Blueberry Oatmeal Bread

Sunday morning, as regular readers know, is often a time for baking. It's peaceful, it's quiet, and I don't usually have any place I need to be at any particular time.

And so, I bake.

And after the excesses of the holidays - which begin here at Hallowe'en, move on to Thanksgiving, my birthday, Chanukkah, Christmas, New Year's, bowl games, and then end with Jeremy's birthday - I've been feeling the need for salad and a juice fast. Not that I've gone to such an extreme! But I'm definitely trying to eat better.

Rather than suffering utter deprivation, it's possible to eat more nutritiously without completely sacrificing treats. So I made this lovely, sweet blueberry bread with whole grains and also made it dairy-free.

For Christmas, a very dear friend gave me a gift certificate to Spice Merchants, a fabulous store with every variety of spice you can imagine - hot, mild, sweet, savory, and then some! Well, I ooh-ed and ahh-ed and pondered and debated, and selected Mexican and Moroccan spice mixes, some truffle salt, and some lovely wild blueberry sugar on my initial spending spree. (I still have half the certificate left, for more shopping and cooking entertainment!) The fragrant sugar made a very pretty, and delicious, sprinkling for the top of the bread, just to give it an extra nice touch.

This isn't a supermodel to look at, simple bread that it is. But it is exceptionally tender, sweet, and delicious.

Blueberry Oatmeal Bread

• 1 cup quick-cook oats
• 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1-1/3 cups + 3 tablespoons So Delicious dairy-free creamer, vanilla flavor
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons light olive oil
• 1 egg
• juice of 1 clementine
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• blueberry sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8"x4" glass baking pan.

In a large bowl, stir together oats, flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a large measuring cup, whisk together 1-1/3 cups creamer, vinegar, oil, egg, and clementine juice; pour into dry ingredients and mix lightly. Stir in blueberries just until batter is combined.

Spread batter into prepared pan, and bake 45 minutes until a tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool for 20 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Place bread onto a serving platter, and tuck small pieces of foil under the edges of the cake to catch drips from the glaze.

Whisk together confectioners' sugar and the remaining 3 tablespoons creamer. Drizzle over bread, then let rest 5 minutes. Sprinkle with blueberry sugar, if desired.

Makes 12 slices.