Operation Zucchini Bread

 

Our zucchini plants must have taken lessons from movie serial killers. You know those movies when the serial killer is lurking underneath the blanket in the backseat? As the music swells, the bad guy comes out of nowhere and attacks the poor, unsuspecting victim.

Thankfully, our garden zucchini don't have much in common with bad guys except for that propensity for hiding in plain sight. One day, you don't see a zucchini big enough to harvest. Seemingly overnight, it becomes this behemoth that's only suitable for grating and adding to zucchini bread.

The girls helped harvest zucchini, potatoes and onions when they visited. While our gardening efforts pale in comparison to their paternal grandparents, they still had fun picking vegetables and then eating them in the meals we fixed during their visit. 

I grated one of those mammoth squashes last week and got 14 cups of grated zucchini for my troubles. (Well, actually, the food processor did most of the work.)

I thumbed through cookbooks and found a couple of zucchini bread recipes to try. The guys got some for treats in their harvest suppers.

One was combined with blueberries, which I knew would make my farmer happy.

The other used crushed pineapple.

Honestly, they were pretty similar in makeup. The main difference came in the spices added. Both were tasty. I just wished they used a little more zucchini per recipe. Remember? I have 14 cups! Some of it is in my freezer for another baking project.

Now ... if only those green tomatoes would turn red. That seems to be taking forever. Until then, here are the zucchini bread recipes to try. Let me know what you think if you try them!

Blueberry Zucchini Bread

From Stafford County Hospital Cookbook: 

Working Hands, Caring Hearts

3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 cup grated zucchini
3 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup chopped nuts (opt.)
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

Beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add oil, sugar and vanilla, mixing well. Mix in zucchini, mixing lightly. Combine dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Fold in blueberries and nuts (if desired). Grease and flour two 9- by 5-loaf pans (or use 4 smaller loaf pans). Pour mixture into pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 60-70 minutes for large loaves. Test with toothpick and remove after toothpick comes out clean.

Zucchini Pineapple Bread

From Kansas Country Kitchens

Recipes from the Rural Electric Cooperatives of Kansas

3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup nuts, chopped (I used walnuts)
2 cups zucchini, grated
1 8-oz. can crushed pineapple, drained

Beat eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla together until thick and foamy. Add dry ingredients and mix until batter is smooth. Fold in nuts, zucchini and pineapple. Divide batter evenly and put into two greased 9- by 5-inch loaf pan (or 4 smaller pans). Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Cool for 10 minutes in pan on wire rack. Turn out of pans and cool completely.

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Baked Chicken and Zucchini

Looking for savory recipes for zucchini? Here are a couple from past blog posts on The County Line. Just click on the link.

Squash Casserole