The thing about living in the Bay Area is that even with our so-called “micro-climates” we often barely notice a perceptible change in seasons. It’s October and yesterday it was about 80 degrees in the Outer Sunset. I made smoked salmon and avocado sushi for lunch, avoiding the stove entirely. Don’t even talk to me about turning on the oven. My brain might’ve been focused on planning prep for my upcoming fall-themed bake sale, but my sweating body was craving ice cold boba tea. No, I did not succumb to that urge…mainly because it would’ve involved me standing at the stove stirring a pot of boiling tapioca balls.

Today, however, was a different story, Though still sunny, the temperature was a comfortably cool 65…perfect for some easy, no-fuss comfort baking. It started with this giant Hubbard squash my cousin Jen bought back from her small organic farm in WA state.

The squash has been sitting in my kitchen by the window for the last month waiting for me to do something with it. According to Jen, Hubbards are used in canned pumpkin (not the ubiquitous round orange variety). Hers was organically grown, patiently tended to by her husband David and their kids, so no doubt delicious and flavorful. “You can use it to make lots of pumpkin pies,” she enthused. Hmmm.

I admit I’ve never actually made pumpkin pies from pumpkins cooked from scratch for that purpose. Aside from the fact that it’s way easier to use a can of Libby’s–when I was baking dozens of pies it was more like several industrial-size #10 cans of them–I suspect I’m still psychologically scarred by the memory of the WORST pumpkin pie I ever had in my life. It was my junior year abroad in England. The University of Kent decided to host a “Thanksgiving feast” for their homesick American exchange students, complete with roast turkey (aka sliced turkey breast roll), gravy (don’t ask), stuffing (or dressing), jellied cranberry sauce, and “pumpkin pie” which the head of our college claimed was prepared from a recipe provided by an American student so it was “authentic.” I won’t argue the authenticity of the recipe. It could very well have been someone’s family recipe…just not a good one. What we were all expecting was a pumpkin filling that possessed the requisite creamy, custard-like consistency. What we got was heavily spiced, barely sweet stringy mashed cooked pumpkin layered on top of a tough, anemic looking crust–most definitely not a Libby’s pumpkin pie.

While I might not actually end up using Jen’s Hubbard squash for pie, I was curious about its flavor and texture, so I decided to crack it open and roast it.

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After steaming under a foil tent for 75 mins. at 375F degrees, the squash came out of the oven lusciously tender and moist, its flesh a bright goldenrod, flavorful and naturally sweet. Is it pumpkin pie material? Maybe, though I’d probably mix in some Libby’s once I’d pureed it smooth and strained out the stringy bits. What I’d really like to use the cooked squash for is maybe ravioli filling or layered in a vegetable lasagna…or even in my creamy curried pumpkin soup.

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So the squash story to be continued…

The other bit of comfort baking I did, while the oven was already on roasting squash, was to whip up a quick batch of Zucchini-Pear Bread. I still had a sizable hunk of white zucchini in my vegetable bin leftover from the two supersized whole ones Jen gave me. Plus, I was in the mood for some warm sweet spices to perfume the air, the way only baking can accomplish. That hunk of zucchini yielded scant 3 cups shredded so I made up the difference with some shredded peeled petite Bartlett pears from my friend Amy’s backyard.

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The recipe is a very scaled down version of one I used for many years in catering. It’s oil-based so it’s very easy to put together. Sugars and eggs beaten together with the oil, then all the dry ingredients whisked in, followed by the shredded zucchini and pear. I’m not a walnut fan so I usually omit them from the original recipe when I’m baking for myself. Rather than bake two “normal” size loaves, which would’ve taken at least 45-50 mins. to bake, I opted to divide the batter into 12 mini loaf pan molds, cutting the baking time to just shy of 30 mins.

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Not only are they darn sticking cute, the mini loaves are a way great to share the wealth and spread delicious baked goods vibe to my friends and neighbors. All in all, it’s a win win.

As I said this is a very scaled down version of the recipe I used for professional, high volume baking. Most of the dry ingredients are scaled out in grams, so you will need a digital scale for this.

Zucchini-Pear Mini Loaves

Yield: 12 mini loaves

• 300 gm sugar
• 310 gm brown sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 1 1/2 c. oil
• 1 T. dark or spiced rum (optional)
• 560 gm all-purpose flour
• 21 gm baking soda
• 8 gm sea salt
• 4.5 gm baking powder
• 1 t. ground cinnamon
• 3 c. shredded zucchni
• 1 c. shredded peeled firm ripe pear (Bartlett, Comice, D’Anjou, etc)

1. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugars, eggs, rum, and oil until smooth and homogenous.
3. Whisk in the dry ingredients just until incorporated, then stir in the shredded zucchini and pear.
4. Divide the batter evenly into 12 well-greased mini loaf pan molds.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-35 mins. (depending on oven), rotating the pans after about 25 mins. Breads are done when skewer comes out clean when pierced in the center of loaves.
6. Cool for 10 mins. on a rack before unmolding.