Life is a Bowl Full of . . . .

Okay, it's late as I write this so it's going to be short and sweet. Very sweet. And moist. And very, very addicting! You must try my olive oil quick bread! It's fantastic! And you can definitely flavor it to whatever tickles your fancy and it will be delicious. In fact, I think I'll make it again tomorrow!

It's has a wonderful, crunchy crust and is very tender inside. I was too impatient to let it cool all the way so the bottom stuck to the pan when I pried it out. Don't worry though, not a single crumb went to waste!

Basic Olive Oil Quick Bread

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch salt
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
grated zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a loaf pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a medium bowl, use your fingers to massage the lemon zest into the sugar.
Add eggs, milk and olive oil and mix well.
Pour into the flour mixture and mix until incorporated.
Pour into loaf pan and bake about 55 minutes.
Let cool in pan for about 10 minutes and turn out onto a cooling rack.

*For Cherry-Pecan quick bread I folded in 1 cup of roughly chopped cherries and scattered a cup of pecans over the top of the loaf.



*For Lemon Poppy quick bread I reduced the milk by 1/4 cup and added 1/4 cup of lemon juice, the zest of 2 lemons and 3 tablespoons of poppy seeds and drizzled it with a glaze of powdered sugar and lemon juice.

Enjoy!