Lean and lovin' it: Moist, flavorful quick bread makes the most of fresh organic strawberries
Strawberries, cherries and peaches top my favorite fruits list. It's still too early for fresh local cherries and peaches, but not for strawberries.
Right now we're in strawberry season and when I can get them I go for locally-grown strawberries. They're not perfectly shaped or large; in fact they're usually a little gnarly and small compared to supermarket organic strawberries.
Why do I care about organic versus nonorganic strawberries?
Before commercial strawberry plants are sown into the soil, large machines fumigate that soil by injecting chemicals to make certain that insects, weeds and fungus do not diminish the quality and size of that strawberry crop.
Organic farmers rotate their crops and only plant strawberries in the same field once every three to five years. That's one reason why organic strawberries cost more.
I found some terrific organic strawberries on sale ($2.99 a pound) and took them home thinking I could make a low-fat strawberry quick bread I created several years ago. I searched the internet for my recipe and instead came across “The Best Strawberry Banana Bread” recipe at averiecooks.com. The picture of her bread instantly hooked me.
“The best?” I thought, “Averie sets that bar pretty high.”
Combining strawberries and bananas is classic. Admittedly, I was just a bit jealous I had never tried to create a similar quick bread.
Because I'm focused on cutting sugar in my food plan, I wanted to see if I could trim a third of the sugar in Averie's recipe and still end up with the results her recipe's picture promised. With my strawberries and two overripe bananas I was good to go.
Averie included two different sugars in her recipe; brown and white. I didn't want to trim the brown sugar due to its more-than-just-sweet flavor notes. I substituted 8 packets of organic sugar substitute for ¼-cup granulated sugar.
Averie also used canola or vegetable oil in her quick bread, but offered that melted coconut oil could be used instead.
Twenty years ago, I used coconut oil as the “bad boy” of oils; not any more. Studies show that the unique saturated fats in extra-virgin, organic coconut oil are, in fact healthy, in moderation. I also believed that coconut oil's distinct flavor profile would add more to this quick bread than just fat.
Averie's stir-together quick bread was a cinch to turn into a thick batter. The aromas in my kitchen as the bread baked were, literally, mouthwatering. I couldn't wait for it to be baked, cooled and cut.
Averie got it right, this is the “best” strawberry banana bread I've e-v-e-r tasted. Moist, dense … delicious and with less sugar. Give it a try.
• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at don@ theleanwizard.com.