Good Deeds & Sweet Winter Bread

I took a couple of aleatory days away from this blog.  The content I had planned for the week seemed trivial after last Friday’s events and, frankly, the stark reminder of life’s fleeting nature left me more inclined to appreciate the little, every day moments with my husband.  I’m happy to be back with a renewed perspective – and to share with you a recipe that stemmed from a stranger’s sweet holiday gesture.

When Andrew and I bought our Christmas tree, the owner of the tree farm surprised us with a box of beautiful cranberries from his bog as a special gift on our first married Christmas. Eager to use them in a recipe, I baked a warm, gooey orange cranberry loaf. It’s a sweet, simple winter bread, perfect for an indulgent cold-weather breakfast or chilly afternoon treat.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries

1/4 salted butter

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

3/4 cups orange juice

Yields: 1 9×5″ loaf

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease 9×5″ loaf pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt.

Stir in orange zest and cranberries. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix butter, egg and sugar until smooth.

Stir in orange juice.

Beat in flour mixture until moistened.

Pour into loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees, or until a knife comes out clean after piercing the loaf.

On the topic of sweet gestures, I was moved by Ann Curry’s pledge to carry out 26 acts of kindness to honor the memory of the 26 Newtown victims.  Thank you, Jacin, for bringing it to my attention.  I plan to start mine today.

Will you join?

Tweet your good deeds to inspire others to join under the hashtag #26acts.

See you tomorrow! (It’s good to be back.)