Lemon Loaf with Thyme and Pistachios....

It's hard trying to come up with fresh and read worthy content for a food blog, but it helps when friends send ingredients your way. Thyme is one of my favorite herbs, the other being rosemary and lately I've been tickled pink the way they taste when used in sweet recipes....did I really say tickled pink?

I drink exuberant amounts of coffee every day, don't frown it's full of antioxidants and smells like wisps of java love sneaking up my nasal doors. The thing is, I like a little somethin' sweet to go along with it but the 'bucks people are charging more than an arm and a leg for a slice of cake. Along with a latte and the next stop is refinance.

Soooo I decided to make this lemon loaf and add the thyme (which I scored for free) and a handful of crushed pistachios. Moist, lemony and crunchy with a hint of the herb popping through made it my new beau. The thyme was really mild but the lemon came through like a train with no brakes.

This is a redo of a previous lemon loaf recipe I posted a while back. I left out the frosting this time though and added the thyme and pistachios.

Check out the recipe and if your a coffee geek like me make it, slice it and eat the whole shebang....

Here's the recipe adapted from Recipe Circus:

1-1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. softened butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon extract, I used 2 tsp and thought it could still be more lemony, I also threw in the zest from the lemons.
1/3 cup lemon juice, I used about 2 more Tbsp on top of the 1/3 cup
1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme

1/2 cup chopped pistachios plus more for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl, blend eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, lemon extract, lemon juice and oil with an electric mixer. Add the thyme and pistachios.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until smooth.

Pour into a well-greased 9 x 5 loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes.