Warming the Hearth

Ingredients:

2 Cups whole wheat flour
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups fruit or veggies: mashed overripe banana, pureed pumpkin, shredded carrot, zucchini or apple
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (Optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit and grease two loaf pans or muffin pans if you prefer.

1. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices in a bowl.
2. In a second bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar.
3. Crack & beat the eggs then fold them into the butter and sugar mixture.
4. Add the vanilla and the fruit or vegetable and beat or mix well.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Fold in the nuts if you are using them. (You can also add raisins and chocolate chips and such at this point if you feel so inclined.)

Because the different fruits have different moisture content, you may find your batter is a little too moist or too dry. It should flow well into the pan and spread out on its own, slowly, with minimal guidance from your spatula. Thicker than pancake batter, thinner than biscuit dough, something like cake batter. If you find it's too thick, add a little milk (or, my preference, kefir). If it's too thin, add a little flour.

6. Pour the batter into greased loaf pans, it will fill two. Or you can use muffin pans.

7. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes and then check by inserting a knife. Again, because of the various fruits, bake time may vary slightly. If it's not done yet, check again in five minutes. If you use muffin pans instead of loaf pans, begin checking for doneness after 30 minutes.

8. Remove the loaves or muffins immediately from their pans but allow them to cool 10 minutes before cutting. Allow to cool completely before storing. You can store these wrapped in foil in the fridge and they also freeze well.