Food for Thought - Zucchini Bread

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Hey, how are your gardens doing? Usually by this time of year we have plenty of fresh produce just waiting to be eaten. This year May and June were so rainy we were forced to plant everything late and now that we have stuff actually growing, nothing is producing. Today my sweetie brought in a cabbage and four beautiful little zucchini. I was so excited! Most of us love zucchini at our house for at least the first month… My favorite way to cook them is to slice them about an eighth of an inch thick. Then I toss them all into a frying pan on medium heat with a couple of tablespoons of butter. I stir them every few minutes so they don’t burn, otherwise I keep them covered. Once they start to look clear, they are done. Yumm! My second favorite way to use zucchini is the 3rd grade Zucchini Contest. Our elementary school does have a sense of humor. In the fall, after the harvest is in full swing and people have tired of zucchini, they have a contest to see who can dress the biggest zucchini in the funniest way. We have turned ginormous zucchini into Santa, baseball players, Frankenstein…anything goes! We have also provided zucchini for those poor unfortunate souls who don’t grow gardens. Several years ago, our church had a pumpkin-carving contest and instead of pumpkins, we used extra large zucchini, covered them with fake blood, and labeled them Ammon’s Enemies. (That’s BOM humor…Ammon cut off all the arms of the guys who tried to kill him.) Ewww! But I do want to share a recipe with you today. I’m not sure where this recipe came from originally, but it has become a family favorite. The only downside is that with the shredded zucchini, the dough doesn’t taste very good. I always add extra walnuts (because I love nuts!) and make sure you stir it well or all the nuts and raisins will end up in the bottom of your loaf. Even my icky picky eaters love this bread and they know it has zucchini in it. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Zucchini Bread

2 cups flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
¾ cup oil
2 cups grated zucchini
1 ½ cups chopped walnuts
½ cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Put aside beaten eggs. Add sugar and beat until thick.

Add oil and beat well. Mix in zucchini, nuts, and raisins.

Add the dry ingredients and mix well.

Pour into well-greased and floured bread pans.

 Bake for 50 minutes or until done.

 

Enjoy!