California Sunshine Bread

Every time I bake something new or especially delicious, every time I find delight in a simple moment with loved ones I realize that I measure joy by experience. I find joy while baking. I find joy when my eyes are wide open looking at now and sharing the moment with my loved ones. For me, I don't think there's much more to it than that.

A few days ago I received a package of sunshine in the mail. Really I did. It saw spectacular! I opened the fedex box and inside was a sudden burst of sunshine, of summer, of light and kindness and many many new moments of joy. A super sweet woman mailed the package to me specifically to remind me that spring is on the way. At times (especially during this political cycle) one may very easily find themselves looking around and seeing a world consumed by darkness (the cold dark winter certainly doesn't help). But certain people shine so bright, bring such warmth and sunshine into the lives of others that I dare say the darkness that is lurking about among us has no chance at reigning.

Today I was able to use a little of this glorious sunshine to bake one of my absolute favorite sweet breads, orange coconut bread. I've tweeked the original recipe quite a lot to suit my needs so I'll post the one I use and give you the original in parenthesis (yes, I have a parenthesis problem, I know).

California Sunshine Bread with a Hint of Hawaii (or Orange Coconut Bread)

1 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon coconut oil, melted (or canola oil)

1 egg

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (or milk)

8 ounces of plain yogurt (or 8 ounces of orange yogurt if you're using milk and not orange juice)
2 cups of all purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut plus 1 tablespoon to top

2 teaspoons of grated orange rind

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

Mix together sugar, coconut oil, and egg.

Then stir in orange juice and yogurt.
Add remaining ingredients then pour into a greased and floured large loaf pan (sorry I do not know the size).
Top with 1 tablespoon of coconut and sprinkle with some sugar if you'd like.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. My oven cooks cooler so I always go at least 5 minutes longer.

This bread if fabulous! Whether I make it with orange flavored yogurt and milk or plain yogurt and fresh squeezed juice it always turns out super yummy. This is one of my very favorite recipes and I'm so glad I was able to use my wonderful gift for it. What joy! Hopefully it will last longer than a few hours, hehe.