Strawberry Bread

I first made this bread over 5 years ago when I had a ton of leftover strawberries from a planned strawberry shortcake dessert that never panned out. I was a pretty inexperienced cook but managed to pull of this simple and delicious bread.

It lasted surprisingly long, even coming with me to my first Bonnaroo, where I met Don. Perhaps this bread is what won him over! Eh, probably not... but it's still great! I made it again recently and remembered how delicious and easy it is, and perfect for a summer breakfast, dessert, or snack.

Usually, when I see that a recipe has you preheating the oven in the first step (as I often do in my own recipes - sorry!), I think "yeah, okay - I'll preheat when I think there's actually 10 minutes before it goes in the oven." But here, you can preheat the oven right away! By the time it's preheated you are actually ready to put everything in, provided you aren't using a knife one-handed or something.

Strawberry Bread

from AllRecipes

2 cups fresh strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced/diced to your desired size

3 1/8 cup flour

2 cups sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil (I only had 1/4 cup left so substituted peanut oil and it came out fine)

4 eggs, beaten

1 1/4 cups chopped pecans (or other nut)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and oil 2 9x5 inch loaf pans. I suggest spraying with Pam, then placing a layer of parchment paper on the bottom and spraying again. I had some issues getting the finished bread out of the pan.

Place the strawberries in a small bowl; sprinkle with a dash of sugar, stir, and set aside.

Meanwhile, combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the eggs and oil into the strawberries, then add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until completely combined. Don't overwork. Carefully mix in the pecans. Pour into the prepared pans and bake for about an hour, until a toothpick comes out clean. The actual recipe says 45-50 minutes but it has always taken me longer; last time it took over an hour, so just keep an eye on it.

Cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely (or steal a bite while hot because, like me, you have no patience).