By Request

BETTY SHIMABUKURO

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Dependable papaya bread
given a nutritional boost

I t's sad when a recipe lets you down. Elaine Kawada was failed by a recipe for papaya bread. It was a quick bread that could be made with bananas or papayas, but while the banana bread was "superb," her attempts with papaya resulted in a loaf that was hard on the outside and uncooked on the inside. She's searching for a more dependable formula.

This recipe, from "Tropical Fruit Cookbook" by Marilyn Rittenhouse Harris (University of Hawaii Press, 1993), incorporates whole-wheat flour and wheat germ, which boost the nutritional value and make for a rather dense bread.

If you don't normally use those items, however, consider a trip to a health-food store. There you can buy just what you need, rather than taking home a 5-pound bag of whole-wheat flour that will be all buggy before you can use it up.

The papaya flavor in this bread is quite delicate. If you want more of an impact, try making the bread with mashed fruit instead of chunks.

Sweet Maui Girl Papaya Bread

1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (or use equal parts cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ground ginger)
1 egg, beaten
1 8-ounce carton papaya or lemon yogurt
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups ripe papaya, in 1/4-inch pieces
>> Topping:
3 ounces low-fat cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons orange zest
3 tablespoons mashed papaya

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

Combine flours, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spice. In a separate bowl combine egg, yogurt, milk, oil and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and stir to moisten. Fold in fruit. Pour into prepared pan and bake 1 hour. Cool.

Combine topping ingredients and spread over bread.

Nutritional information unavailable.

Can you help?

If you can meet these requests, please call or write:

>> David Kim misses the baked macaroni served on the buffet line at the Flamingo Chuckwagon.

>> Meredith Prock is looking for a recipe for Sticky Sauce, which she describes as a chocolate sauce that hardens when poured over ice cream.

>> Alanna Higdon wants to make Vietnamese manapua.

Food Stuffs: Morsels

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
"By Request," Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.