#COOKING WITH CLORIS--CRANBERRY BANANA ZUCCHINI BREAD

Last week I offered a recipe for Apricot Applesauce Zucchini Bread. Today I’ve altered the recipe, substituting bananas for the applesauce, cranberries for the apricots, and walnuts for the pecans.

Cranberry Banana Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

1 large egg

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour 

1/2  teaspoon baking powder

1/2  teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (from about 2 medium/large bananas)

1 cup coarsely grated zucchini, laid loosely in cup and not packed (don’t wring out)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 1 4” x 8” loaf pan with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pan; set aside.

Soak cranberries in a bowl of water. Set aside.

To a large bowl, add the first six ingredients, whisking to combine.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to bowl, stirring to combine. 

Drain cranberries. Stir together the bananas, zucchini, cranberries, and pecans. Stir to combine with other ingredients.

Pour batter into loaf pan. Back 1 hr. or until top spring back.

Allow to cool before slicing and serving serving.

#COOKING WITH CLORIS--APRICOT APPLESAUCE ZUCCHINI BREAD

I recently took a two-week vacation and came home to find my garden overrun with ginormous zucchini. So I cranked up the air-conditioning, and in the middle of a summer heat wave I spent the afternoon baking loaves of zucchini bread. Here’s one of the recipes. Check back next week for another.

Apricot Applesauce Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

1 large egg

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour 

1/2  teaspoon baking powder

1/2  teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 cup coarsely grated zucchini, laid loosely in cup and not packed (don’t wring out)

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 1 4” x 8” loaf pan with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pan; set aside.

Soak chopped apricots in a bowl of water. Set aside.

To a large bowl, add the first six ingredients, whisking to combine.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to bowl, stirring to combine. 

Drain apricots. Stir together the applesauce, zucchini, apricots, and walnuts. Stir to combine with other ingredients.

Pour batter into loaf pan. Back 1 hr. or until top spring back.

Allow to cool before slicing and serving serving. 

#COOKING WITH CLORIS--BLUEBERRY ZUCCHINI BREAD AND MUFFINS

Last fall I needed to remove a diseased ornamental plum tree from my front yard. While at the garden center to purchase a replacement tree, the horticulturist asked me about my zucchini crop. “What crop?” I asked with a frown.

Zucchini used to be the one produce I could grow, no matter what. I’d harvest so much from one plant, I’d wind up with a freezer full to use in soups and spaghetti sauce all winter. And that was after all the baking of zucchini bread and muffins, the stuffed zucchini, zucchini fritters, zucchini slaw, zucchini you-name-it.

But the last few years, even though I’d rotated where I placed my plants, my harvest had been zilch. Nada. Nothing. A big fat zero. Lovely looking plants that bore no fruit.

“Cheer up,” said the horticulturist. “You’ll have zucchini next summer. The bees are coming back.”

It turns out the bees had departed from my neck of the New Jersey suburbs the last few years. My zucchini plants weren’t getting pollinated. Thus, no zucchini.

So this year I planted my zucchini and held my breath. Sure enough, the horticulturist was right. The bees came back, and this year I’m harvesting zucchini once again.

I don’t know where the bees went or why they decided to leave. I’m just glad they decided to return. The other day I discovered a ginormous zucchini hiding under some leaves. Somehow I’d missed it when it was at optimum picking stage. And what better way to use a ginormous zucchini than make zucchini bread and muffins? And I still wound up with enough zucchini to make zucchini carrot slaw for dinner that night and freeze six cups for future use! That was one ginormous zucchini!

Blueberry Zucchini Bread and Muffins

Yield: one loaf and 6 muffins

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 cup canola oil

3 tsp. vanilla

2-1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 T. ground cinnamon

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

1 pt. fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Set aside 1/4 cup flour.

Lightly grease one loaf pan and one 6-cup muffin pan.

In a large bowl beat together eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar approximately one minute. Fold in zucchini.

Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add to wet ingredients, stirring until incorporated. Fold in pecans.

Toss blueberries in reserved flour. Fold into batter.

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Pour remaining batter into loaf pan. Bake muffins 20-25 minutes, loaf pan 50-55 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes on wire rack. Remove from pans and continue cooling.

#COOKING WITH CLORIS--BLUEBERRY BANANACHINI BREAD

For those of you who were lucky enough to have an abundant crop of zucchini this year, you’re probably swimming in it by now and wondering what else you can make with it. Before you start sneaking out in the middle of the night to depositing veggies in your neighbors’ mailboxes, try this bread recipe. Make as many loaves as your freezer will hold.

Blueberry Bananachini Bread

Ingredients:

3 eggs

3/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup grated zucchini

2 over-ripe bananas, mashed

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 T. ground cinnamon

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup fresh blueberries

Mix together all dry ingredients.

In mixing bowl beat eggs until light yellow and frothy. Mix in oil, sugars, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients, mixing until incorporated. Mix in zucchini and bananas. Fold in blueberries.

Divide mixture into two greased 8”x4” loaf pans. Bake in preheated 325 degree oven approximately 50 minutes. Bread is done baking when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack before removing and serving.

Variations:

Omit the blueberries and substitute chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, or pistachios), dried fruit (cherries, cranberries or apricots), chocolate chips, or any combination of these ingredients.