New Year, New Beginnings - Strawberry Pecan Bread

I've been notably absent these past few weeks. Sadly it was not because I was having such an amazing holiday season that I couldn't be bothered to post. I spent Christmas Eve moving out of the apartment I'd been living at for 4.5 years and into a new apartment, very close to my office. You might ask, "why on earth would one move on Christmas Eve?" And you'd be right to wonder. Basically, the roof in my old apartment caved in and collapsed the day before Thanksgiving, and along with about a thousand other reasons, it was time to move on. I found an apartment and have been dealing with realtors, condo associations, moving, and organizing the past half decade. Then, I got sick on New Year's Eve! So basically I've been a grinch this Christmas but am hoping to return to a somewhat normal, if not very different existence shortly. From all I can tell, turning the oven on to bake this bread is the first time it's been used. I can't wait to put it through its paces. Without further soliloquy, here is tonight's recipe (pictures courtesy of my new 70-300 macro zoom lens).

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups chopped fresh strawberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the middle position. Grease a loaf pan and Set aside.
2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the room temperature butter until softened (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture (in three additions) and sour cream (in two additions) alternately, starting and ending with the flour. Mix only until combined. Gently fold in the chopped strawberries and pecans.
4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake about one hour, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick
5. inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan.