One of my favorite childhood memories was going to the farm to visit my mother's side of the family. Her parents own an apple orchard in Maryland, and we would often visit during holidays or special occasions.
My grandmother had her own garden, and grew beautiful flowers and some fruits and vegetables, including zucchini. I remember, during the summer, having a thick slice of her homemade zucchini bread, made from zucchini grown in her garden.
Her loaves always came out perfect, with gorgeous cracks along the top, a deep brown color, and a moist and sweet flavor. Unfortunately, I wasn't all that curious about food as a child, and I never learned her secret.
Pumpkin Zucchini Bread
This recipe is a continuation of Earth Eats' November pumpkin series, where we're exploring all sorts of pumpkin recipes, including pumpkin pie, toasted pumpkin seeds and coconut pumpkin soup.
Turn this recipe vegan by substituting applesauce for eggs.
Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (or half a can of pumpkin)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup oatmeal
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
- 1 cup shredded zucchini
Method:
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Combine sugar, eggs, pumpkin, and oil in a large bowl.
- Mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices in a small bowl until well combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, and stir with a spatula until just combined. Fold in the shredded zucchini.
- Pour the batter into a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the bread is done.
When the bread came out of the oven, I ended up breaking it when trying to get the loaf out of the pan. I have to say, I'm not an expert baker like my grandma-I'm still learning! I think I tried to remove it while it was still too hot.
But the result was certainly delicious. It's not too sweet-we served it with a bit of maple syrup drizzled on top, and it was just perfect.
