Minnesota Cooking: A Hot New Twist on Rhubarb Bread - Sugar/Cinnamon/Chili Powder/Honey

My mother in law made some rhubarb bread the other day and put the loaves in plastic bags to send home with us. She had used walnuts in the bread, so my husband decided to pass on his mother's bread, so - [yay], that left all of the loaf for me.

Her rhubarb bread is a one bowl method that is used for banana bread and various other breads. If you want apple spice bread, you simply take the bananas out of the recipe and put the applesauce in, instead. Zucchini? Same thing. Just put it in instead of the bananas.

Only problem with streusel was that I didn't have any on my bread. She hadn't put any on when she baked it, which wasn't a big deal, but, suddenly it sounded like something I wanted to have.

I'm a lazy sort and decided to grab the shaker of cinnamon/sugar that I keep just sitting around for making a quick piece of cinnamon toast. It was almost empty, so I started looking around for the sugar and ground cinnamon to make some more.

There was a bag of M and M's sitting on the table and I recalled that it was one of the new flavors. It's called Chili Nut and it's got a little bit of a bite to them.

I analyzed my cupboards and decided that a mixture of sugar, cinnamon and chili powder was in order. I also spotted a bottle of honey, just sitting there.

[Smile]

Wham, wham, wham. Now you are no longer just a dull little piece of rhubarb bread.

Yeah. I put my blend on there and then squirted honey across the top of the bread. So, I've got the sweet, soft, chewy, hot, sticky, spicy, yummy flavor in my mouth. Four bites. It was gone. I started eating the second piece. Four more bites.

It was a mini loaf pan, so the pieces were smaller. [in my defense]

That was so good, I decided to have two more slices, but now, I am full.

I suppose I better drink some water before all of this dry powder hits my insides too long.

Chili powder is supposed to speed up your metabolism and ease indigestion. I will have to let you know if I have caused indigestion.

Cinnamon is supposed to lower blood sugar levels and reduce heart disease risk factors.

Honey is supposed to be antibacterial, anti-fungal, and is an antioxidant.

Rhubarb is supposed to contain dietary fiber, protein, vitamin C, vitamin K, B complex vitamins, calcium, potassium, manganese, and magnesium.