I couldn’t let another week go by without sharing this gem of a find.
It all started back at the end of football season. We wanted to bake a goodie for our neighbor, head coach, and carpooling extraordinaire. But the slight problem was his wife is, generally, on the gluten free path. Something I know very slim to nothing about given my questions asked to her over and over again…. ‘wait, can you eat corn?’ ‘wait, can you eat goat cheese?’
I get very nervous around people with food aversions.
My mom then clued me in on a Trader Joes gluten free pumpkin bread mix she has whipped up for her gluten free friend and it’s been declared the ‘best pumpkin bread ever.’
Fantastic. I ran to my local Trader Joes, bought about 20+ things that were not on my list, and arrived back home to work in the kitchen.
I was nervous giving something I had baked to friends when I had not yet tested it but come on, you can’t steal a slice of bread. The whole loaf is the gift. My mom has never steered me wrong so I had some major faith in this little orange box.
The smell while it was baking away? Unreal. Like the perfect pumpkin spiced candle – and I honestly don’t even generally like that scent. It was heavy on the cloves, almost a bit spicy if a pumpkin bread can be categorized as that. Yes, it’s spicy bread. I’m going with it.
The bread was then cooled, wrapped up, and delivered.
No news.
Uh oh. But men can be like that. I wasn’t expecting a hand written note or actually anything at all. But my inner thoughts of ‘what have I done baking something and giving it as a gift without testing it’ was getting the best of me. Finally I texted her oh so casually….’hey, how was the pumpkin bread?’
I’m pathetic like that. Please, validate my baking.
Her response? “He hid it from me!”
Funny. Or was it that bad? Please find it. And taste it. Now.
And she did. And we got rave reviews. So much so that I just had to have a sample and by sample I mean crumb as L and B literally stole it from my hand.
Oh my goodness was this good. The scent matched the bread – it was the perfect pumpkiny spiced goodness without being too sweet and what the heck? How is there no gluten. I don’t care how they do it. I’m just glad Trader Joes figured it out and I don’t have to. Literally, magic.
To this day we have had this bread in serious rotation at our home. I’m talking like two loaves a week. It’s been to sledding play dates, delivered as thank you to friends, and gobbled up by us pretty much daily. It got to the point where L was demanding it so much one night that I finally exclaimed ‘why don’t you just make it!’
With the ingredients being simply water, eggs, oil, and the mix? Well, he did it. Somehow my kitchen was an absolutely disaster from those three ingredients but he got the job done and we all dined on pumpkin bread, this bacon, and sliced apples the next morning for breakfast. Which, I’m just saying, makes a pretty kickass (and easy!) holiday breakfast.
C
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Courtney
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I was helping one of my blog readers with gluten – she was asking if one of my recipes was gluten free, and I was like “um, I don’t know!” I can’t believe how many store bought products have gluten in them – glad this one is a keeper! (and totally get how 20+ things mysteriously jump in your basket at TJs!)
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Twitter: charminglyuncmp
says:
I never go to TJs but this might be worth the trip! BUT I feel compelled to point out that most people who eat GF don’t have food “aversions” it actually makes them pretty sick. I know its so minor but it can be so disheartening to have people think you’re just being difficult all the time 🙂
Of for sure! My poor friend gets a rash all over her torso 🙁 I meant aversion in the sense that it just can’t be tolerated. 🙂