summer bread

 our little veggie garden is in full force right now.  our tomatoes and zucchini are the front runners with how much we have harvested.  i can always find ways to use up our tomatoes, but sometimes with zucchini i get a little stumped.  we have had many pasta dishes and zucchini soups, but we still have more zucchini.  i can't believe that i had completely forgotten about zucchini bread.  it's one of my favorites. 

 Yummers!!

 i use the martha stewart zucchini spice bread recipe and change it up just a little...a little less sugar and i add pecans

here it is:

Ingredients

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 large zucchini
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar (i use about 3/4 cup)
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• i love to throw in a big handful of pecan pieces

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan with cooking spray, and set aside. Grate zucchini on the large holes of a box grater (to yield 1 3/4 cups); set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together sugars, oil, vanilla, and eggs.
   
2. Into a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, and stir to combine well. Stir in grated zucchini.
   
3. Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes; invert onto a wire rack, then reinvert, top side up. Cool completely before slicing.
   

this is a really quick recipe and oh so good.

i have already made a couple of loaves and i think i will make a couple more.