Last night the merchants of the historic downtown Hastings, NE hosted a very unique event. They held open house and gave tours of the living spaces above the old store fronts. I drug my youngest son out with me. What a great event and what interesting living spaces. There was also a terrific turnout. There were lots of folks taking the tour and I think both the bakery and the coffee shop did a booming business. It was very chilly and windy out. Before we headed to the downtown district, I whipped this up Prairie Honey Pumpkin Bread and we enjoyed it with spiced cider when we returned home.
Prairie Honey Pumpkin Bread
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups sugar
¾ cup wildflower or other pale amber honey
½ cup water
1 cup vegetable oil
¾ cup cooked pumpkin
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup chopped pecans
½ cup golden raisins
Preheat the oven to 325°. Grease two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans and set aside. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar together into a large mixing bowl. With a wooden spoon, stir in the honey, water, oil, pumpkin, and eggs until you have a smooth batter. Fold in the pecans and raisins. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack.
Thanks to Michael at Designs by Gollum for hosting Foodie Friday!
