Earlier this week, John brought in two gigantic zucchinis that he said had been hiding under the leaves. I wish I had taken a picture of them, but they were at least 16-18" long and 12" or more in diameter. I wondered what to do with them, briefly considered leaving them on a neighbor's doorstep, and then thought about the chocolate zucchini bread recipes I've been wanting to try.
I had several candidates, but eventually narrowed it down to this one. I wondered it it would be too moist or even gloopy as it calls for four cups of shredded zucchini and my tried-and-true regular recipe only uses two cups, but I threw caution to the wind and made it according to the recipe (with one small exception).
I did add about 1/3 cup of chocolate chips to the batter, just because. I think it was a wise choice.
I like my regular zucchini bread and often freeze grated zucchini so I can make it during the winter. I may have to be careful not to make this too often as I think I like it even better.
John thought it smelled good, but wondered if it would be "too chocolatey". Ha! That description doesn't exist in my world and I thought it was absolutely delicious.
It's a bit of a reach here to relate this delicious new recipe to some questions, but I wonder if you've got any new/novel/delicious recipes that use zucchini? Or how about what is your favorite thing to bake? Your favorite thing to eat if you're not really a baker? Tell me anything about food, and I'll be glad to read it. (Bonus points if you include a recipe!)
Oh boy! That looks and sounds delicious. Maybe even Fletch would eat it (he usually leaves zucchini on his plate...but loves yellow squash...to me they taste the same). I don't use zucchini a lot (because Fletch), but I remember my sister-in-law slicing zucchini, grilling it and then layering a platter with the grilled slices, some tomato, mozarella and a drizzle of balsamic. Heaven!!
ReplyDeleteThat looks yummy! I don't have any novel recipes for zucchini, but I do love it sliced, stir-fried with garlic, butter and EVOO, topped with parmesan cheese. My favorite thing to bake (other than bread, which I make several times a week) is olive oil cake. It's a one bowl cake, and if you want the recipe, I will send it to you. Great questions, Bonny!
ReplyDeleteWe often make regular zucchini bread and add chocolate chips, but this sounds even better! Did you use the instant coffee and almond extract? I would probably sub vanilla extract for the almond, and I don't have any instant coffee on hand but could certainly get some. Next time we have zucchini, I will give this recipe a try -- I know at least one tween who would love it!
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried it yet, but I saw a Smitten Kitchen recipe for zucchini cakes (like potato pancakes but with zucchini instead) that looked delish and have been meaning to try.
That looks fabulous, Bonny. If I had zucchini-to-spare, I'd probably give it a try! But I don't have a vegetable garden -- and none of my neighbors do, either. So I just buy zucchini at the Farmer's Market now and then, and throw them into salads or onto the grill or sauté them with other veggies. No interesting recipes here, I'm afraid. (But I do like to eat. And right now, I could go for a big stack of blueberry pancakes or maybe a muffin. I'm in a blueberry phase at the moment. . . )
ReplyDeleteThat looks delicious... and, yeah, "too chocolatey" is not a thing!
ReplyDeleteYou know that I love kolokithokeftedes (zucchini fritters).
And I just made a salad with chopped zucchini + rinsed, drained & dried cannellini beans + cherry tomatoes + fresh basil + olive oil & seasonings -- you could add garlic, or really anything.
I've been sharing another recipe that uses zucchini with local friends, and I'm going to post that on my blog sometime today! C'mon over and check it out (in a while).
Oh, and some parmesan cheese in that zucchini & bean salad!!
ReplyDeleteI am not a big fan of zucchini bread, but I do enjoy zucchini in other ways.
ReplyDeleteIna Garten's Parmesan Roasted Zucchini is very good. The recipe is in her book Cooking For Jeffery and you can find it online. I also like to saute it with onion, frying peppers, and sweet Italian sausage & top it off with black pepper and parmesan.
That sounds delicious, and since I have some Italian sausage in the refrigerator, this just might be what's for dinner tonight. Thanks, Debbie!
DeleteMy friend Sean brought over a zucchini cake with lemon and blueberry last night and it was delicious!
ReplyDeleteI make that zucchini quiche that you shared with us...so I'm of no help! my sister cuts it up in cubes (!!) and sautees it in olive oil and it does taste different than slices, I swear.
ReplyDeleteWe make a pasta dish with zucchini and mint when we have a lot of zucchini. The squash is grated. Nothing gets cooked except for the pasta. There are many variations of this online, so take a look and see if something appeals. Great for lunch leftovers, too!
ReplyDeleteI love zucchini bread and this looks oh.so.delish. I don't do much baking (or cooking) these days - I may have to break down and give it a whirl. Thanx for sharing and enjoy!
ReplyDeleteCheers~
Oh, that looks amazing Bonny! I just love zucchini... every way you can cook it, but my favorite might be to sauté it. Simple, easy... and so delicious!
ReplyDeleteThat cake does look delicious, but I think the recipe that Vicki shared for turkey burgers is even better! (ps. welcome back - between your journey and my issues with blogger, I've missed you for a few weeks!)
ReplyDeleteThat chocolate zucchini bread looks wonderful. I like the idea of adding instant coffee. This evening I roasted sliced zucchini, sliced roma tomatoes, and sliced onions in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. After about 40 minutes when the tomatoes and onions began to carmelize, I took that mixture out of the oven and topped it with chopped fresh basil, oregano, and chives. I cooked a little couscous and stirred the roasted veggies into the couscous. We ate this mixture over spinach because I didn't have other greens and topped the whole mess with sliced avocado and fresh homemade cucumber hummus. (It is summer when all this fresh stuff begs to be used.) This was an adaptation of some kind of "bowl" recipe.
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