Coconut Bread

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This post was my first post on HonestCooking.com March 15, 2011.  I am very proud and honored to be contributing to this food magazine site that is headed by Kalle Bergman.  It has a flavor I have not seen before.  Go see for yourself and check it out.

On March 1, I was reading a New York Times article on coconut oils, Once a Villain, Coconut Oil Charms the Health Food World, which was stating how vegans and persons with specific dietary needs  had been using virgin coconut oil to make cakes and cake frosting, pie crusts, baked goods and sautes to achieve better quality and flavor.  It also mentioned that coconut oil is not the villain that it has been made out to be.  It was the hydrogenated version, along with all the other hydrogenated oils that have been produced, that was really bad for you.  Coconut oil got really picked on and tossed out of the party. There are other sources that suggest virgin coconut oil is a healthy oil and that societies that use them heavily in their diets do not have higher levels of heart disease than areas that consume a western diet like in the US, they are actually lower.  There have been some long term studies in the US that concluded coconut oil does not increase heart disease.  There is a lot of interesting science behind these results.  I think this is all fascinating since we have been told to stay away from these foods because they are evil and they will kill you. I should be enthralled, but instead of pondering this interesting nutritional information (info on saturated fats not being so bad for you has been coming out slowly for several years now), I had an epiphany, OK just an aha moment. Maybe coconut oil is exactly what that coconut bread that I made 7 to 10 years ago needed.  It was very lackluster in taste and I was soooo disappointed.  Would coconut oil add that extra level of flavor so the bread would taste like coconut, because why make a coconut bread that doesn't really taste like coconut?  That seems like wasted calories to me.

Amazingly. I knew exactly which cookbook of mine had the recipe (I have a few cookbooks!) and went right to it and then to the store for unrefined, virgin coconut oil.  It is now apparent that I never really gave up on this bread recipe, even though I should have after the first try.  It was really not good.  Maybe coconut has a "special place in my heart" and it was meant to be!

Sun Dried Tomato-Basil-Parmesan Scones

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It was time to start dinner and on the menu was meatloaf and only because I had one in the freezer.  So nice and easy, as long as you remember to unthaw it in time.  I am not much for defrosting in the microwave because that can just get weird.  I might use the microwave to defrost something to get whatever it is started thawing, but that is it.  The microwave can be wicked. I will always have a microwave, but for me it has its limitations.

The other reason I wanted to make meatloaf is that I had made a spicy ketchup and I wanted to see how it was as the topping for the meatloaf.   It was really delicious but I think it still needs some tweeking.  I usually bake my meatloaf with tomato paste mixed with chili sauce instead of ketchup like most meatloaf lovers do.  Regular, store bought ketchup is too sweet for my taste and I like the tangy, savory flavor of tomato paste.  And for that extra special touch, about 15 minutes before it is done I cover it with sharp cheddar and continue cooking until the cheese has melted and has lovely, crunchy edges.  Yum, there is nothing like baked cheese.

Meatloaf aside, savory scones are what I am really about today.  Sun Dried Tomato-Basil-Parmesan Scones.  I had a lot of fun making these.  I am a big scone lover but until now I have only made sweet ones and I wanted a bread to go with the meatloaf that I was cooking.  I have had this savory version swooshing around in my head for a couple of days now and I need to make them or the universe will be out of balance.  (Don't recipes swoosh around in your head!).  Let's face it, I will just be annoyed with myself if I don't make them and they sound so darn good.  So, here goes!

Fresh Apple Bread

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This apple bread recipe is a spin off of the Fresh Peach Bread in a previous post with a few changes made.  Cinnamon was added, along with apple butter.  Brown sugar replaces some of the white sugar and I used apples instead of peaches.  We got lucky one day and ran across a basket of fabulous Honeycrisps that were seconds and half price.  They were almost perfect apples, except for a few natural scars and very few bruises.  We had to buy them and they were the inspiration for this apple bread.  Each one was huge and we have really enjoyed them.   One apple cut up was equal to 2 cups.  All weren't that big, but most were.  Honeycrisps seem to be the "bomb" apple.  They are always priced more that other varieties because of demand, but they are so worth it.

Note on Honeycrip Apples:  The Honeycrisp is a relatively new apple that is a cross between a Macoun and Honeygold and is American made.   This variety was developed by the University of Minnesota and introduced to the apple growers in 1991.  The Honeycrisp has been wildly successful and many growers can't keep them in stock.  As more growers are producing Honeycrisps availability is becoming less of a problem, although they are still priced higher than other apples.  They are great eating apples as they are sweet and tart at the same time and crisp.  They are also very good cooking and baking apples because of their texture and flavor, that is if you have enough left over to bake with.  The honeycrisp is a win-win apple, don't you think?  My family can't get enough of them.

Fresh Peach Bread

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What can you really say about peaches?  They are delicious.  They are going to be gone soon. :(

For breakfast, I eat peaches with plain yogurt and homemade granola.  Such a fabulous breakfast to start the day.  I will miss them in October, but I will probably be onto other fruits like maybe, apples.

I have not made many peach desserts or really any desserts this year, the family is working on being healthier so I have avoided most sweets including peach crisps. I am not sure how, but I did.  I am trying to do my part.  It is hard because baking is just good, plain fun.  I did make peach ice cream.  It was - and is good.  I made some thirst quenching agua frescas con el melocotón (translation:  fruit water with peaches) to quench thirst during the hottest summer on record.  I haven't grilled any peaches yet, but I plan to - to go with that peach ice cream.  My peach man (he is also my apple man) says he will have peaches through September.  Yeah!  He sells me his seconds. You know, the ones that look funny or have a blemish.   I really like his seconds because they become jam, smoothies, cobblers/crisps, ice cream and peach bread.  I have several types of peach jams and some frozen peaches for whatever comes to mind this winter.  Nice.  I am not usually this prepared for hibernation.

 I decided to work on a peach bread recipe because I don't really like peach bread with cinnamon. To me they taste like other spiced breads such as apple or pumpkin.  My mission, a quick bread that taste like peaches.  This year, I am into combining vanilla and peaches.  Here is what I came up with and we loved it.  Sadly, the second loaf didn't make it to the freezer.  We ate it all.  The good news is I have more peaches.

These are a couple of peaches that are seconds.  They taste absolutely perfect, they just look kinda funny and one of them has a boo boo.  They look like Cabbage Patch peaches or something like that. Or something else that I will leave it to your imagination.