by Chrysa Smith

We go to their farms. We pick them. We carve them. We scoop them. And we eat them—or do we?

About a week ago, fooled into thinking it was fall thanks to the cool weather, I picked up a can of pumpkin and baked three loaves of pumpkin bread. I pulled a new recipe off Allrecipes.com and I have to say, it’s the best I’ve tasted.

So yesterday, I went to three stores, hoping to get me some more. The shelves were all empty. So unbelievable, I looked in the baking section, the fruit section and the organic section—and nothing. And now I know why.

Thanks to all of the wet weather in the Northeast, some pumpkin farms were completely washed out, leading to a downturn in production. In fact, us northeasterners may be eating southern pumpkin this season. And some stores, don’t get their big shipments for at least another week or so. Does that mean we can’t bake too much pumpkin bread, pie or bread pudding at other times of the year? Isn’t that discriminatory?

So I’ll head back to the store in about a week and check again. Because besides being the fruit of the season, pumpkin is a great source of dietary fiber, is full of potassium and low in fat and cholesterol. Now, add in some sugar and butter for taste, and I can’t guarantee anything, except that I believe, once you find some canned pumpkin, you’ll love this recipe as well.

http://http//www.theweatheredgate.com/downeast-maine-pumpkin-bread-p-4418.html?sort=1a

or search Allrecipes.com for Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread.