Recipe: Quick buttermilk bread includes plenty of zest
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
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.
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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Food in My Back Yard Series
June 17: Help pollinators help your garden
June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests
June 3: Make your own compost
May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?
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May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds
March 4: Potatoes from the garden
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Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space
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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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