sweet miscellany

I usually eat some muesli or granola for breakfast, but sometimes I want something a little fancier. I saw the last of the summer blueberries at the store the other day and decided to take advantage of them and make a nice loaf of breakfast bread. It’s quite sad that summer produce is being phased out, but I am hopeful that it means cooler temperatures (at least cooler than 107 degrees) will be heading my way.

While waiting for cooler temperatures, you can sit down and indulge in a slice (or two) of this lemon berry breakfast bread and savor the last flavors of summer. This is a quick bread and can be made with any assortment of berries that you have on hand. I decided to use a mix of blueberries and dewberries and it ended up quite lovely, though a bit purple in color.

Lemon Berry Breakfast Bread
makes one loaf

1 1/2 cups spelt flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
3/4 cup barley flour
1 tbsp arrowroot starch
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
1/3 cup raw sugar
the zest from one lemon
2 cups berries ( I used 1 cup of blueberries and 1 of cup dewberries)
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup of buttermilk (or almond milk, soy milk, etc.)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9 inch loaf pan. Line it with parchment paper as well.

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the flours, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and lemon zest. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry until they are about half-way mixed in. Add in the berries and mix until everything is just combined, being careful not to crush the berries. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the top is golden and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool the bread in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack to cool completely. Slice it up and enjoy!

My work schedule doesn’t give me a lot of free weekend time, especially as of late. When I do finally have a weekend, I usually try to catch up on sleep, baking, and what not. This weekend I made it a point to go to the farmer’s market here in Longview. Not only have I been meaning to go for ages, but it was the last weekend for summer produce before they close until fall. That makes me a little sad, but at least next time I go the temperature will be below 100 degrees, or so I hope.

I think my trip turned out quite successful. I ended up with a bunch of dandelion greens, a bunch of lacinato kale, and 4lbs of peaches, all grown not far from my little apartment! I have lovely visions of what the dandelion greens and kale will become, so if I remember, I will share recipes for those in a later post. The peaches were made into a simple and lovely peach jam destined to be sold in my etsy shop, but not before I enjoyed one with some milk.

Peach Jam!

Have you ever had peaches with ice cold milk? It’s pretty much peaches and cream but with milk instead of cream. You can enjoy them for breakfast, as a dessert, or perhaps as a midnight snack. The following isn’t really a recipe, but more of a suggestion or starting point. It’s very simple, but also quite delicious. Since there are so few ingredients (2 to be exact!), I would suggest using some fresh, local peaches and the freshest organic milk (or cream) you can find. If you are feeling ambitious, you could add some toasted nuts or coconut.

Peaches with Milk
serves 1

1 large peach
about 1/4 cup of organic milk (or cream, soy milk, almond milk, etc.)

Slice or chop the peach to your liking, then douse in milk. Savor the beauty of how easy this was, then enjoy the simple deliciousness that is before you.