Pumpkin Bread

Fall in our house always means pumpkin bread and to celebrate the start of the new season, I wanted to bake this yesterday. I didn't have any cloves or canned pumpkin, so I got out the bowl and added all of the dry ingredients, figuring I could go to the store after the kids were on the bus and once I got back home, I could add the other few things and have them in the oven by lunchtime. I went to the first two stores and no luck on finding the canned pumpkin. By the time I was at the third store and the shelves held not one can of pumpkin, I found a manager and asked what the deal was! He told me that they had placed the order but they had not come in yet and he knew that all the other grocery stores in the area also did not get their orders yet either. Well, I knew I had already put all the other ingredients in the bowl at home, so in desperation, I called Steve at work and had him go to a grocery store on the side of town he works and he arrived home that evening victorious with a can of pumpkin. I didn't get it baked in time for the kids to have fresh bread when they came home from school, but they are enjoying it this morning as a special treat for breakfast. Coincidentally, when I logged on to my computer, my homepage had a news blurb about a pumpkin shortage this year !!!! No kidding...

Here is the recipe for our family's favorite pumpkin bread :

3 C. sugar 1 tsp. cloves
3 tsp. baking soda 1 can pumpkin (16 oz.)
1 tsp. salt 2/3 c. water
1 tsp. cinnamon 3 1/2 C. flour
1 tsp. nutmeg 2 sticks melted margarine
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Mix all ingredients together in one bowl. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 60 minutes.