Zucchini Bread

The harvest of zucchini starts my fall baking. Even though it's been so hot, I still crank up the oven when I am gifted with the abundance of my sister-in-law's garden. I start by peeling and seeding. Some of my baking friends use the whole zucchini, skin, seeds and all. I use my food processor to grate the zucchini and store it in zip lock bags in 2 cup packages. Just enough for 2 large loaves. I keep it in the fridge for up to a week. I didn't like the results from freezing, so I use it and freeze the loaves. That works really well. This recipe is available online, though I have added a couple of my own suggestions to it. I always add orange zest to my zucchini bread. My micro plane gets a workout, but the addition of this simple ingredient makes this bread aromatic and delicious. I also add a little nutmeg, a little goes a long way so just a half teaspoon is plenty. I use a crumble topping, made with one half stick of butter, half cup of brown sugar, half cup of flour and half cup of chopped nuts. I use pecans. This topping is mixed and crumbled on top of the bread before it goes into the oven.



Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups white sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
zest of two oranges

Directions
Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and zest until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans, add crumble topping.
Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

I've also baked this recipe in small aluminum pans. I made 8 loaves from this recipe and baked them for about 40 minutes.
This may not have been the prettiest loaf, but it sure was delicious. Everyone, from the pickiest eater, (ME!) loves this bread. Makes the house smell so good too. Enjoy this beautiful day.