Food Friday: Zucchini Bread

My world is being consumed by zucchini. No really, it is. After finally using up all my zukes (and giving some away), I was feeling pretty great about the fact that I have not had to throw any away. But then I went out into the garden yesterday, and picked SIX more that were ripe. Ugh. I am just barely keeping up. So, I was searching for more zucchini recipes when Justyn came home and said, "Honey, I'm sorry, but I just can't eat anymore zucchini."


So I said, "Well, what do you mean? Like, are you tired of having it a certain way?" His response was, "I'm tired of having it sliced, diced, sauteed, and grated. I'm tired of having it for breakfast, for lunch, and for dinner." And of course I panicked... I mean, I just picked a ton more from the garden! (Incidentally, he must've seen them all lined up on the kitchen counter and freaked out.) Anyway, I said, "What about zucchini bread?" And he said, "Yeah, that's fine." Whew.


Even if you don't like zucchini, you should consider this recipe. It's really easy, healthy, and tastes nothing like zucchini. I originally found this recipe on All Recipes, but have modified it quite a bit to make it healthier. You can find the original here. This recipe makes quite a bit, so you may want to cut in in half. Or, you can do what I do and freeze some. To freeze, just wrap the completely cooled loaf/muffins really well in wax paper or aluminum foil. Remove from the freezer the night before you want to eat it.

Zucchini Bread

adapted from All Recipes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3 eggs
1 cup applesauce

2 1/4 cups turbinado sugar (raw sugar - you can use white if that's all you have)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-3 cups grated zucchini (anywhere in between is fine... it's a forgiving recipe)
1 cup chopped walnuts


DIRECTIONS
1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.