Archive for the ‘quick bread’ Category

This morning I was singing at the top of my lungs in my kitchen. Luckily no one was around to hear, except my little boy, who thinks I’m just peachy no matter what I sound like.

There’s this girl I went to high school with. We were never close. She was a year younger than me, and I don’t think we ever actually had a conversation. Ever. But we were both involved in our school’s large choral program, so we brushed shoulders a bit.

She was an awesome girl with a big smile, who was well-liked by everyone. But she wasn’t a spectacular singer. I wasn’t exactly a spectacular singer either, but I was geeky and did well in the choral scene. So here’s the kicker: After high school, she pursued singing, and got pretty good at it. I left it and chased after other dreams.

Where is she now? She was in the top ten 2009 American Idol. She’s famous. She’s cutting albums and dressing glamorously, and all that jazz.

Where am I? Happily living a quiet, snug little home life, baking to my heart’s content, playing with the sweetest of all little boys, absolutely and utterly satisfied with my obscure little corner of the world. Oh, and I still get to sing. In my kitchen. And nobody cares if I hit a sour note or two.

We’re both getting what we want out of life. How about that?

Here’s a banana bread which is wonderfully dense and moist, if you like that in a banana bread. And it’s out-of-this-world-flavorful. I know, everybody already has their perfect, go-to banana bread recipe. I think we’re all born with one. Mine, I don’t even know where it originated. I’ve been using it my whole life, literally. It’s old, and it’s filled with love. And I’ve made it all mine.

Banana Almond Bread

Ingredients:

3/4 cup shortening

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

4 large, very ripe bananas, mashed (I wanna see brown skins)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 - 1 cup chopped almonds or pecans (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, cream together shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs. Add the mashed bananas and extracts, and stir until completely blended. Combine the flour and baking soda together in a small mixing bowl, and add to the banana mixture. Stir gently just until flour is incorporated. Stir in nuts if desired.

Pour batter into two prepared loaf pans. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before releasing loafs from pans. Let loaves cool completely on a wire rack. For a crazy-soft top, wrap the loaves in plastic wrap and let them sit overnight before slicing.

Sunday is my baking day. Not my only baking day, you understand, but my favorite one. By a long shot.

Check it out. I get home from church, kick off my shoes, and don the cute plaid apron. Wha-BAM! The flour starts flying. But, you know… in a peaceful, Sunday sort of way.

Sunday afternoons are just about the loveliest time for me. I can put my little boy down for a nap, turn on some pretty Sunday-ish music, throw something in the oven, sit and read for a while, and enjoy the sunlight streaming through the muslin curtains on my west-facing kitchen window.

Then, before you know it, there’s something warm and delicious - like this sweet carrot pineapple bread - that my husband and I can sit down and share together. And you know what? I think that’s the sweetest thing of all.

When do you like to bake? I wanna hear.

Carrot Pineapple Bread

adapted from The Taste of Home Baking Book

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

2 cups shredded carrots

1 cup vegetable oil

1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple, drained

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven for 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, beat the eggs; add carrots, oil, pineapple, and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. The batter will be very thick. Fold in nuts, if desired.

Spoon into two greased 8-in. by 4-in. loaf pans. Bake for 50-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove loaves from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

(Note: This bread was great the day-of, but it wasn’t until after I wrapped it up and let it sit over night, that I fell in love with it.)

Okay everybody, raise your hand if you LOVE January.

. . .

I agree. You know why? Nothing happens in January. The holidays are over. And it’s just cold. Sure, it’s cold in December too, but December cold is purposeful because it’s Christmas time. December cold is fun because you cozy up by the fireplace and sip peppermint cocoa and listen to Bing Crosby sing about the weather. January cold isn’t nearly as picturesque.

No offense to anyone with a January birthday, but January is sort of a boring month. Sort of like August.

Baking in January doesn’t hold quite the same excitement for me, either. It’s the end of seasonal, traditional holiday foods, with pumpkin and cranberries and apples and walnuts and oranges, and those delicious spices that rise from the oven and make your kitchen smell like the North Pole. What do you eat in January? I’m at a loss here.

Well, I’m not entirely at a loss, because I’m being a little rebellious–I’m not ready to let go of my Christmas recipes yet. So I pulled out some fresh cranberries that have been hiding away in my freezer for a day like today, and I put them to good use.

This bread is scrumptious any time of year, providing you’ve got some cranberries on hand. The apple flavor is more of a backdrop than you’d expect–you won’t be hit over the head with apple, but let’s be honest, the cranberries and cinnamon are the real showstoppers here.

Apple Cranberry Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1-1/2 cups brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups peeled and grated tart apple
• 1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the oil, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. The batter will be very thick.

Mix in the grated apples and the cranberries. The juice from the apples will thin the batter slightly. Stir in nuts if desired.

Pour batter evenly into two prepared 4×8 loaf pans. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Serve warm, or wrap overnight to soften.