Banana Date Bread

1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. unbleached flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. freshly grated nutmeg
1 c. chopped pitted dates
1 c. finely chopped walnuts
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. honey
2 large eggs
1 c. mashed banana (about 3 small bananas)
1 t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9 x 5" loaf pan.

In a large bowl, thoroughly combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Stir in the dates and walnuts.

In a medium bowl, beat the oil and honey together until smooth. Beat in the eggs, banana, and vanilla until well mixed. Pour into the flour mixture and stir just until evenly moistened. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake 60-70 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. (If the loaf begins to brown too much before it's done, cover with a sheet of foil and keep baking.)

Let stand on a wire rack 10 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely before slicing, about 2 hours.

Makes 1 loaf.

Adapted from Quick Vegetarian Pleasures, p. 58.