Sugar-free pumpkin bread recipe

I made this bread with a very sweet type of pumpkin, so it was pretty sweet and pretty cake-like even though I didn't include any refined sugar. It's part way between a bread and a cake, and if you want to push it over the edge into very definitely cake, you can drizzle maple syrup over the top or you can add in some dried chopped dates.

Warning, this takes about 2 and a half hours, unless you roast the squash in advance, and even then it still takes about 90 minutes.

1 winter squash sweet dumpling (mine was 550 g whole)
125 ml extra-virgin olive oil + a bit extra for greasing
2 eggs
65 ml milk or water
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or optionally essence)
½ teaspoon salt
220 g spelt flour
optional: 75 g chopped dried dates

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (without fan).
2. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Cut the squash into eight, then place on a baking tray and smear with olive oil.
3. Roast the squash in an oven for 45 minutes until soft, then remove and allow to cool, and turn the oven down to 165°C.
4. Grease a large loaf pan with olive oil and line down the centre with a strip of baking parchment.
5. Add the oil and eggs to a large bowl and whisk together until blended.

6. Add the milk, spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice), bicarbonate of soda, vanilla and salt.

7. Scrape the pumpkin off the skin and add that too. Mix thoroughly.

8. Add in the spelt flour and stir gently until just combined. If you are adding chopped dried dates, add them now and stir in.

9. Pour the batter into your greased loaf pan.

10. Bake in the oven for about 55-60 minutes until you can insert a skewer or toothpick in the centre and it comes out clean.

11. Let the bread cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer the bread to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes before serving.

Squash, lentil and onion soup

Thelma Sanders squash

I finally harvested the rest of the squashes this year. It's not been a bad harvest this year. But it left me with a bit of a problem: what do I do with the Thelma Sanders squashes (the large yellow ones)? They're just not as sweet as the Sweet Dumpling squashes (or the delicious one I got given from Bulgaria), which means they need more jazzing up. Well, after wasting one in a bland tray bake, I was lucky enough to stumble across the answer: squash, lentil and onion soup. I made a variation of a recipe I found on the Internet. Here's my version:

300 g red lentils (dried)
1 large squash, cubed
2 medium yellow onions (or 1 very large one), diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh sage, minced (or 2 tsp dried)
1 vegetable stock cube (I use Kallo)
1 l boiling water
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Put the red lentils in a bowl and add cold water until covered (ideally starting about 20-30 minutes before you plan to start making the rest of the soup for best digestibility, but immediately before is OK). Leave to soak.

2. Peel the squash and remove the seeds.
3. Peel and chop the onions. Add the olive oil to a large saucepan on a low heat, then add the chopped onions. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until soft and a little brown. While the onion softens, continue with the next step of this recipe.
4. Chop the squash in to small chunks (ideally no more than 2 cm x 2 cm).

5. Add the squash to the onions in the pan and stir.
6. Chop the sage. Add it to the pan and stir.

7. Drain the lentils in a sieve and add to the pan.
8. Add the stock cube and the boiling water. You might not be able to fit all 1000 ml into your pan. If you can't, about 750 ml is enough for now.

I filled my pan too full. I should have left some of the liquid out to prevent spills.

9. Add salt and pepper to taste and sir thoroughly.
10. Bring to the boil, cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes until the squash is tender and the lentils are soft.

11. Leave the soup until it is cool enough not to damage your liquidiser (add some cold water if there is room in the pan), then liquidise (in batches if necessary). You may need to add more water at this stage depending on how liquid you like your soup. I added around 250 ml more water, but even more water would also have worked. If you don't have a liquidiser or if you would like a stronger texture you can mash the soup with a potato masher or even just a fork instead.