Recipe courtesy Miss Daisy King’s Meet Me at the Belle Meade Plantation

1 cup water
1 cup vegetable oil
1 pound can pumpkin or pumpkin pie filling
3 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup black walnuts, chopped
1 1/2 cups dates, chopped
3 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda

Assemble all ingredients and utensils. In a large mixing bowl, combine first seven ingredients. Sift together remaining ingredients. Mix well with pumpkin mixture. Pour into 2 large greased loaf pans. Bake in a 325-degree oven for 1 1/2 hours.

Yields 2 large loaves