Garden Fresh Zucchini Bread
By: Denine & Daniele
Published: Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - 7:36am

Ingredients




3 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups freshly grated unpeeled zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons cold butter
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preparation

1 Wash zucchini and slice in half. Scoop out seeds. 2 Using a hand grater, finely grate the washed zucchinis with their skins on, onto paper towels. Set aside. 3 In a large bowl, whisk eggs until just blended. Add applesauce, oil, both sugars and vanilla to the eggs; stir well. 4 In a separate bowl, whisk flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. 5 Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients; mix until all ingredients are blended. 6 Fold in grated zucchini. [*If you want nuts in the batter, fold them in as well.] Set batter aside. 7 For the topping: Cut cold butter into tiny pieces; set aside. In a clean bowl, add brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, walnuts and butter. Rub ingredients together until small clumps are formed. Set aside. 8 Pour batter into four, greased and floured, mini-loaf pans. 9 Generously sprinkle walnut topping all over the loaves. 10 Bake at 325 degrees F for 40-60 minutes. [*Check loafs with a toothpick at 40 minutes; mine were done at 50 minutes.] 11 Cool in pan for 10 minutes and allow them to cool the rest of the way on cooling racks. 12 Cut yourself a big 'ole slice and wash down with a glass of milk!

About


Once upon a moon ago, I was an e-commerce Marketing Manager at Van Bourgondien’s, a flower bulb company. I was blessed with a wonderful staff of women to work with, and one day, my assistant, Marie, came in with some delicious-smelling bread. I eagerly pounced upon her cubicle and asked what she had whipped up the night before. She proudly told me it was zucchini bread – made with fresh zucchini pulled right out of her garden. Would I like a slice?
I immediately started backing away…zucchini? Yuck! I hated zucchini – it was something my mother forced me to eat as a kid and there was no way it was going to taste good baked in a loaf of bread. Thankfully, the phone in my office rang and I made a mad dash for it.
When Marie came into my office a few moments later, I was horrified to see that she came with a slice of her vegetable bread. I was trapped, and I knew I would have to try it because she was just so gosh-darn nice, that I couldn’t say no.
So I mustered up my courage and slowly took a bite… 
What?! 
It was sweet? 
And, tasted delicious too? 
This bread couldn’t have a vegetable in it: especially, if it was the mom-forced-upon-me zucchini from my childhood past!
Yet, when I inspected the bread, I saw the trademark green flecks scattered throughout the slice. At that point, I forgot all about my bad zucchini past, and promptly shoved the rest of the piece in my mouth. While chewing, and spitting crumbs everywhere, I begged Marie for the recipe.
I was younger then, and didn’t understand the importance of storing my beloved recipes properly. I know that I put it in one of my “safe spots”, but when I went to make Marie’s recipe the other day, I couldn’t find it anywhere. 
Sadly, Marie wasn’t online, so I knew I’d have to fend for myself. I knew she found her recipe on AllRecipes.com, so I poked around on the site and reviewed several recipes until I could piece one together that most closely resembled Marie’s original. I’m happy to report that it turned out well: so well, that it even passed the Tyler and Abbey test!
So, if you’ve got a bumper crop of zucchini in your yard and want to sneak some veggies into your kids’ diets, give this recipe a whirl…
[The original recipe that I altered can be found on AllRecipes.com. It is called "Mom's Zucchini Bread" by v.monte.]