Zuchinni Bread

Last week, Jason and I attended the local Farmer's Auction... think "Farmer's Market on Steroids." We bought zuchinni, squash and sweet potatoes. Today, I finally got around to these veggie mountains:

Today's projects was Zuchinni Bread!

Ingredients:
1 pound zucchini (about 2 medium-sized)
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup olive oil (or canola oil)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Optional extras: 1 cup chopped nuts, 1 cup raisins, or 1 cup chocolate chips
non-stick spray or butter for greasing the pans

Directions:
Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 8x4" loaf pans.

Trim the stem and root-end from the zucchinis and shred them on a box grater. Gather the shreds in a clean kitchen towel or several layers of cheese cloth and squeeze to press out as much moister from the zucchini as possible.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugars, olive oil, and vanilla extract.

Toss the zucchini and any extras (nuts, raisins, chocolate chips) in the flour mixture. Pour the liquids over top. Gently stir and fold just until no more flour is visible. Divide the batter between the two loaf pans.

Bake 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. The finished loaves should have a golden-brown crust and feel springy if you give the top a little pat. Let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Loaves will keep in an airtight container for several days. They can also be wrapped in foil and frozen for up to three months. Thaw in the fridge overnight or in a warm oven for 20 minutes.

The above picture and this recipe was provided by The Kitchn

I chose this recipe because it had some healthier ingredients, or portions of ingredients, than other options, yet it didn't call for anything that wasn't a kitchen staple. I tripled this recipe, planning to freeze a large portion of the batch (since this Homestead-style cooking is a rare... rare... experience for me.) I shredded about 15 zuchinnis before I began baking, so I had to estimate how much to add to the bread. At 12 cups, it was probably more than the recipe called for, but I like things "Messy," so added more nuts than listed also. I used the Pampered Chef mini loaves stone, which took about 45 minutes for each set of four.

Today I just added walnuts. Tomorrow I will play with some nuts, chocolate chips and craisins combos and make another triple batch... because I have oOooOoodles of shredded zuchinni left, not to mention half a mountain of zuchinni still not shredded!