To make fresh pumpkin puree, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Halve and seed the squash, and rub all over with olive oil. Line a baking sheet or shallow baking dish with foil or parchment. Place the squash on the baking sheet cut side down. If the squash has a dry texture, add ¼ cup water. Wrap tightly with foil. Roast 60 -75 minutes or until squash is quite soft. Be careful of the steam plume when opening the foil.

Set aside to cool. Scoop the soft squash out of the skin and mash with a fork or puree in the food processor. You'll need 2 cups puree for the pumpkin bread.

To make the pumpkin bread, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 5-inch bread pan with cooking spray or coat generously with butter.

Combine the flour, baking powder and soda, spices, and sea salt in a large mixing bowl. In a medium bowl, beat the sugar with the eggs. Fold in the pumpkin puree and vanilla, whisking until smooth. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing until there are just a few dry spots. Finally, fold in the olive oil, mixing until the batter is smooth.

Pour batter into bread pan. Add pumpkin seeds, a drizzle of olive oil (about ½ teaspoon or whatever is leftover in the measuring cup), and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar.