Dried Cherry-Banana Bread

Preparation : Soak the cherries in warm water for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a large muffing pan with vegetable oil. (or "jewel pan" or mini bundt pan) Sift together the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Mix the banana, brown sugar, egg, oil, buttermilk and orange peel in blender or processor. Make a well in dry ingredients, add banana mixture and mix gently. Drain and fold in the cherries. Spoon into prepared pan. Bake until a pick comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes. Notes: I used about 1/4 cup oil and reduced the buttermilk. I doubled the recipe and used a jewel pan and a mini-bundt pan. a great banana-cherry bread. I just finished baking it--and, of course, had to sample. This is really good. I got busy and the dried cherries soaked for about an hour with no ill-effects.