I’m getting used to typing again!  After a couple of weeks off, it is fun to be back.  I love travel and vacations and the feelings they bring.  I am always  so ready to get away and be somewhere different for a while, but then it really brings a nice appreciation to being home.    Like Dorothy said, “There’s no place like home.”  Now that we are home, I am looking forward to the lazy summer days I have been writing about, and the bounty of fresh produce coming in everywhere!  It has been a while since I have been at work in the kitchen, but next week I will be doing my first round of summer “Freezer Pleasers” and maybe a couple of other things.

Yesterday on my way home from the beach I stopped at the Berry Patch in Ellerbee, NC.  You have probably passed it before, as it is hard to miss the huge strawberry from the road!  I bought homegrown pickling cucumbers, squash, greenhouse tomatoes, watermelon, peaches, and some of the best strawberries I have had in a while.  As I write this, my batch of strawberry bread is in the oven, the perfect thing for a gorgeous Saturday morning that I wanted to share with you.  It is a dense bread, great for breakfast, snack, or even dessert-rewarmed with ice cream on top.  This recipe makes 2 loaves, which is always nice to have one for home and one to share.  Enjoy and the best of food and life –today!

Recipe for Strawberry Bread

3 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup vegetable oil

1.5-2 cups fresh sliced strawberries, adjust to your liking

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl.  Add eggs and oil, then mix to combine.  Stir in strawberries.  Pour into 2 greased loaf pans.  Bake at 350 for one hour, or until tester inserted in center comes out clean.  Eat!