Two of my favorite quick breads ... butternut squash and lemon herb. Butternut Squash Bread 1 (2-pound) butternut squash 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 1/2 cups sugar 2 large/jumbo eggs 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon allspice 1/4 teaspoon ginger 1/2 cup pecans, chopped Cut squash in half lengthwise; remove seeds. Place cut side down in a shallow pan; add water to depth of 1/2 inch. Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour or until tender; drain. Scoop out pulp; mash. Discard shell. Measure 1 3/4 cups pulp; reserve any remaining pulp for other uses. Beat butter, gradually adding sugar; beat well. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices; add to butter mixture alternately with squash, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in pecans. Spoon batter into greased & floured (or sugared) 9x5x3 inch loafpan and bake at 350° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (Or bake in 4 small loaf pans for 50 minutes/mini loaf pans 40 minutes.) Cool in pan(s) on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan(s), and let cool completely on wire rack. ~adapted from Southern Living _________________________________________________________ Lemon Herb Tea Bread 3/4 cup milk 1 tablespoon chopped fresh lemon balm 1 tablespoon chopped fresh lemon thyme 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind Lemon Glaze Combine first 3 ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 15 minutes until cool. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Combine flour and next 2 ingredients; add to butter mixture alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix at low speed after each addition until blended. Stir in lemon rind. Pour batter into a greased and sugared or floured 9-x5-x3-inch loafpan. Bake at 325° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely. Drizzle Lemon Glaze over bread. LEMON GLAZE: Combine 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a small bowl; stir until smooth. Note: I make this recipe using 3 mini loaf pans. Bake for 48-50 minutes. You can also substitute lemon balm for the lemon thyme.

I thought I remembered a recipe for Cranberry Walnut bread in my Julia Child - Dorie Greenspan book, so I ran and grabbed it. Turns out it's Cranberry-Walnut Pumpkin Loaves. This recipe takes two days to prepare, so plan ahead and don't plan on being in a hurry. It's good for a rainy weekend. Cranberry-Walnut Pumpkin Loaves From Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan Makes 3 small loaves 2 2/3 to 3 cups bread flour 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons tepid water (80 - 90 degrees F.) 2 teaspoons active dry yeast 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/3 cup sugar 8 ounces (1 cup) pureed cooked pumpkin or butternut squash, fresh or canned solid packed (see Note) 1 large egg, at room temperature 3/4 cup walnut pieces, toasted 1 cup plump golden or dark raisins 2/3 cup cranberries (if frozen, thaw and pat dry) Mixing and Kneading: Whisk 2 2/3 cups of the flour, the cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in a large bowl just to mix; set aside until needed. Pour the water into a small bowl, sprinkle in he yeast, and whish to blend. Allow the yeast to rest until it's creamy, about 5 minutes. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until creamy. Add the pumpkin and egg and beat until blended. Don't be concerned if the mixture looks curdled; it will come together when you add the dry ingredients. Set the mixer speed to low and add the yeast, then begin to add the dry ingredients, about 1/2 cup at a time. As soon as the mixture starts to form a dough that comes together, scrape the paddle clean and switch to the dough hook. If your dough does not come together (it might be because your pumpkin puree was liquidy), add a few more tablespoons of flour. Mix and knead the dough on medium-low speed for 10 to 15 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl and the hook now and then with a rubber spatula. At the start, the mixture will look more like a batter than a dough, but as you continue to work, it will develop into a soft, very sticky dough that will just ball up on the hook. (This dough develops much the way a brioche does.) With the machine on low speed, add the walnuts and raisins, mixing only until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add the cranberries and mix as little as possible to avoid crushing them. (Inevitably, some cranberries will pop and stain a patch of dough red; think of this as charming, and proceed.) First Rise: Scrape the dough into a lightly buttered large bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature to rise until nearly doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Chilling the dough: When the dough has doubled, fold it over on itself a couple of times to deflate it, wrap it tightly in plastic, and refrigerate overnight. Shaping the dough: At least 6 hours before you want to begin baking, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Leave the dough, covered in its bowl, until it reaches at least 64 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. (This will take as long as 3 to 4 hours - don't rush it.) If you don't have an instant-read thermometer, look for the dough to be slightly cool and just a little spongy. Lightly butter three 5 3/4 x 3 1/4 x 2-inch loaf pans. Working on a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into thirds and pat each piece of dough into a 5 x 7-inch rectangle; keep a short end facing you. Starting at the top of eacch rectangle, roll up the dough toward you and seal the seam by pressing it with your fingertips. Seal the ends, then place each roll, seam side down, in a prepared pan. Second rise: Cover the pans lightly with a kitchen towel and allow to rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the dough has nearly doubled - it will rise to just above the rim of the pans. Baking the bread: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake theloaves for about 30 minutes, or until deeply golden. Remove the pans to a cooling rack; after a 5-minute rest, turn the breads out of their pans and allow them to cool to room temperature on the rack. Storing: The breads can be kept at room temperature for a day or two or frozen, wrapped airtight, for up to 1 month. Thaw, still wrapped, at room temperature. Note: To use fresh pumpkin or butternut squash, split the squash, remove the seeds, and place, cut side down, on a baking sheet. Roast in a preheated 350 degree F. oven for about 1 hour, or until meltingly tender. Scoop the softened pulp out of the shell and cool completely. One pound of squash yields about 12 ounces of cooked pulp. Sally

I always reduce the sugar in my recipes too since I don't like anything overly sweet. For instance, a pumpkin pie recipe I have calls for 1.5 c. sugar (oh my) - I use just 1/4 cup or so of sugar. I don't use artificial sweeteners, either.

this is the one I have posted lots and made lots and lots have made it as well Sour Cream Banana Bread 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup oil 2 eggs 1 cup mashed bananas (2 medium) 1/2 cup sour cream 1 teaspoon vanilla 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour bottom only of a 9 X 5 loaf pan. In large bowl, beat together sugar and oil. Add eggs, bananas, sour cream and vanilla, blend well. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup, level off. Add flour, baking soda and salt, stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350F for 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely. Makes 1 loaf.