I bought a couple of firm, beautifully speckled zucchinis this week, and two days later, one of them was ugly. It wasn't spotted or bruised like a vegetable that was past its prime, but scratched and blemished on one side. I have no idea why, since it had lived a quiet uneventful life in my vegetable bowl on my windowsill.
What is up with that? The mystery of the zucchini vandal! Anyhow, it doesn't make one ounce of difference in how it tastes, but I decided right then and there that I was going to grate this baby down and transform its ugly ass into a thing of beauty. I was so motivated that I literally went and bought a new loaf pan from the thrift store. And a dress. And a fur collared coat.
Much better, no?
Technically, I am on "a diet". Please don't ask me what that means, because apparently all it means is saying out loud every once in awhile, "Life sucks because I'm on a diet". But I decided to look up and adapt a couple of low-fat zucchini bread recipes just to appease my conscience.
Guys, I almost risked the entire project for this picture. My photographer (coincidentally, also my boyfriend) decided he had BETTER things to do than watch me make zucchini bread, so I was holding up this gigantic glass bowl, heavy with thick batter, with my left hand while trying to take a picture with his giant Canon 60D in my right. I was very close to having no zucchini bread and a very angry boyfriend.
Mmm. Really dense, with just a hint of olive oil - I love a good olive oil loaf, so I added in some extra to my recipe. It's been two days and it's still as moist as when I took it out of the oven. I think I would add even more zucchini to really pack some more green in there. Maybe add in a can of crushed pineapple and top with cream cheese frosting? Or some walnuts and chocolate chips? Here's to hoping the zucchini vandal strikes again.
low-fat zucchini bread (adapted from RecipeZaar)
makes 1 loaf
2-3 cups grated zucchini (about 1 medium sized zucchini)
3 eggs
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat, and 1/2 cup white)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup applesauce (I had pear sauce on hand, so I used that instead)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or spray your loaf pan. Mix eggs, sugar, vanilla, applesauce, and olive oil. After combined, fold in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Once you add the flour, do not overmix. Add the zucchini and fold until combined. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. You can freeze this if you wrap it tightly in foil, or keep in the fridge for a couple of days.
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