My husband has a sweet tooth. Rather than fill him up with candy, I usually bake healthier quick breads for him to snack on while he’s at work. I don’t usually post the recipes or pictures for these breads, as I don’t really consider most quick breads worthy of an article. Can you imagine writing down all the possible toppings for a pizza? It’s analogous, in my mind. There are so many variations on quick bread. Practically everybody and everybody’s grandmother’s second cousin removed has a recipe for pumpkin bread or banana bread. Everybody swears by their own rendition. Honestly! Making bad quick bread is a challenge, and compared to yeast breads, they’re nothing. So why the fuss?

Despite that argument, recent disappointments have forced me to reconsider my position on not posting quick bread recipes. I speak, of course, of the damned lemon-poppy seed bread and (likewise) other citrus breads.

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I was browsing Gourmet Magazine online when I saw this recipe for haroseth.  Not being Jewish, I have never tasted haroseth, but the ingredients set my mind wandering—what could I create with fruit and nuts?

To say I love fruit is a massive understatement.  Earnest devotee would be a more accurate description, as would obsessed addict.  This summer I absolutely went wild over the fresh peaches, nectarines, and cherries; for the latter, we actually took a 145 mile round-trip to Leona Valley to hand-pick a few buckets of fruit.  There were no leftovers.

But because I love my fruits so well and because my nutritional needs must be balanced, I am extremely picky about how I consume fruit and what kind of fruit I consume. 

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