Rustic, Healthy Pumpkin Bread

Bernadette Petrotta's Tasty Pumpkin Bread.

All ingredients Bernadette uses are organic when possible!

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar (the original recipe calls for 3 cups sugar)
1 can (15 oz.) solid-pack pumpkin
1 cup Graber Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 large eggs
2/3 cups water
3 l/2 cups all-purpose flour (Bernadette used 2 cups whole wheat & 1 l/2 cups all-purpose - sifted)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
l/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup chopped pecans

Note– To make it even healthier, Bernadette added some flaxseeds (about 1/3 cup)

Topping
l/3 cup all-purpose flour
l/4 cup packed brown sugar
l/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp. cold butter

Note – For Bernadette's, she doubled the entire topping recipe, but only used about 80 percent of the mixture.

Enjoy!



Bernadette Petrotta is the owner and founder of the Polite Society School of Etiquette in Washington state. She is featured in the current issue of Tea Time Magazine. 

Cheri's Olive-Walnut Bread

A Tasty, Rustic Olive and Walnut Bread, made with Graber Olive Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Graber Tree-Ripened Olives

Cheri wrote, "This recipe is adapted from some traditional Olive Bread Recipes and produces a rustic, savory loaf of bread. This recipe involves no kneading, unlike most yeast bread recipes. I made this bread using Graber Olive Products found at the Graber Olive House. 

This bread is perfect to serve any time of year, but especially wonderful to serve this in the late Autumn months gathered around a warm fire. Feel free to up the herb proportions. I did not want to overpower the taste of the walnuts."

Ingredients:
3 cups Bread Flour, plus more for work surface
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt (the olives & cheese have added salt content)
1 teaspoon instant or active-dry Yeast
1/2 teaspoon dried, ground Rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried, ground Green Onion (or Onion Powder)
1/2 cups of finely chopped Walnut meats
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated Asiago Cheese
1 can (seeded & cut in thick slices & pieces) Graber Olives
1 1/2 cups cool water (55 to 65 degrees), plus more as needed
2 teaspoons of Graber Olive Oil

Directions:
In a medium bowl, stir together flour, salt, and yeast; stir in cheese and olives. Add water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until a wet, sticky dough forms, about 30 seconds, adding additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and surface becomes dotted with bubbles, 12 to 18 hours. It works well to plan this timing the night before. Generously flour work surface; scrape dough onto work surface. Lightly flour hands, a bowl scraper, or a spatula and lift edges of dough toward the center. Nudge and tuck edges of dough to make round.

Place a piece of parchment paper on work surface and generously dust with flour. Gently place dough on parchment. If dough is tacky, lightly dust top with flour. Cover dough loosely with parchment paper and two clean kitchen towels. Let dough stand in a warm, draft-free spot until almost doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.

Gently poke dough with your finger; dough should hold the impression. If it springs back, let rise 15 minutes more.

Ten minutes before dough has finished rising, use olive oil to coat the inside of a large, Pyrex bowl. Preheat oven to 425 degrees (convection oven preferred.) Place a Pizza stone in the center of the oven rack and a Pyrex bowl in the center of the stone.

Using pot holders, carefully remove preheated Pyrex Bowl from oven and uncover. Uncover bread and loosen bottom with a large spatula. With the aid of the parchment paper, invert bread dough into preheated bowl. Cover bowl with a well fitted, oven heat safe Pyrex lid and transfer to oven; bake for 30 minutes.

Uncover and continue baking until bread is dark brown but not burnt, 15 to 30 minutes more. At this point you can carefully transfer the bread from the bowl, right onto the pizza stone and turn up the over to 450 degrees. The timing will depend on your oven and the smell wafting through the house usually tells me the exact moment it is done. You want the bread crust dark brown but not burnt. Transfer to a bread board to cool.

Serve with Graber Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar in a dipping bowl with added dried herbs of your choice.

Olive - Walnut Bread

Cheryl (Cheri) Newcomb has been a homemaker for over 40 years and often brings homemaking into blog posts on her blog, "It's Not The Destination..."

Currently working as a free-lance social media/marketing specialist during her duties as owner of StrawSleeves, Cheryl carefully carves out time for family, home-life, and staying grounded with time for the ordinary moments in a day.

StrawSleeves (as seen on Instagram) are cloth carry cases made for reusable straws, soon to be available along with a new inventory of stainless steel straws at the Graber Olive House.

Tamara's Lemon Gooey Butter Cookies

Best Ever from Scratch!

 Ingredients  

2 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder
1 8oz package of cream cheese softened
3/4 stick butter softened
1/4 cup Graber Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 tbsp freshly grated lemon zest (2 large lemons)
1 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp lemon extract
1/8 tsp yellow food coloring
3/4 tsp table salt
1 large egg and 1 egg yolk
1 cup powdered sugar

Prep
In medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder until well blended. Set aside.

Using an electric stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream together cream cheese and butter until well blended. Beat in sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, lemon extract, food coloring, and salt. Add egg and yolk and beat until creamy about 1-2 mins on medium.

On low speed, gradually add flour mixture until fully incorporated. Dough will be sticky. Chill covered for 2 hours.

Measure dough into 1" balls to ensure even cooking. Roll between palms then lightly coat with powdered sugar.
Place 2" apart on parchment covered cookie sheet and bake at
325 degrees or until round in shape, and are puffed and crackly. Do NOT overbake. 

Centers will be soft. If they start to brown on the edges, they have baked too long. Underside of cookies should be only lightly browned.

Tamara reports that these were a hit at her Halloween party!

Cool on cookie rack them out away in airtight container.

ENJOY!

Thanks, Tamara! These look delicious!