Another Recipe to Celebrate With

When you get Lainie and John's story book, make up a batch of this delicious bread before you sit down to read. It'll go great with a cup of hot chocolate.

CHERRY COCONUT CARROT BREAD
Be sure to let your 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt and your egg come to room temperature before you start. They just work better that way. Oh, and you'd better grate up your 1 cup carrots while you're at it. Wouldn't hurt to chop 1/2 cup maraschino cherries, too. Then they'll be ready to dump in later. Anyway, when you've got that done, heat up your oven to 350 and prepare a 9X5 loaf pan. I like to squirt mine with pan spray and line the bottom and side with waxed paper--ends don't need it. Then the bread comes out of the pan easier. Anyway, whisk the dry ingredients to mix 'em up good--it's just as good as sifting--3/4 cup white flour, 3/4 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. You can even add 1/4 teaspoon allspice if you like the spiciness a little brighter. Then in another bowl mix 1/4 cup melted coconut oil, yogurt, egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/4 cup white sugar. Now you can stir in your shredded carrot, the chopped cherries, and 1 cup shredded coconut. I like to use unsweetened--you've got plenty of sugar in this thing already. Mix it all into the flour, dump it in the pan, and bake it 50-60 minutes until you test it for doneness--touch the top to see if it bounces, or stick it with a toothpick, whatever floats your boat. Cool it in the pan on a rack for about 10 minutes, and then take it out and finish cooling it on the rack. When it's cool you can slice it and serve it with butter or cream cheese. Expect rave reviews.

When you try this, let me know how you like it. Sometimes another cook might have another idea for making a recipe even better, and I'm not opposed to suggestions.