Blueberry Lemon Walnut Bread

I found this recipe on a bag of Southern Grove Walnuts that I bought at Aldi's.  Since I didn't have any lemons but did have a lot of oranges I substituted everything lemon with orange.  It reminded me of the Orange Kiss Me Cake which I still have not made since I came across the recipe.

BLUEBERRY LEMON WALNUT BREAD
Yield: 12 servings

1 cup shelled walnuts, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1 cup blueberries

Glaze:
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Spread a single layer of walnuts onto a baking sheet. Toast walnuts in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes (until light brown) then let cool.
• Using a whisk, mix all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
• Using a whisk, mix sugar, lemon zest, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, melted butter and oil in a medium bowl.
• Pour liquid ingrediens into a pit created in the center of the dry ingredients and lightly combine. Take care not to over mix. Introduce chopped walnuts and blueberries by folding into mixture.
• Flour and grease an 8 x 4 (I’d use a 9 x 5) loaf pan. Spread mixture into prepared loaf pan.
• Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour (If using a tester, insert into center, baking complete when tester comes out clean). When finished baking, let cool for 20 minutes on rack, removing from pan and cool to room temperature.
• To create a glaze, add sugar and lemon juice to a small saucepan. Boil over high heat, then reduce. Stir until sugar has dissolved. 
• Brush on glaze while bread is still warm.

Nectarine and Blueberry Bread

I had some nectarines in the refrigerator that had been there too long for just eating in their present state but they were fine for cooking. Just needed to find a recipe and this is the one I found and we love it.

Nectarine and Blueberry Tea Bread recipe adapted from Shove It In Your Face which was adapted from Lynne's Country Kitchen

1 1/2 Cups Flour, divided

3/4 Cup Sugar

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Allspice

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1/3 Cup (75 grams) Butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon Orange Zest (I used grapefruit) (I skipped this)

1/4 Cup Orange Juice (I used grapefruit) (I used pineapple)

2 Eggs

2 Nectarines (I used 4 small)

1/2 Cup Blueberries, fresh or frozen

Topping:

2/3 cup Almonds, chopped well and divided

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Combine 1/4 cup almonds, sugar and cinnamon.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F/175C

Combine 1 Cup of flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice and salt in a bowl or stand mixer.   Add in butter, orange juice and orange zest.  Mix on low for about 30 seconds, then on high for 2 minutes.  Add in eggs and remaining 1/2 Cup of flour.  Mix to combine.   Fold in fruit and remaining almonds.

Pour batter into a loaf pan and add the topping.  Bake 50 - 60 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.  Cool in pan for ten minutes then finish cooling on a rack.  Enjoy!

Beer Bread

I saw this on GMA this morning and thought it looked good and I had all the ingredients on hand.
Then Audrey suggested we have a 4th of July dinner together so I brought it over.  It was really good and I will definitely make it again.

Beer Bread

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe/sara-moultons-beer-bread-16698267

Ingredients

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
One 12-ounce bottle good-quality beer

Directions

Place an oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the
oven to 350℉. Place the butter in a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish
or pan and set it in the oven while the oven is preheating.

Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a
medium bowl. Stir in the beer until it is just incorporated' (The
dough will be sticky and heavy.) Pour 6 tablespoons melted
butter out of the pan into a cup; tilt the pan to coat the bottom
and sides with the remaining butter. Spoon the bread dough into
the pan and spread evenly; drizzle the
6 tablespoons melted butter over the top. Bake for 20 to 25
minutes, or until the bumpy top is golden brown.

Remove the bread from the oven to a cooling rack; cut the bread
into rectangles and serve warm.

Onion bread: Prepare the dough as above. Thinly slice a small
onion and separate it into rings. Toss it with the
6 tablespoons melted butter and arrange it over the top of the
dough.

Corn bread: Prepare the dough as above, substituting l cup
cornmeal for 1 cup of the flour

Whole wheat bread: Prepare the dough as aboYe, substituting 1 cup
whole wheat four for 1 cup of the all-purpose flour.

From the kitchen of Sara Moulton

Buttermilk-Lime Tea Bread

I bought a quart of buttermilk to make a Buttermilk Pie.  Fortunately I had the occasion to make 2 Buttermilk Pies but still had two cups of buttermilk left.  I went searching for recipes and found this one on the Pillsbury site since I was there for another reason which I'll mention later.

When I was ready to do this post I googled for the recipe and found the exact same recipe on the Betty Crocker site with the exact same picture (the pic below is mine).  What do you know, General Mills is the parent company of everything out there - Gold Medal, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Bisquick.  I guess it doesn't matter to them what you use, they get all the money anyway.  Didn't this used to be called a monopoly?

Buttermilk-Lime Tea Bread

Filled with refreshing citrus flavor, this quick bread made with flour, buttermilk and egg is an all time favorite! 

Prep Time: 15 Min
Total Time: 1 Hr 15 Min
Makes: 1 loaf (16 slices

INGREDIENTS:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons grated lime peel

3 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon sugar

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom and sides of 8x4- or 9x5-inch loaf pan with shortening or spray with cooking spray; lightly flour.
• In medium bowl, mix flour, 3/4 cup sugar, the baking powder and salt; set aside.
• In another medium bowl, stir egg, buttermilk, oil, lime peel and 1 tablespoon of the lime juice with spoon until well blended. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and stir just until moistened (some lumps will remain). Spread in pan.
• Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice and 1 tablespoon sugar.
• Brush lime juice mixture over top of warm bread. Cool in pan on cooling rack 10 minutes; remove bread from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour. When completely cool, wrap in plastic wrap. Bread is best served the next day.

 Here is the Pillsbury link:  Pillsbury

and this is the Betty Crocker one:  Betty Crocker

Fresh Pumpkin

I had a fresh pumpkin and after making that delicious pumpkin pie at Greta's I thought that I should make one using the pumpkin I had before we left home.  This was a real easy way for me to cook the pumpkin.
First I cut some holes in the pumpkin, almost like eyes if I was carving a jack-o-lantern.

This is so the air can escape.  It is much too hard to cut the pumpkin without softening it first, especially with my bad shoulder.  I put it in the microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Then I cut the top off and cleaned out the insides.

I cut it in quarters to make cleaning easier.

Using a serated knife to scrape off any stringy residue worked real well.

Then I put it in a large bowl with a tablespoon or two of water, cutting the pieces to fit and microwaved on high for first 10 minutes and then another 10 until it was really soft.

After it came out of the microwave, let it cool so it can be handled.  The pumpkin should scrape off the shell real easily and then you can use a stick mixer to puree it and make your favorite pumpkin pie recipe.   I used the tried and true Libby's recipe because that's what I used at Greta's.  But I realized that I definitely need to refresh my spices because hers tasted so good with all the brand new spices.

 Libby's Pumpkin Pie Recipe

• 3/4 Cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsps. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 2 large eggs
• 1 can (15 oz.) Libby’s Pumpkin or 2 cups fresh pumpkin
• 1 cans (12 fl.oz.each) Carnation evaporated milk
• 1 unbaked 9-inch (4 cup volume) deep dish pie shells

Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a small bowl. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.
Pour into pie shells.
Bake in preheated 425 degree F. oven for 15 minutes.  Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F.;  bake for 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack for 2 hours.  Serve or refrigerate.

And while I was at it, I used a cup of the pumpkin to make my favorite recipe for Pumpkin Nut Bread.  The recipe must be at least 40 years old.  I posted it here last year --> Pumpkin Bread
but just below is the actual recipe that I saved all these years.  It came in our RG&E (Rochester Gas & Electric) bill eons ago.  I cut everything in half but used 2 eggs and added some craisins.  Next time I'm going to try using fresh cranberries since I still have a cup of pumpkin that I put in the freezer.

Blueberry Bread

Today I was going to make banana bread but I mistakenly whipped up 1 cup of butter, which is what I use for oatmeal cookies so I needed to think of something else to make to use the other 1/2 cup of butter and I decided to look for a blueberry bread recipe.  The first one I came across sounded good and it turned out to be just that.

BLUEBERRY BREAD

INGREDIENTS:
2 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS:
1.  Mix together beaten eggs with the sugar. Add milk and melted shortening or vegetable oil.
2.  Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Combine mixtures, stirring only until blended. Carefully fold in fresh or frozen blueberries and broken walnut pieces.
3.  Pour into greased 5 x 12 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50-60 minutes. Cool in pan but try to turn it out of pan before it is totally cool. It will be easier to remove. Can also be made in a normal size loaf pan or can be made into 2 pans.

Printed from Allrecipes.com 10/2/2011
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/blueberry-bread-i/

Note:  2/11/12 - After reading this recipe, I'm wondering how I used the 1/2 cup butter based on the recipe.  I'm going to make this again today but will use 3 Tblsp of butter and report back on the results.
Results:  Came out OK but definitely need to cook for 60 minutes.  I took it out after 50 and although the top looked done and the toothpick test was OK the bottom wasn't cooked.  I prefer butter to oil but need to do a comparison test after reading about the differences between the two and also of melting butter vs creaming it.

Note:  6/16/14 - After re-reading this today I saw that in the instructions it said melted shortening or vegetable oil.  I used oil and it seemed to rise a lot more but when looking up the difference it seems that oil or melted shortening doesn't make a difference when the recipe calls for oil, mainly in muffins and I would assume these breads fall into the same category since they are more forgiving and be used 1:1.  But for other recipes it could have an impact, especially replacing butter with oil when it calls for creaming.  Butter has water and oil does not which is what makes the difference.