Orange Nut Bread (aka Elsa's Bread)

This recipe came from my Grandma’s box of recipe cards. My sister and I got to browse through some of her recipes recently, months after she passed away. This is one that I plucked from the box because I was intrigued by the amount of finely cut orange peel it calls for. I really thought it would be overpowering and maybe bitter, so my curiosity compelled me to bake it up. It was so tasty! Just the right amount of orange flavor and so good with the walnuts. Lots of things my Grandma made had nuts and dried fruits in them, so as I snacked away happily on the bread, I got flashbacks of that old feeling of comfort while at Grandma’s.

Orange Nut Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
¾ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup finely cut orange peel
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp. butter, melted (measure then melt)

Mix the dry ingredients together, then stir in the egg, milk and butter. Bake in a loaf pan at 350 degrees until top is golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. (I used a small bundt cake and it worked fine. I also added Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chips and that worked just fine too!)

The recipe card noted that this recipe was from Elsa-someone, who had the same last name as my Grandma’s father. I am on a quest to find out who she is and how I am related to her. I wondered if the bread was a staple in Elsa’s home, or maybe more of an occasional treat. And did I ever snack on this as a girl without remembering it now? How often did my Grandma make it? How will I ever know? Perhaps I should start writing short anecdotes to go with some of the things I bake, for my posterity. But hey, that’s exactly what I’m doing on here! Perhaps I should actually tell people about Ze Blog, n’est pas?

Here are some snapshots of happy October moments:

Here's what I saw as I walked to my car after work a couple weeks ago, taken from inside the parking garage.
One of the trees is already full of beautiful glowing golden leaves.

I have an October birthday! The glow from the numerous (gulp!) candles helps
prevent you from knowing exactly how young I am. My boyfriend made
this for me -- there are pumpkin cookies hidden inside and pumpkin
puree added to the frosting. Wow-sers! He knows me well. I love me some pumpkin!

A slice of delicious cake with vanilla gelato, salted caramel sauce and hot fudge on the side? Don't mind if I do!

Awesome birthday gifts!
Tickets to see KINKY BOOTS! at the 5th Avenue Theater in downtown Seattle this weekend,
and THEEE COOLEST little antique Japanese teapot. Made of cast iron and enameled on the inside.
Plus it's sitting on its own matching cast iron trivet. Sturdy as a rock yet dainty and graceful. Genius.
How did I not know I should've been wanting one all this time?!?