, “why did He put such big, heavy fruits on the thin pumpkin vine and tiny nuts in the walnut tree? Shouldn’t a walnut’s big branches bear giant pumpkins and the slender pumpkin vine yield walnuts?”
Overcome by such thoughts, he drifted off to sleep. He had not been asleep long when a walnut fell on his head. He woke with a start.
“The Creator of All is great! The Master of All is wise!” he exclaimed. “Oh, if the world were made to my designs, that would have been a pumpkin! Merciful G-d, I shall never question your judgment again!”
Pumpkin Walnut Bread
Ingredients
3⅓ cups all-purpose flour |
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree |
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2 teaspoons baking soda |
4 eggs large |
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1½ teaspoons salt |
1 cup avocado/cooking oil |
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2 teaspoons ground cinnamon |
⅔ cup water |
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1 teaspoon ground nutmeg |
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar |
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½ teaspoon ground cloves |
1 cup brown sugar packed |
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¼ teaspoon ground ginger |
1 cup walnuts, chopped |
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¼ teaspoon ground allspice |
Instructions
Place a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit 20 minutes before baking your bread. Spray two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans with baking spray and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice. Whisk until well combined and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smooth.
Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Gently fold in the walnuts. Do not overmix the batter at this point.
Pour batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake for about 60-70 minutes in the preheated oven. Baking times vary, so check on your loaves at 60 minutes and in 5-minute increments after that.
Let cool in the pans for 10-15 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to fully cool.
May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)
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Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)