Zucchini Overload

I've recently been responsible for maintaining my father's Vegetable garden. This has overwhelmed my fridge with zucchini and cucumbers. With the bountiful harvest now in my hands, I've come to the conclusion I can't just give this all away. Some mass pickling, jamming and loaf making needs to take place. In which I'm very very excited for.

Tomorrow night is Viki's going away party, so I'm going to bring a zucchini loaf among a cherry pie (maybe) to her house for dinner. I'm sure we will post what we make later this weekend. So stay tuned! But this post is only gonna be the delicious zucchini loaf!

Ingredients!

walnut & cranberry zucchini bread
(recipe adapted from Simply Recipes)
2 large eggs
1 1/3 c sugar
2 T molasses
2 t vanilla
3 1/3 c grated zucchini
2/3 c roasted walnut oil (or melted unsalted butter or another oil)
2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
3 c all-purpose flour
1/2 t nutmeg
2 t cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves
1 c chopped pecans or walnuts
1 c dried cranberries or raisins

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine the eggs, sugar, molasses and vanilla together until well creamed.

Stir in the zucchini, oil, salt and baking soda. Add in the flour, a cup at a time, until well blended. Sprinkle in the spices and fold in the nuts and the cranberries.

Butter and flour 2 loaf pans. Divide the batter between the two pans – each will be about half full which will give the loaves room to rise. Bake for 1 hour or until the done – when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes and then invert them onto racks until thoroughly cool. Makes 2 loaves.

This is a great recipe for Zucchini loafs. Very wintry. More suitable for end of September, than this balmy 30 degree heat we're having today. I haven't tried to many and look forward to testing out more!

Grandma Guy's Energized Banana Loaf of Awesome!

A dear friend of mine passed along this recipe to me some six months ago, as I had been searching for a good banana bread recipe. And it is glorious. So easy that I make changes every time I bake it. I also triple the recipe (baking for me is done in bulk), making enough to have that same banana bread every morning for a month. Breakfast consists of a decent sized piece of bread coupled with plain yogurt and berries. Om nom nom.



Grandma Guy's Energized Banana Loaf of Awesome!

Standard recipe x 3:

3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cup butter
6 eggs
4.5 cups flour
3 tsp baking soda
7 mashed bananas

Additions:

Lots of walnuts.
2 tbsp (or more) cinnamon
2 tsp (or more) vanilla
2 tbsp (or more) pumpkin puree

I often put less mashed bananas and instead a decent amount of pumpkin puree. I play around with it. Just so long as it has the right consistency to bake.

Bake at 400* roughly until done.

Countdown is on

It had been awhile since Viki and I enjoyed dinner together. After seeing each other at my boyfriend's welcome home party we quickly arranged something shortly the week after. As the description suggests; Viki is leaving me for la belle Provence.. Quebec. And to be more exact, the lovely city of Montreal. Why does Montreal keep stealing my friends!? So dinner plans & times spent before she leaves will be plentiful.

This very first post is coming in a little late, only because we thought of making a blog after this dinner. Although we're looking to the past in the first entry, from here on out all posts made will be more current.
August 19th
Today's Menu:

• Wolf Blass Chardonnay
• Artichoke & Olive Crustini
• Tomato Green Bean Salad
• Brown Butter Buttermilk Nectarine Cake

(these 3 recipes can be found at http://smittenkitchen.com)

Viki and I LOVE Olives. Accompanied by wine is all the better! The tapanade was AMAZING. and so simple!

Just blend the following;

• Add 1 cup of green olives.
• table spoon of olive oil
• table spoon of capers
• 1 clove of garlic (optional)
• and 1 can of artichoke hearts
• salt and pepper to taste (optional)

For the green bean cherry tomato salad we;

• sliced cherry tomatoes in half
• dead head the beans

Vinaigrette consisted of;
minced 1 shallot

• red wine vinegar
• olive oil
• garlic
• sea salt
• basil

This salad was so fresh and summery. I could eat it until thanksgiving. And I plan on eating it tonight! and hopefully I can contain myself to not eat it all so I'll have it for lunch the next day!

The cake was a pretty fantastic end to a fantastic night <3






















All photos by Viki Bristowe Viki Bristowe Photography