Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Who made zucchini bread ...

Good Morning!

I do not consider myself a master cook or baker, but I am excited to share some recipes on the blog!
One of my favorite things to make are quick breads (or breads that do not have yeast and you can usually make them in one bowl) - so today I want to share 2 recipes for a family zucchini bread recipe and then a healthy version of zucchini bread.

One of our best weeks of produce - broccoli, beets, and zucchini 
B and I decided to buy into a CSA this year.  CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and it means that B and I paid one lump sum to a small, local farm around January and now we get a box filled with produce (mainly veggies) every Tuesday for about 12 weeks. CSAs are usually not too expensive and they are a great way to support small farms and eat local. The main reason we wanted to try one was to get exposed to new veggies and new ways of cooking. We have been doing it for about 4 weeks thus far and it has been great! I will admit ... I am a little sick of kale, but I have loved trying new things like kohlrabi, collard greens, and more. We never know what we are going to get - so Tuesday are filled with surprises!

We have gotten zucchinis a few weeks in a row, so this week I decided to use them to make zucchini bread ... one of B and I's favorites!

Before I start with the recipes ... I have to make fun of myself and reveal an embarrassing story! I have yet to admit this to my mother in law or sister in law, so if they read this, I will brace myself for teasing.
Picture this ... I had been dating B for a few years and as the sappy, newly in love girl that I was at the time - I decided I wanted to surprise B and make his favorite zucchini bread!  I had never made zucchini bread before, or really had that much cooking experience -- but I confidently strolled to the grocery store and bought some zucchinis and the other needed ingredients. The baking process went pretty smooth ... I do remember thinking the batter seemed a bit runny, but I continued to move forward in my pursuit to woo B. When B came over to my apartment that evening, I eagerly told him I had made him a surprise, and being a great boyfriend - he acted very excited to dive into the bread.
See!! These look like zucchini!
I remember the next part so specifically ... he took a bite and looked at me a bit confused and said it tasted a little like cucumber?? But don't you worry - I remained confidant in my baking ability and told him he was completely wrong and marched into the kitchen and grabbed one of my left over "zucchinis" to show him and prove him wrong! My confidence level plummeted as he grabbed the veggie and told me this was an English cucumber and I just made cucumber bread .... Not very tasty! In my defense, an English cucumber is smooth and resembles a zucchini!

Don't worry though, since then I have gotten a lot more baking experience - and I won't be sharing any recipes for cucumber bread on the blog.

Today I want to share Grandma Hood's Famous Zucchini Bread Recipe and a "healthier" option with less sugar and NO oil! I only took pictures while making the healthier version, so first up is the text for Grandma Hood's tasty bread straight out of the family cookbook!
This recipe makes 2 loaves of bread, so sometimes I cut it in half (1.5 eggs is a little difficult, but it works!). As I said before - this recipe is incredibly delicious, I just wanted to make a few tweaks and make it a bit more healthy!

Healthy Zucchini Bread


I always start by grating my zucchini. I do not have any fancy tools, my stand up metal grater works great! I find that one medium sized zucchini usually produces a little over a cup of grated zucchini.

Great tip: If you have a lot of zucchini laying around, grate all of them and freeze them in 1 cup increments. Then - you can just reach in the freezer and have homemade zucchini bread in the winter!

The zucchini can be a little liquidy, but the liquid is what helps bring the batter together!






Ingredients
  •  1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon 
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup low fat milk (almond milk may work?)
  • 1/2 cup vanilla (or plain) greek yogurt
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 cups grated zucchini
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

 1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease two 8X4 bread pans

** Quirk of mine -- I like to use just one bowl, so I do not follow the directions to mix dry ingredients in one bowl and pour those into the wet ingredients.... therefore, my instructions follow what I did (not what a recipe usually tells you to do).

2) Beat eggs, milk, yogurt, sugar, and vanilla together. Add all of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

3) Stir in the zucchini and pecans until well combined. I like to sprinkle pecans on top too!

4) Pour the batter into prepared pans (and test it!).

5) Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean - 40 to 60 minutes (mine was about 50 minutes).

6) Cool in pan for around 10 minutes, and then remove the bread and taste the healthy deliciousness!

If you love breads and baked goods really sweet, this bread might not be your favorite - but it was very moist and dense. It definitely satisfied my carby craving! It was especially delicious toasted for a few minutes.

I hope you enjoyed these 2 recipes and let me know if you try them!

What are your favorite summer veggies and your favorite way to prepare them?






1 comment:

Disclaimer

I am not a registered dietitian (yet). My blog is simply a snapshot of my everyday life. The views I express are mine alone, based on my own experiences, and should not be taken as medical advice. Though I am a certified fitness instructor, the workouts I post may not be right for you. Please speak with a medical professional before making any changes to your current routine.