Cherry fennel bread

What do they say? If it's too hot get out of the kitchen? Well, that's kind of what we've done for most of the summer. I've still been cooking some, but I find that most of the summer we grill or eat raw or cold foods. It just feel right that way, and since we don't use air conditioning, starting up the stove or the oven on a 90 degree day just isn't appealing. So we've taken a break, but we're getting back to it a bit now, and I suspect that fall will find us in the kitchen more than ever now that I have such a fabulously helpful and interested little kitchen assistant. Today we braved the heat to make cherry fennel bread with some of the beautiful organic Michigan cherries we've been getting from Whole Foods. You can read more about the experience here, and about the process below.

Cherry Fennel Bread

Yield: 1 loaf
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
  ● 1 tbsp. toasted fennel seed
  ● 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  ● 3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  ● 1 tsp. salt
  ● 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  ● 1 egg
  ● 1 1/4 cups milk
  ● 1/4 cup honey
  ● 3 tbsp. butter, melted
  ● 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
  ● 1 lb. cherries, stemmed, pitted and halved (at room temperature)

Directions:
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf dish.

2. Grind the fennel seed using a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, then combine in a large bowl with the flour, baking powder and salt. Sprinkle the brown sugar over and mix to thoroughly combine, pressing out any lumps.

3. In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg then add the milk, honey and melted butter. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the milk mixture. Stir until almost combined before adding the pine nuts and cherries, then stir just until evenly mixed.

4. Spoon the dough into the loaf dish and spread evenly. Bake until the center tests done with a wooden pick, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Check the bread 10 minutes before the timer goes off; if the bread is browning too quickly, tent loosely with foil. Let cool slightly before running a knife around the sides of the loaf dish to loosen, then invert onto a cooling rack and let cool to warm before slicing.

Each serving: 232 calories; 6 grams protein; 36 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams fiber; 9 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 28 mg. cholesterol; 356 mg. sodium.

Recipe from the LA Times