A Squashy Situation: Zucchini Bread(s)

I loooove squash!! But recently I have found myself with an abundance of zucchini. I think I might have a problem because it seems whenever I pass by a farmers market I am compelled to buy a couple... which wouldn't be such a bad thing except for the fact that I'm and r-tard and forget that every Wednesday I get a CSA goodie box full of seasonal veggies. (fun fact: zucchinis are definitely in season right now).

Last week I went to go pick up my box and was in awe of the mammoth forearm-sized squash. Which caused me to wonder "What am I going to make wth this???" which led to "Holy crap!! What the hell am I going to do with all of the other ones??!!" (I tend to panic easily).

After a little google browsing and coming up with nothing interesting, I remembered that I have never tried making (nor had I tasted) zucchini bread before. Brilliant, right? When you have too many bananas you make banana bread so I only assumed that same principal applied to my excessively squashy situation.

I found a recipe that sounded good and in the process of assembling the goods I realized I still had a TON left over... soooo instead of making a double batch, resulting in two identical loaves (which imo is boring) I went in the opposite direction. Hence one of the greatest loaves of bread was born... THE SAVORY ZUCCHINI BREAD!!! (I honestly finished off the entire loaf, minus three slices, in 2 days)

Here are both of the recipes I used, they both turned out amazing! (Mike and my Dad loooved the sweet bread better, but my heart belonged to the savory loaf... drool <3 )

Let's start off with a classic:

Awe so nostalgic :)

 Zucchini Bread: (makes 1 loaf, adapted from VegFamily)

• 1T flax + 3T water (mix together and set aside)
• 1 1/2c whole wheat pastry flour
• 2t baking powder
• 1/2t salt
• 1T cinnamon (while your at it you could also toss in a little nutmeg, or cloves)
• 1/2c evaporated cane sugar
• 1/3t oil
• 1t vinegar
• 1t vanilla extract
• 1 1/2c zucchini, grated
• 1/2c raisins
• 1/2c toasted pecans (or walnuts)
• 1/4 cup water (on stand by in case dough seems to dry)

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients (flour - sugar) and mix well. Add flax mixture, sugar, oil, vinegar, and vanilla, and mix. Stir in the zucchini, raisins, and nuts and mix together gently until "just mixed." this is where you many (or many not) need to add water to the dough (if it seems dry add little bits until the dough is satisfactory). Pour batter into a lightly greased loaf pan and bake for 45-50 minutes (or until when pricked with a tooth pick the tooth pick comes out clean). Remove from over and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

And now let's get a little crazy (what can I say, I live my life on a wire! Ha!):

SO FANCY!!!

Savory Zucchini Bread: (makes 1 loaf, adapted from Namely Marley)

• 2T ground flax seeds + 6T water (mix together first and set aside for a few minutes to set)
• 3c whole wheat pastry flour
• 1T baking powder
• 1t salt
• 1t black pepper
• 1/2t baking soda
• 2t garlic powder
• 1t onion powder
• 2T nutritional yeast
• a pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1c zucchini, shredded
• 1/2c tomatoes, diced (remove the seeds and the goopy stuff around them as best as you can!! otherwise the bread will be too moist, you could also try using sun dried tomatoes instead)
• 1/2c fresh basil, chopped
• 1/4c fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2c green onions, chopped
• 1c water
• 1T balsamic vinegar
• 3T oil
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 3 slices tomato, thinly sliced

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Coat loaf pan lightly with oil.


Mix together all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix together water and balsamic vinegar and set aside. In another medium bowl mix together vggies: zucchini, tomatoes, basil, parsley, and scallions, with flax seed mixture, oil, and vinegar. Then add the water and balsamic vinegar and stir together until well combined.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined.

Pour batter into the loaf pan and top with tomato slices (and any extra fresh herbs). Place pan into the oven and bake at 325 degrees for 70 minutes (or until when pricked with a tooth pick the tooth pick comes out clean). Remove from over and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

I got even more adventurous and tried toasting them and topping each one with a spread. Roasted red pepper hummus on the savory one and strawberry-rhubarb jam on the other. Oh my god, the yummy-ness of homemade quick bread is 1,000,000x better when toasted!!! Will never go back to untoasted... ever again! Seriously try it!!