Guest: Author Sarah Pinneo on her First Book, JULIA’S CHILD: A NOVEL
By Guest Writer, Sarah Pinneo
I’m a food journalist and a cookbook author. Julia’s Child: A Novel was my first work of fiction. It was great fun to write a story about a mother struggling with her ambitions, her toddler, and with the price of organic vanilla.
Of all the pressures of motherhood, the ones we heap upon ourselves are often the heaviest. Julia has to learn, between the first and last pages, how to balance her goals with her sanity. But before she can, she will have to face a room full of 100 lactating breasts, a 92 pound TV diva and a pot smoking organic inspector.
When I finished the story, I realized that it would be great fun to include some of Julia’s recipes. The trouble was, Julia’s best fictional successes were for tasty baked goods called “muffets.” In the book, Julia is very proud of the fact that muffets contain very little added sugar. But when it came time to write the recipes for the book, it was harder than I thought to create low sugar recipes that I actually wanted to eat.
After quite a few flops, I finally succeeded with Squash Carrot Raisin Bread. Sugar, which is a big ingredient in most quick breads, acts as a moistening agent as well as a sweetener. So to pull off this recipe, I compromised by adding a half cup of honey. That’s about a third as much added sweetener as most quick breads have, but it still tastes delicious. The raisins also add natural sweetness. The result is a naturally sweet, moist cake-like snack bread. Enjoy!
About Sarah Pinneo
Sarah Pinneo was employed in the world of finance for over a decade prior to making the change from breadwinner on to bread baker. Sarah is currently writing on the subjects of food and sustainability designed for lifestyle publications which include The Boston Globe Magazine and Edible Communities. She’s resided in Grand Rapids, MI, New York City, Ludlow, VT and currently resides in Hanover, NH, a location where the unexpected moose or bear walks through her property.
Connect with Sarah Pinneo (Social Media Links)
“Julia’s Child: A Novel” Details
- Reading level: Ages 18+
- Publisher: Plume; 1st edition; January 31, 2012
- ISBN-10: 0452297311
- ISBN-13: 978-0452297319
- Purchase at Amazon.com
Squash Carrot Raisin “Muffet Bread”
: Sarah Pinneo
: bread
:
:
:
A fun recipes from the author of “Julia’s Child”
Ingredients
- ₖ cup white flour
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- Pinch ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ stick butter, softened
- ½ cup honey
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup golden (or regular) raisins
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup finely grated yellow summer squash or zucchini
- ¼ cup finely grated carrot
- ⅓ cup sunflower seeds
Instructions
- Grease and flour a 9 × 9 square baking pan. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grate the vegetables if you haven’t already.
- In a bowl combine the flours, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt, and baking soda.
- In a food processor fitted with a blade cream the butter and honey together until well combined. Add the oil and raisins, and process until the raisins are well distributed. Add the eggs and vanilla, and process again until combined. (Alternatively, use a mixer, in which case you should chop the raisins first.)
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, and then stir in the squash, carrots, and sunflower seeds.
- Bake for 35–40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Muffet bread will be a beautiful golden color on top.
- Cool in the baking pay for ten minutes and then turn out the loaf onto a rack and cool completely, or cut squares from the pan.
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- Chocolate Marshmallow Muffins Recipe (momstart.com)
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Tags: baking, Book, books, First Novel, Julia, Julia's Child, Julia's Child: A Novel, Newsletter, Recipe, Sarah Pinneo
By Guest Writer, Sarah Pinneo
I’m a food journalist and a cookbook author. Julia’s Child: A Novel was my first work of fiction. It was great fun to write a story about a mother struggling with her ambitions, her toddler, and with the price of organic vanilla.
Of all the pressures of motherhood, the ones we heap upon ourselves are often the heaviest. Julia has to learn, between the first and last pages, how to balance her goals with her sanity. But before she can, she will have to face a room full of 100 lactating breasts, a 92 pound TV diva and a pot smoking organic inspector.
When I finished the story, I realized that it would be great fun to include some of Julia’s recipes. The trouble was, Julia’s best fictional successes were for tasty baked goods called “muffets.” In the book, Julia is very proud of the fact that muffets contain very little added sugar. But when it came time to write the recipes for the book, it was harder than I thought to create low sugar recipes that I actually wanted to eat.
After quite a few flops, I finally succeeded with Squash Carrot Raisin Bread. Sugar, which is a big ingredient in most quick breads, acts as a moistening agent as well as a sweetener. So to pull off this recipe, I compromised by adding a half cup of honey. That’s about a third as much added sweetener as most quick breads have, but it still tastes delicious. The raisins also add natural sweetness. The result is a naturally sweet, moist cake-like snack bread. Enjoy!
About Sarah Pinneo
Sarah Pinneo was employed in the world of finance for over a decade prior to making the change from breadwinner on to bread baker. Sarah is currently writing on the subjects of food and sustainability designed for lifestyle publications which include The Boston Globe Magazine and Edible Communities. She’s resided in Grand Rapids, MI, New York City, Ludlow, VT and currently resides in Hanover, NH, a location where the unexpected moose or bear walks through her property.
Connect with Sarah Pinneo (Social Media Links)
“Julia’s Child: A Novel” Details
- Reading level: Ages 18+
- Publisher: Plume; 1st edition; January 31, 2012
- ISBN-10: 0452297311
- ISBN-13: 978-0452297319
- Purchase at Amazon.com
- ₖ cup white flour
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- Pinch ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ stick butter, softened
- ½ cup honey
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup golden (or regular) raisins
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup finely grated yellow summer squash or zucchini
- ¼ cup finely grated carrot
- ⅓ cup sunflower seeds
- Grease and flour a 9 × 9 square baking pan. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grate the vegetables if you haven’t already.
- In a bowl combine the flours, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt, and baking soda.
- In a food processor fitted with a blade cream the butter and honey together until well combined. Add the oil and raisins, and process until the raisins are well distributed. Add the eggs and vanilla, and process again until combined. (Alternatively, use a mixer, in which case you should chop the raisins first.)
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, and then stir in the squash, carrots, and sunflower seeds.
- Bake for 35–40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Muffet bread will be a beautiful golden color on top.
- Cool in the baking pay for ten minutes and then turn out the loaf onto a rack and cool completely, or cut squares from the pan.
Related articles
- Tasty Treat Thursday Savory Pork Sausage Balls Recipe (momstart.com)
- How To Make a Pink Strawberry Cake Recipe (momstart.com)
- Chocolate Marshmallow Muffins Recipe (momstart.com)
- Tasty Treat Thursday Cinnamon Raisin Muffins Recipe (momstart.com)
- Fluffy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies Recipe (momstart.com)
- Island Breeze Ginger Cake Recipe (momstart.com)
- Mother Nature’s Natural Fruit and Nut Muffins – A Gluten Free Recipe (momstart.com)
- Tasty Treat Thursday Almond Biscotti Recipe (momstart.com)
Tags: baking, Book, books, First Novel, Julia, Julia's Child, Julia's Child: A Novel, Newsletter, Recipe, Sarah Pinneo
