By September 2023. Fall in Memphis, and I am 64, walking the neighborhood in my light jacket, watching the leaves turn on the oaks and maples that line Deadrick Avenue. The smoker is happy in fall — the cooler air holds the smoke lower, keeps it closer to the meat, and the results are always a shade better in October than in July, as if the season itself is a seasoning.
Rosetta beside me through the week, steady as ever, the woman who runs this household with the precision of a hospital ward and the heart of a mother who has loved fiercely for 39 years of marriage.
Smoked turkey wings this week — big, meaty, brined and rubbed and smoked at 275 for three hours until the skin crackled and the meat pulled clean. Turkey wings are the working class of BBQ: cheap, underrated, and transformed by smoke into something extraordinary. Uncle Clyde served them on Fridays at his stand, and I serve them on Saturdays in my backyard, and the tradition bridges the gap between then and now.
Sunday at Mt. Zion, the choir sang and I sat in my pew and let the music hold me. The bass notes I used to add are quieter now — my voice is aging, the way everything ages — but the listening is its own participation, and the church holds me the way the church has held this community for a hundred years: faithfully, unconditionally, with room for everyone who shows up. I show up. That is enough.
After Sunday at Mt. Zion, Rosetta always wants something warm waiting on the counter when we get home — something that smells like the season, the way the smoker smells like October when the cool air holds everything close. This Pumpkin Cranberry Bread does exactly that: spiced and earthy, with the tart snap of cranberry cutting through the sweetness the way a strong bass note cuts through a hymn. It’s the kind of thing you slice thick and set out for whoever shows up, because in this house — like at Mt. Zion — there’s always room for everyone who comes through the door.
Pumpkin Cranberry Bread
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 60 min | Total Time: 1 hr 15 min | Servings: 12 slices
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat & prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and lightly dust with flour, tapping out any excess.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves until evenly combined.
- Mix wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth and uniform.
- Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently with a spatula until just combined — do not overmix. A few streaks of flour are fine at this stage.
- Fold in cranberries. Gently fold in the chopped cranberries until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 58–65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
- Cool. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing. Slice thick and serve at room temperature.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 215 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 35g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 175mg