No Tricks - This Bread Is A Treat

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Wednesday - October 17, 2007

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Halloween is approaching, and nothing causes chicken skin like our local versions of obake, those deliciously creepy Japanese ghost tales made famous by the late storyteller Glen Grant. In tribute to Grant, Hawaii-born playwright, actor, director and kabuki expert David Furumoto has returned to Honolulu Theatre for Youth to direct and star in Obake. On stage at Tenney Theatre Oct. 19-Nov. 17, this chilling collection of three spooky tales from Hawaii and Japan will have audiences shivering with fright - and laughing with delight.

This column is dedicated to David, a master teacher of kabuki and kyogen theatre who also is professionally certified in Japanese classical dance. (Few people know he is also an accomplished bagpipe player!)

David’s gorgeous kabuki stylings have made for some of the most beloved plays at HTY - his Wondrous Tales of Old Japan in 2002 was a knockout - so this year the HTYboard opted to make Obake the theme of its annual Le Masquerade fundraiser: “Spooky Kabuki,” slated for Oct. 27 at the Japanese Cultural Center.

Try this delicious bread for a “treat.” The pumpkin adds fiber and the raisins and nuts add some sweetness to the bread. This recipe makes two loaves. You may freeze one; wrap in plastic wrap, and place in a freezer bag. For quick snacks, cut the loaf in slices and freeze slices individually. To defrost, pop in microwave for about 15 seconds, or pack in school lunchboxes frozen; they will defrost and taste just-baked in a few hours. This is also a great dessert; serve with a dollop of light whipped topping or a scoop of nonfat vanilla yogurt.

“SPOOKY” PUMPKIN LOAF

* 3 cups unbleached flour, sifted
* 1 cup granulated white sugar
* ³/4 cups dark brown sugar
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* ¹/2 teaspoon baking powder
* ¹/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* ¹/2 teaspoon cloves
* 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
* 2 cups pumpkin puree
* ¹/2 cup canola oil
* ¹/3 cup applesauce
* 4 egg whites plus 1 whole egg, beaten together
*¹/4 cup chopped walnuts and ¹/2 cup golden raisins, tossed with a little bit of flour to coat

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with cooking spray. Mix together flour, sugars (make sure to get lumps out of brown sugar), baking soda, baking powder and spices until well-blended. Add pumpkin, oil, applesauce, egg whites and egg, and mix until well-combined and all dry ingredients are moistened. Add raisin-walnut mixture and fold in. Pour into loaf pans and bake for about one hour or until cake tester comes out clean from center. Cool in pans on a rack for about 20 minutes.

Makes two loaves, 12 slices each.

Approximate Nutrition Information Per Slice:

Calories: 210
Fat: 5 grams
Cholesterol:15 milligrams
Sodium: 150 milligrams

(Diana Helfand, author of “Hawaii Light and Healthy” and “The Best of Heart-y Cooking,” has taught nutrition in the Kapiolani Community College culinary arts program.)