9/8/11

1,001 Ways With Zucchini

Think of this as Thursday's edition of Baking on Friday.  I made Zucchini Bread today.  It's that time of year when even the least successful of gardens produces scads of green baseball bats.  So far, I've managed to catch mine when they are only half the size of regulation bats.  Nevertheless, I'm starting to become fearful of the Zzzzzz's in the night.  And I'm not talking about Mike's snoring.


This is only the first zucchini recipe I'm making this week.  I'm also making Zucchini with Parmesan, Ina Garten's delicious zucchini side dish.  This is a family favorite.  I took it to a potluck once, and one diner was heard to say, "zucchini that you can actually eat!" (I bring this up for those of you who are not fond of zucchini, and yet, find yourselves with more zucchini than you can stand.)  This one is well worth a try.  If I'm feeling energetic later in the week, I'll show you how it's done.

Let's see . . . how else can I dispose of zucchini this week?  Oh yes.  How about Creamy Zucchini Soup with Mixed Herbs?  This is a good summer dish.  I'm serving it with a side of shrimp cocktail for a light meal on these warm days we find ourselves enjoying right now.

I could go on.  And I will, don't you worry.  When it comes to zucchini, vee haf our vays1,001 vays, to be exact.

As for my Zucchini Bread, this is the recipe I like.  It came to me via email from Myrecipes.com, and was first published in the April, 1996, issue of Cooking Light magazine.  I like this recipe because a good deal of the fat is replaced with applesauce and egg substitute.  It goes together quickly and easily, making a minimum of mess.  You can make three mini-loaves, which make great gifts, or one large loaf (which is what I'm doing today).  Use your food processor to grate the zucchini in less than a second flat.

Zucchini Bread

2 cups  coarsely shredded zucchini
3 cups  all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups  sugar
1 teaspoon  baking soda
1 teaspoon  salt
1 teaspoon  ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon  baking powder
3/4 cup  applesauce
1/2 cup  egg substitute (or 2 large eggs)
1/3 cup  vegetable oil
1 tablespoon  vanilla extract
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place zucchini on several layers of paper towels, and cover with additional paper towel.  Let stand 5 minutes, pressing down occasionally.  Set aside.

Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (flour through baking powder) in a large bowl, and stir well; make a well in center of mixture.  Combine zucchini, applesauce, egg substitute, oil, and vanilla; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Divide batter evenly between 3 mini loaf pans coated with cooking spray, or use 1 large loaf pan (9 1/4 x 4 1/4 x 2 3/4).  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour if using mini loaf pans or 1 hour and 15 minutes if using a large loaf pan.  Loaves are done when a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Let cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack;  remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire rack.

1 comment:

Sarah said...

Can't wait for the remaining 998 recipes!

I often freeze z-bread but didn't have great luck freezing shredded zuke last year. Have you had any luck?