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Orange and chocolate are delicious partners

Recipe: Quick buttermilk bread includes plenty of zest

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You can't tell from the picture, but this bread smells
delightfully of fresh orange. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)

Pairing orange and chocolate is my kind of delicious. I've always loved See's orange creams, chocolate-dipped orange peel and Swenson's Swiss orange chip ice cream. I know not everyone appreciates the marriage of chocolate and fruit; it's a personal preference.

But I also feel that if orange is supposed to be a prominent flavor in something, it really needs to stand out. Orange is so sweet that it can easily be overwhelmed by spices or other ingredients. So in adding chocolate to this quick bread, I made sure the orange flavor wasn't wimpy: The bread has zest from two entire navel oranges.

The recipe is based on a terrific basic buttermilk quick bread from
thekitchn.com ; the writer Emma Christensen offers 10 other variations , and ideas to made your own favorite combination.  So if you'd prefer coconut, or chopped nuts, or crystalized ginger with your orange, or no orange at all, jump in there. I'll stick with my very orange-y chocolate chip loaf and be quite happy.

Orange chocolate chip quick bread
Adapted from thekitchn.com
Makes 10 slices

Ingredients :

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated

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The oranges are from my tree. I like to use mini chips
in baking because they don't sink.

sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
Zest from 2 medium or large navel oranges

1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Powdered sugar for topping, optional

Instructions :

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a standard 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, stir or whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and orange zest.

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Use a light hand when mixing this or
indeed any quick bread.

In a medium bowl or glass measuring cup, stir together the buttermilk and the egg until blended, then stir in the melted butter and the vanilla extract.

Pour the liquid ingredients over the flour mixture and stir just until moistened. Carefully fold in the mini chips -- you don't want to overmix this batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and even it out into the corners. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing it. If desired, dust the top with powdered sugar before slicing.



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Garden Checklist for week of June 15

Make the most of this “average” weather; your garden is growing fast! (So are the weeds!)

* Warm weather brings rapid growth in the vegetable garden, with tomatoes and squash enjoying the heat. Deep-water, then feed with a balanced fertilizer. Bone meal can spur the bloom cycle and help set fruit.

* Generally, tomatoes need deep watering two to three times a week, but don’t let them dry out completely. That can encourage blossom-end rot.

* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.

* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.

* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias. It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.

* Pull weeds before they go to seed.

* Let the grass grow longer. Set the mower blades high to reduce stress on your lawn during summer heat. To cut down on evaporation, water your lawn deeply during the wee hours of the morning, between 2 and 8 a.m.

* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.

* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.

* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.

* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather. It also helps smother weeds.

* Thin grapes on the vine for bigger, better clusters later this summer.

* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.

* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.

* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.

* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.

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