blue artichoke

I didn't make Sunday muffins last weekend, because GC was out of town and a dozen muffins is a lot for just one artichoke. I did, however, bake a loaf of quick bread for GC to breakfast on at work this week. If October = German food and November = pumpkin, then December = cranberries. I made cranberry quick bread with raisins and hazelnuts. My recommendation? Make this bread, but throw out the raisins, they're rubbish, and increase the hazelnuts.

Cranberry Quick Bread with Raisins and Hazelnuts

The batter is a pale tan, but the finished bread is a rich golden brown. The fruit in this easy quick bread helps it stay moist. You can use walnuts in place of the hazelnuts, though I don't know why you'd want to. The hazelnuts make this bread totally awesome. With walnuts, it will just be good.

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup apple juice
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
1 large egg
1 1/3 cups chopped fresh cranberries
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours and next 4 ingredients (flours through salt) in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine juice, oil, rind, and egg; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in cranberries, raisins, and hazelnuts.

Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

CALORIES 162(23% from fat); FAT 4.2g (sat 0.6g,mono 1.6g,poly 1.8g); PROTEIN 2.6g; CHOLESTEROL 13mg; CALCIUM 27mg; SODIUM 112mg; FIBER 1.6g; IRON 1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 29.6g
Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2002

Seriously, this is one of the better quick breads I've had, and I've made a lot of quick breads. The bread is moist and tender, and simply sweet balanced with a deep nuttiness. I made it for GC, but ended up eating three rather large slices before I was able to wrap it up. If you can, wait until the loaf is fully cooled before slicing into it. I didn't wait long enough, so it didn't slice easily. No matter, it made it to my belly all the same.

Getting to Know All About You: What's your favorite Christmas carol?