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10/18/2018 12:01 AMWriting can seem like a lonely profession
But, not if you’re a journalist.
I always wanted to be a journalist and go to either Michigan State or Northwestern. Unfortunately for me, I got a New York State Regents Scholarship and my father encouraged me to take it. He wasn’t sure I wanted to be a student. He knew I liked the social part, but not so much the academics. He told me to pick a college in the state college or university system since, at that time, it was free tuition and the scholarship would pay for my room, meals, and fees.
He was, sort of, correct. I finished my degree, eventually.
As English major, I still wanted to be a journalist, but I liked my job at the University of Rochester, and liked the fact that I made a bit more money than a journalist.
I began writing freelance, and found that there was nothing lonely about being a food writer. I began as a restaurant reviewer; a decade or so later, I became more interested in what goes on in a home kitchen more than a restaurant kitchen.
I love cooking and I love writing about food. Most of all, I love food writing for newspapers, because my readers email me information about ingredients and recipes and tell me they like me (yes, there are Sally Field moments). Last week I heard from two farmers, the owners of 18th Century Purity Farm in Plainfield and Moosup, and Scotts’ Family Farm in Essex. They both grow the Lodi apples I wanted, but its season is early and short, and the apples were gone by mid-September. I put both of the farms on my calendar for the week after Labor Day, 2019. Also that week, I heard from my editor that a reader was looking for a recipe for chocolate chip pumpkin bread. I played with a recipe. The recipe called for two, nine-inch pans, but, even at one hour, it was gushy in the middle. The next day I made it again and put the batter in three loaf pans. Perfection. And delicious. And dairy-free. Here you go.
Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
Adapted from Food Network Kitchen
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten
16 ounces canned puréed pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie filling)
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
⅔ cup water
2 cups chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour three 9-inch loaf pans. (I use Pam with flour, the blue can.) Stir (I use my KitchenAid on low) the sugar and oil. Stir in the eggs and pumpkin. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves. Blend the dry ingredients and the water into wet mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips. Divide the batter into the loaf pans. Bake until cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let stand 10 minutes. Remove from the pans and cool.