Berry Loaf

What a welcome relief it is to see that spring may have finally arrived, giving us a much-needed break from the dreadfully cold winter we’ve been through!

Forecasters are predicting seasonal to above average temperatures for much of the coming week, and this summertime lover could not be happier! Especially since I was finally able to get out today for my first outdoor run (Read: Jog!) of the year! For the curious, it was a 5K out & back in my quiet little neighbourhood. I completed it in roughly 0:36:45, which equates to a snail’s pace of around 11:50. I even took a few blurry shots along the way to document the occasion 🙂

The spring melt begins!

1 mile down, 2.11 to go!

The half way mark, time to turn back for home 🙂

So how about we celebrate the warmer temps, by hitting the kitchen and whipping up a sweet loaf that is chock full of summer berry goodness?

If you’re not a fan of banana bread, you must give this recipe a try; there is nary a speck of banana but it packs a whole lot of flavour!

Adapted from Hershey’s Berry Loaf

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 tsp. freshly grated orange zest
2 Tbs. coconut oil
1 egg
1 cup semi sweet (or dark) mini chocolate chips
3/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cup fresh, or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan, (I prefer lining it with parchment paper.) In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a smaller bowl, whisk the orange juice, zest, oil and egg until well blended. Stir the juice mixture into the flour mixture along with the chips, nuts, blueberries and cranberries, do not overmix!

Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake approximately 65 to 70 minutes, depending on how hot your oven runs. NOTE: Inserting a toothpick to test for doneness doesn’t work too well with this recipe, given the amount of chocolate chips and fruit! Cool 10 minutes in the pan before removing to a wire rack. Yields 12 – 14 slices

Hershey’s offers an icing sugar glaze for this loaf, but I feel it’s not only unnecessary, but even detracts from the complexity of flavours from the bread itself. If you’d like to use a glaze, simply beat together 1 cup of icing sugar, 1 Tbs. softened butter, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, and approximately 1 Tbs. milk (you may need more, depending on how thin you want the glaze to be.) Stir until smooth and pour over the cooled bread. Enjoy!

Morning Glory Muffins

Looking for a grab-and-go breakfast that is chocked full of flavour, substance, and goodness? Have I got the muffin for you!

Though I’ve never been a huge fan of muffins, I just knew that I had to try these when I first stumbled across the recipe (that has since been removed from the Taste of Home website, pout). They turned out a real winner and I baked them for the third time yesterday. I find that these muffins actually taste better once cooled to room temperature, and they definitely do not need butter, jam, or additional flavouring of any kind!

I make them with a few slight modifications, but nothing major. This is the type of muffin that allows you to really let your imagination run wild, so go ahead… get creative!
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups spelt flour
3/4 cup sugar (I’ve used as little as 2/3 of a cup)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup peanut oil
1/2 cup milk
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups peeled and chopped apples (we use 3 small Macintosh)
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut, flaked or shredded
1/2 cup sultana raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 375°F (350°F if using a dark pan,) grease (or line with paper) two muffin tins. (NOTE: Recipe yields 18 muffins, but you can make 12 extra-large or 24 smaller muffins if you like. Just be sure to adjust your baking times accordingly.) In a medium bowl, whisk together the first five ingredients. In another, larger bowl, whisk eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla until well blended. Add dry ingredients and stir just until flour is incorporated. DO NOT OVERMIX! Gently fold in apples, carrots, coconut, raisins and nuts. Spoon into prepared muffin tins. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (this is tricky because of the moist apples!) Remove to wire racks to cool slightly before serving.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Per Muffin (Based on 18 muffins per recipe)
Calories: 200
Total Fat: 10g
– Saturated Fat: 2.1
Cholesterol: 28mg
Sodium: 90mg
Total Carbohydrates: 25g
– Fibre: 3.2g
– Sugars: 12.8g
Protein: 4g