Blueberry-Orange Quick Bread

A while back, I found a recipe for Buttermilk Quick Bread that can be adapted to lots of different flavors, sweet or savory. I've enjoyed playing around with it with different combinations. A few days ago I wanted a sweet treat to serve with evening coffee. The kids were in bed early (mama was done!) and Jeff was leaving to go out of town the next day. I immediately thought of two things recently added to my freezer: pecans from my in-laws' trees, and blueberries from their neighbor's bushes. Jeff declared the bread "awesome" and I ended up making it again for Saturday morning breakfast!

Blueberry-Orange Quick Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup fresh or frozen (do not thaw) blueberries
3/4 cup buttermilk (approximate)
1 orange, zest and juice
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350°. In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients, including the pecans. To the cup of blueberries, add a spoonful of the flour mixture and shake to coat. (This keeps them "floating" in the batter instead of sinking to the bottom.) Set aside. In a measuring cup, zest and juice half of the orange. Add enough buttermilk to make one cup of liquid. Whisk in the egg and butter. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry, then add in the blueberries. Do not over-stir - you want the ingredients to *just* come together. Pour the batter into a greased 9x5 loaf pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes. Use a toothpick to test it. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then top with the glaze.

Orange Glaze

In a small bowl, combine the other half of the orange zest and juice with a dash of vanilla extract. Stir in about 1 to 1-1/2 cups of powdered sugar. How much will depend on the amount of juice you were able to get from the orange. This is really forgiving! You want a pourable consistency that coats the bread, so if it's too thin add in more sugar. Too thick and you can splash in some milk.