Greetings everybody,
Anyone who has ever grown zucchini or courgettes knows that they are prolific little beggars. That is probably an understatement.
For some reason that I simply cannot fathom, I actually planted 9 plants this year. I had started the seed in pots and then just separated them and planted out everything that had germinated. Absolute madness, I tell you!
So, as was to be expected, we have been overrun with zucchini. We have been giving them away to anyone who is willing to take them. We try to keep up with the production, honest, we really do!
But every once in a while I find it, just lying there, hiding under the leaves. A whopper as big as my arm. And sometimes even bigger.
Now if you have read my blog for a while you know how I feel about wasting food. Even the unending zucchini.
Thankfully there is something that can be done with these bigguns.
I make zucchini bread.
I grate up all the big zukes I have on hand and then measure it all out.
If I am going to turn on my oven, I like to get maximum use from it so I bake as many at the same time as I can.
My recipe makes one loaf and calls for one cup of grated zucchini. So yesterday when I made the bread, I had enough for 5 loaves which just so happens to be the number of bread pans that I have. :)
Here is my recipe for those of you who find yourselves besieged with zukes. I have tried quite a few different recipes and finally adapted one to suit my purposes. I often find that they have more oil than I would like to use and then they are greasy afterwards. This recipe uses less but it is still moist and delicious.
Zucchini Bread
1 beaten egg
1 cup of grated washed and unpeeled zucchini or summer squash
1/4 cup of oil (I use canola)
1 1/2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
A good handful of chopped walnuts or pecans, about 1/2 a cup of so. You can
leave out the nuts if you have allergies or just prefer not to use them
Grease a 8x4 loaf pan. I use one of those baking sprays but use whatever you would normally use.
Mix together well the beaten egg, the zucchini and the oil.
In a separate bowl stir together all the dry ingredients except the nuts.
Add the moist ingredients to the dry all at once and stir until just moistened. Remember the laws of quick breads - DO NOT OVER MIX.
Stir in the nuts briefly just to combine.
Pour into the loaf pan and smooth the top.
Bake at 350F degrees until done, which is about an hour. That means that a cake tester stuck in the middle comes out clean. Times can vary so I start to check just before the hour. I find that it also seems to change the time depending on the number of loaves that are in there. When I baked the 5 loaves it took one hour and five minutes. They should be lovely and golden when they come out.
Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes and then remove from the pan and leave on the rack until completely cool.
I put one of them into a tin to eat right away and the remaining ones I wrap in aluminium foil, label them, and into the freezer they go. In the dark bleak days of February, they will be a delicious reminder of hot summer days and my mental breakdown for planting so many! :)
Enjoy!
Thanks for visiting with me today. See you back here soon. Cheers.
Anyone who has ever grown zucchini or courgettes knows that they are prolific little beggars. That is probably an understatement.
For some reason that I simply cannot fathom, I actually planted 9 plants this year. I had started the seed in pots and then just separated them and planted out everything that had germinated. Absolute madness, I tell you!
So, as was to be expected, we have been overrun with zucchini. We have been giving them away to anyone who is willing to take them. We try to keep up with the production, honest, we really do!
But every once in a while I find it, just lying there, hiding under the leaves. A whopper as big as my arm. And sometimes even bigger.
Now if you have read my blog for a while you know how I feel about wasting food. Even the unending zucchini.
Thankfully there is something that can be done with these bigguns.
I make zucchini bread.
If I am going to turn on my oven, I like to get maximum use from it so I bake as many at the same time as I can.
My recipe makes one loaf and calls for one cup of grated zucchini. So yesterday when I made the bread, I had enough for 5 loaves which just so happens to be the number of bread pans that I have. :)
Here is my recipe for those of you who find yourselves besieged with zukes. I have tried quite a few different recipes and finally adapted one to suit my purposes. I often find that they have more oil than I would like to use and then they are greasy afterwards. This recipe uses less but it is still moist and delicious.
Zucchini Bread
1 beaten egg
1 cup of grated washed and unpeeled zucchini or summer squash
1/4 cup of oil (I use canola)
1 1/2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
A good handful of chopped walnuts or pecans, about 1/2 a cup of so. You can
leave out the nuts if you have allergies or just prefer not to use them
Grease a 8x4 loaf pan. I use one of those baking sprays but use whatever you would normally use.
Mix together well the beaten egg, the zucchini and the oil.
In a separate bowl stir together all the dry ingredients except the nuts.
Add the moist ingredients to the dry all at once and stir until just moistened. Remember the laws of quick breads - DO NOT OVER MIX.
Stir in the nuts briefly just to combine.
Pour into the loaf pan and smooth the top.
Bake at 350F degrees until done, which is about an hour. That means that a cake tester stuck in the middle comes out clean. Times can vary so I start to check just before the hour. I find that it also seems to change the time depending on the number of loaves that are in there. When I baked the 5 loaves it took one hour and five minutes. They should be lovely and golden when they come out.
Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes and then remove from the pan and leave on the rack until completely cool.
I put one of them into a tin to eat right away and the remaining ones I wrap in aluminium foil, label them, and into the freezer they go. In the dark bleak days of February, they will be a delicious reminder of hot summer days and my mental breakdown for planting so many! :)
Enjoy!
Thanks for visiting with me today. See you back here soon. Cheers.
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