Zucchini Bread- July 26, 2008

Zucchini is really starting to come in now and if you have been growing your own you could be having it every night. Well last summer about now I went on a zucchini bread baking marathon………over 1000 loaves for certain…………….I experimented with both savory versions and the usual sweet versions but a lot of them….. I tried to incorporate local ingredients where I could. And after many different options (some of which I will share with you later in this post) that were very good in their own right…………this was voted the all time best by the full range of taste testers. There is a secret ingredient to be sure…….which makes it GREAT!

Best Ever Zucchini Bread

Wet Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup maple syrup ( yep that is right- instead of 2 cups of sugar- which you may substitute)…

Mix well

Add:

2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Mix again

2 cups of shredded unpeeled zucchini

Mix until zucchini is coated

3 cups of flour

Add 1/2 cup at a time while mixing.

Personalizing:

Add 1– 1 1/2 cups combined of any of the following:

Crystallized ginger

Dried cranberries

Sliced almonds

Chopped walnuts

Frozen or dried blueberries

Shredded coconut

Chocolate chips

Put mixture in lightly oiled and floured loaf pans .

Bake in 350 degree preheated oven for 1 hour—1 hour 15 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.