Of fall, pumpkin spice lattes, cool evenings and a Paleo Pumpkin Bread recipe

*Yep, this is the same first three paragraphs of the last post I wrote which turned into a soapbox post about advanced degrees in nursing and nursing competence. I decided that post needed to be on its own regarding that subject.   But I didn't want to waste my love of fall thoughts or the very ripe banana on my counter so, help yourself to some cool weather, a hot cup of something you like, and make yourself some paleo pumpkin bread.*

It's actually cool enough to open the windows at night and wear a light sweater to work at 6 am.  Heck, it's even cool enough to roll the windows down in the car in the evening.  By "cool", I mean it's in the 70's at night and it was 91 degrees the other evening when I felt the "cool" breeze blowing through the car at 6pm.

It's my favorite time of year.  The warm aroma of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg, the cool mornings and evenings...and that's about it.  There's no changing color of leaves in Surprise, Arizona.  There's no wood stove burning in the house.  But, we do our best in the suburbs of Phoenix to make ourselves feel like the season has changed for more than the first and last 4 hours of a day.  We see fall colored fake foliage in the grocery store.  We smell warm pumpkin spice candles and see advertised warm pumpkin spice... everything.

I like to make my own pumpkin spice lattes.  Real pumpkin.  Dark french press coffee.  Milk. Honey. And a dash of pumpkin spice mix.  Better than Starbucks any day.

In honor of my favorite season I made some pumpkin bread using my adaption of one of my go-to Paleo bread recipes found at Elana's Pantry.

1 ripe banana
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup almond flour
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 T honey
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp clove
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp baking soda

Mix all those ingredients in a mixing bowl until a smooth, cake batter consistency.  Pour into an 8X8 glass casserole dish greased with coconut oil and dusted with almond meal.  Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes or until knife pulls out clean from the center.  Allow to cool at room temperature before cutting.

Enjoy the best time of the year!