Today our baby Luna is losing her womanhood. Mike took her to the vet this morning to get spayed. It makes me so sad to leave her in a strange place. He said she was crying and shaking when he left her:( Poor baby. The Pasadena ASPCA spays and microchips rescued pit and pit mixes for free! It is such a good program and all the more reason to adopt one of the million abandoned pit bull puppies in the LA area. We have been on the waiting list for a long time, but finally today is her day. She will be so happy to be able to play with the big dogs at the dog park.
Like it was the 50′s or something, Mike came home and asked what was for breakfast. Being the sucker that I am, I baked him this loaf of blueberry goodness with a recipe that I had played around with from the Joy of Baking. The best part about this bread is the lemon glaze…. Sooo good! This was way better than the vegan pumpkin bread from the other night. We pick Luna up at 4 today, so send our baby good energy for a speedy recovery!
Lemon Blueberry Loaf:
Makes 1 loaf.
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup milk or half and half
- 1 cup fresh blueberries (can use frozen if needed)
Lemon Glaze:
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter (or spray with a non stick vegetable spray) the bottom and sides of a loaf pan.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In the bowl of your mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until softened (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.
With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture (in three additions) and milk (in two additions) alternately, starting and ending with the flour. Mix only until combined. Gently fold in the blueberries. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 55 to 65 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the 1/4 cup (50 grams) of sugar and the 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
When the bread is done, remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Cool the loaf in the pan for about 30 minutes then remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Pierce the hot loaf all over with a wooden skewer or toothpick and then drizzle the top of the loaf with the hot lemon glaze.This bread is best served right away while it is still warm.
