"quick breads" news and stories

Since the colder weather finally settled in, I've been making at least one pot of soup or stew a week. However, I often feel like a bowl of steaming, brothy goodness isn't complete without a bit of bread or a couple of crackers to go along with it. Some weeks I buy a multi-grain baguette at the farmers market but sometimes I like to make my own rolls or biscuits.

I've had my eyes open for new quick bread options lately and there are two that struck my fancy today. I haven't actually made either yet, but I've printed out both recipes and they are destined for the "Must Make" stack in my kitchen. The first is the recipe for Jalapeno Whole Wheat Scones from from A Smart Mouth. I don't have all those exotic flours on hand, but I've been looking for an excuse to buy buckwheat flour and this may be reason enough. The other is the recipe for Cornmeal and Bacon Muffins that Erin (of Erin Cooks!) made over the weekend. She says she wasn't quite happy with the texture of these, but I find that the drier, crumbly breads go quite nicely with soup, so these might still be salvageable yet.

When you hear the term "quick loaves," most home cooks will assume that it refers only to quick breads/cakes, especially if they like to bake. In the book Quick Loaves: 150 Breads and Cakes, Meat and Meatless Loaves, however, the term applies to all kinds of baked loaves, both sweet and savory. It is divided up into five main chapters. The first deals with the basics of loaf-making and, to ensure that every one of the recipes really is "quick," the author includes directions for some basic, homemade mixes, to which you can add just a few simple ingredients to turn out a number or different finished products. Most of the things made from the mixes are cakes and breads, but once you become familiar with the strategies that the author has used to turn them into very different things, you should be able to experiment with flavors a bit yourself. The following chapters deal with quickbreads and coffee cakes; cakes and other desserts; meatloaves; and vegetarian loaves (as main or side dishes). For the baked good lovers, Devil's Food Cake in Two Shakes and are good bets, while Quick-Mix Five-Ingredient Meatloaf and Thai Turkey Loaves will please those looking for something more substantial.

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My refrigerator is always full of buttermilk. You see, I'm a thrifty soul, and if I need buttermilk for a recipe I can't bear to buy the pint-sized cartons. Did you even see the price per fluid ounce? No, I must go for the economical two-quart-sized container. Thing is: there is no recipe on the whole earth that calls for a half gallon of buttermilk.* Instead, I measure out 1/2 cup or five tablespoons or some other amazingly tiny quantity. And then, every time I pick up a recipe, I think, how can I use buttermilk in this?

So when I was looking for a recipe for scones the other day, I was terrifically happy to find this one on Nicole's blog. I made it, with great success, and then started scheming. How could I use even more of the ingredients slowly turning from "non-perishable" to "perished" in my pantry shelves? I emailed Nicole, I rummaged to find white chocolate chips and dried blueberries and I made these fantastic drop scones. [click through for recipe]

*portions of this post may be highly exaggerated.