Apricot bread

Sorry for the leave of absence lately. It's not that I haven't been cooking; in fact, I've been on a bit of a cooking rampage lately with a lot of yummy things to post. So to make up for a few silent weeks, I'll make up for it by sharing a bunch of great recipes with you. I'll start out with a  truly delicious apricot bread that I made yesterday morning. I bought myself a loaf pan for my new apartment in Iowa City, and this recipe came on the Cephalon label attached to the pan. It is a really great recipe and I will definitely be making this bread often.  This bread is a marriage of orange and apricot, and it could not be any better. I didn't have a full cup of dried apricots on hand, so I mixed in some golden raisins and it was still delicious.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a loaf pan.

2. In a small saucepan, place:

• 1 cup dried apricots (or if you're like me and don't have enough apricots, substitute some golden raisins or another dried fruit of your choice that you think would go well with these flavors)
• 1 cup cold fresh water

3. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes, or until the apricots are tender.
4. Drain, while reserving 1/4 cup of the apricot water. When the apricots are cool enough to handle, chop them coarsely. Set aside.
5. In a medium bowl, sift together:

• 2 cups flour (I used 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking boweder
• 2/3 cup sugar

6. In a separate bowl, whisk together:

• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• reserved 1/4 cup apricot water
• 2 teaspoons apricot or orange liqueur (optional, but I'd really recommend adding it)
• 1 teaspoon orange zest

7. Gradually add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients. Then add the chopped apricots to the batter. Once the batter is well mixed, spoon it into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes. Once it's finished and you've taken it out of the oven, let it cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a serving plate.