The Phoenix

WEEKLY RECIPE with Bette Banjack — Fresh Strawberry Nut Bread

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The strawberri­es we are most familiar with today originally were named “Garden Strawberri­es.” Actually, it is not a berry at all. It is considered an aggregate accessory fruit.

The Garden Strawberry was cultivated in Brittany, France, in 1714. Where the wild strawberri­es of Brittany were crossed with berries from eastern North America & Chile. In 2019, the world production of strawberri­es was 9 million tons.

The fruit is admired for its aroma, color, sweetness & juicy texture. It is consumed in large quantities in the food industry. Foremost the combinatio­n of strawberri­es & chocolate is a love letter to one’s taste buds.

It is easy to grow in home gardens & containers. Do not plant a strawberry whole as it will rot or be eaten by the birds, insects or animals before they have a chance to sprout. Next week’s article will continue with some more informatio­n about the “strawberry” as well as

more strawberry recipes.

FRESH STRAWBERRY NUT BREAD

1 pint strawberri­es 1 cup sugar divided 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (unsifted) 1 tsp. baking soda ½ tsp. ground cinnamon ¼ tsp. salt 3 eggs 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Clean and hull strawberri­es, cut into pieces. Sprinkle with half of the sugar and set aside. Combine flour, baking

soda, cinnamon and salt and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, adding the remaining sugar. Add oil and vanilla extract. Add in flour mixture and nuts. Carefully fold in strawberri­es and any juice. Pour into a wellgrease­d & lightly floured standard loaf pan. Spread the top smooth. Bake approximat­ely 45 minutes or until the cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack. Makes one standard loaf.

“UNTIL NEXT WEEK”

 ?? PHOTO BY BETTE BANJACK ?? There’s nothing like fresh strawberri­es to add zest to a recipe.
PHOTO BY BETTE BANJACK There’s nothing like fresh strawberri­es to add zest to a recipe.
 ?? ??

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