Huckleberry Banana Bread

Huckleberry Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 to 4 very ripe bananas, sliced
1 cup walnuts (optional)
1 cup huckleberries, rinsed and drained (you may substitute with blueberries)

Cream together, butter, sugar and eggs. Combine flour, salt and baking soda in a small bowl. Alternate adding dry ingredients and buttermilk to creamed mixture. Mix well. Beat 200 strokes. Fold in sliced bananas and huckleberries. Bake in a greased and floured mini loaf pans at 350º for 45 minutes to an hour.

Cherry Almond Scones

Here is a new recipe a Trinidad neighbor shared with me and it has been a big hit.

Cherry Almond Scones

For the scones:
3/4 cup dried cherries
1 cup boiling water
1 egg
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
6 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup almonds, chopped

For the cherry butter:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup cherry preserves

To start: Preheat the oven to 400˚. Grease a baking sheet or cover baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Put the dried cherries into the boiling water; set aside.

Prepare the scones: In a large bowl, combine the egg, buttermilk, vanilla and almond extracts; set aside. In a food processor, blend the flour, sugar, baking powder, and butter until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. (You can also just use a simple hand held pastry blender to do this if you don't have a food processor). Drain the cherries and stir into the egg mixture. Add the crumb mixture to the egg mixture and stir until blended. Stir in the almonds. Drop the dough by heaping tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden. Serve warm with cherry butter.

Make the cherry butter: In a medium bowl, combine the butter and preserves. Stir until blended.

Yield: 24 scones

Baked Grapefruits

Baked grapefruits date back to the 1950s and are quite popular with the guests here.

Recipe:

Slice grapefruit in half and section each half with a grapefruit knife. Separate the fruit from the membrane.

Place grapefruit halves in Pyrex dish and sprinkle tops with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Add a dot of butter if desired.

Add water to the dish and place in an oven heated 375˚-400˚ for about 30 minutes.

Serve warm with a half cherry, raspberry or strawberry on top.