Tea Bread Tuesday: Spiced Peach-Carrot Bread

Just a moment please, I'm having an epiphany . . . This . . . . is . . . . amazing!

Imagine little bits of peaches bursting in your mouth, making every bite so incredibly juicy . . . and then the carrots and spices adding layers and layers of flavor . . . and then the pecans . . . ah, the pecans . . . a little crunch . . . a little more flavor . . . my taste buds are having a party!

From Southern Living Magazine (July 2011), here's the recipe:

¾ cup chopped pecan
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1½ cups peeled and chopped fresh, ripe peaches
¾ cup freshly grated carrots
2/3 cup vegetable oil
½ cup milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.  Cool 15 minutes.
2. Stir together flour and next 6 ingredients in a large bowl; add peaches, next 4 ingredients, and toasted pecans, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.  Spoon batter into a lightly greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
3. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour and 5 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes.  Remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 1 hour).

“Life is better than death, I believe, if only because it is less boring and because it has fresh peaches in it”

—Alice Walker