I left this on the counter to cool, and returned to an almost devoured loaf. My son and his friend just smiled and said, “Pretty good, mom”. This is a moist quick bread, bursting with texture and flavour.

Ingredients

• ¾ cup (175 mL) granulated sugar
• ¼ cup (60 mL) canola oil
• 1 egg
• 1 cup (250 mL) diced peaches (drained canned if not fresh)
• ½ cup (125 mL) strong Chai tea
• ½ cup (125 mL) milk
• 2 cups (500 mL) whole barley flour
• 2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder
• 1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
• ½ tsp (2 mL) salt
• ½ tsp (2 mL) each, ground cardamom, ginger, allspice
• 1 cup (250 mL) chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly grease a 9- x 5 inch, (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, beat sugar, oil and egg. Stir in peaches, tea and milk. In another bowl, blend flour, baking powder, soda, salt and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the peach mixture and stir just until blended. Fold in pecans, just to combine.

Spoon into loaf pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before turning out loaf. Allow loaf to cool completely before slicing.

Makes 1 loaf, 12 slices.

Nutritional Information (per slice): Calories: 230; Protein: 2 g; Carbohydrate: 29 g; Fibre: 3 g; Sugars: 15 g; Fat: 15 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Trans Fat: 0 g; Cholesterol: 17 mg; Sodium: 274 mg; Potassium: 85 mg