Lemon Blueberry Bread

Apparently I have allergies now.

Ah yes, the late twenty something, millennial has reached the age in her life where she doesn't wake up covered in daisies ready to take on the day. Instead, I wake up sore from walking one mile on the treadmill. My head is filled with an unknown congestion that I quickly hack up into my sink. Single gentleman, if you would like to get in touch with me, please fill out the contact form. What are allergies and when did I start having them? I sneeze about fifty-five times a day and now, the mega terrifying task of putting eye drops into my eyes is a soothing ritual that I actually look forward to. With allergies comes medications. Zyrtec, Allegra, Claritin...and the holy grail to me..the Benadryl. Those hot pink tablets sure pack a bunch. Not only do they relieve my itchy eyes and congestion, but they put me into a full fledge coma. I once took a Benadryl at 4am the other night and I woke up in a frantic panic because I thought I was late for high school. Considering it's been almost ten years since I graduated, you can tell that anti-histamines kind of mess with me. Last week I thought I was dying of allergies but turns out I actually had bronchitis. In al honesty, to remedy my supposed allergies, I abused my Benadryl supply. Hi my name is Jen, and I had a temporary problem with allergy relief meds. If you are wondering how this ties into baking a delicious lemon flavored blueberry bread please bear with me.

I was pretty ill last week, but convinced I was suffering from mega allergies. In order to sleep I fell into a routine of popping a "benny" and calling it a night...a great night. Seriously, this stuff is like high powered Nyquil for me. Well, a burst of energy, a good bogo deal on fruit, and an appreciation for the springtime weather lead me to bake a delicious blueberry lemon loaf. I have been buying a lot of lemons lately, in attempts to be trendy and healthy, and usually they end up being a great cleanser for my garbage disposal. However, I finally had a mission to utilize my lemons, aside from squeezing them into my water. Pinch of Yum, aka my queen, aside from Benadryl (lately) has a fabulous recipe for a Blueberry lemon loaf that inspired me to make this bread. Honestly, the batter comes together in less than 15 minutes. It is super easy. I am a huge fan of citrus of any kind in baked good but the lemon and blueberry go together so well. I'm so happy it's blueberry season. 

If you know me you know that I'm not super into sweets yet, I've been really getting into baking. So I made this blueberry loaf, basked in the amazing smells from my oven, removed it, and promptly wrapped it in foil and set it on my table next to my keys to be delivered to my parents house. I was proud of my work, but had no desire to try it. Instead I grabbed the turkey pepperoni out of my fridge for my late night snack. Flash forward to the next morning and I wake up to crumbs on the floor, foil ripped a part, and an uneven slice taken out of my loaf. Did I have an intruder? Did my cat somehow remove a slice of bread and consume it? Or did my drug induced mind decide it liked desserts and opt for a taste? The mystery remains unsolved and is still unsettling to me. Does Benadryl mess with so much that I actually sleep walk and eat a piece of sweet bread, or am I suppressing a hidden desire for sugar that I never knew existed?  Needless to say, I've quit my habit of allergy medicine however, you should rest assured that even the hater of sweets couldn't help herself from slicing a piece of this bread.

Ingredients:
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) softened
2 eggs
juice and zest of one lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk (any kind works)
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper or grease generously. Using a handheld mixer, or in the bowl of a standing mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and continue to beat for 2 more minutes. In a separate large bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the butter batter into the flour mixture and add in the milk. Stir so that everything is full combined. Fold in the blueberries. Pour batter into the pan and top with additional blueberries if desired. Bake for 60 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Let cool for 10 - 20 minutes before serving.