Life is good. I’m summering in London with my cousin and three of the cutest little kiddies ever.
And, it just so happens Eitan loves to cook. He has become my sous chef (how lucky am I?) as we’ve made cupcakes, playdough and zucchini bread.
My memory of zucchini bread is that my moms weird friend Karen used to bring it over. She was uptight, clearly didn’t like kids, and brought over bread made from vegetables – eew. However, given that Marcy bought a humongous zucchini at the farmer’s market that had gone unused, I decided to get over my dislike for Karen, and zucchini bread… of course Smitten Kitchen had a recipe and so I had to look no further.
We made one loaf and 9 muffins – they were yummy, and kid-approved. If I made these again, I would definitely substitute some whole wheat flour, and maybe something lowfat (applesauce? Buttermilk?) for some of the oil. I don’t have any need to fuss with cakes and cookies, but zucchini bread seems like it should be healthy – and these were tasty enough that they could definitely be lower fat and still be good. Experimenting comes next…
Until then, happy baking (I hope you find a sous chef as cute as mine!)
Ingredients:
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup olive or vegetable oil
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 2 cups grated zucchini
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (*skipped)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 - 1 cup chopped walnuts/pecans, or dried cranberries, raisins or chocolate chips (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease and flour two 8×4 inch loaf pans. Or line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk.
Mix in oil and sugar, then zucchini and vanilla.
Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt, as well as nuts, chocolate chips and/or dried fruit, if using.
Stir this into the egg mixture. Divide the batter into prepared pans.
Bake loaves for 50-70 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Bake muffins for approximately 20 to 25 minutes.
