Green is good, episode III

After Dylan got home, he made a list of things he wanted to eat while he's here, including zucchini bread. We've been steadily working our way through the list. When we got to the zucchini bread, we looked up a few recipes to try and decided on two. After making this one, I think we're ready to stop. It's tasty (not too sweet), simple, and relatively healthy—a big winner with everyone who tried it, including Dylan. Now on to the next item in his list.

Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread

Adapted from King Arthur Flour 

The original recipe has you make this with a mixer, but the muffin method works just fine, so you can save the mixer for another day.

Dry indredients
230 grams (2 cups) whole wheat or white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Wet ingredients
2 large eggs
100 grams (½ cup) vegetable or sunflower oil
100 grams (½ cup) brown sugar
85 grams (¼ cup) molasses or honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add-ins
340 grams (¾ pound; 2 cups) unpeeled, shredded zucchini, grated on the large holes of a box grater
85 grams (¾ cup) chopped walnuts
¾ cup mini chocolate chips (113 grams); or dried cranberries (85 grams); or golden raisins (113 grams), optional

    1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray or lightly grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.
    2. In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
    3. In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
    4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Add the zucchini, nuts, and chocolate chips or dried fruit, if using, and stir until just combined.
    5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a skewer or cake tester inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean, except for perhaps a smear of chocolate, about 50 to 60 minutes. Tent with foil after 40 minutes if the top seems to be browning too quickly.
    6. Let cool for 10 minutes before turning the bread out of the pan onto the cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing. Serve with Apricot Cream Cheese Spread, if desired. Store well-wrapped, at room temperature.

Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread
For the dry ingredients, add ½ teaspoon xanthan gum and substitute 2 cups gluten-free flour blend (ATK = 255 grams) for the whole wheat flour. For the wet ingredients, add 1 more large egg. In step 5, let the batter rest for 15 to 20 minutes before scraping it into the pan. The bread may need to bake for an additional 10 minutes before it tests done.

Apricot Cream Cheese Spread

Adapted from Cook's Country #4 Aug/Sep 2005

57 grams plain cream cheese, at cool room temperature
27 grams (1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) Apricot Marmalade or store-bought apricot jam
½ tablespoon (1½ teaspoons) confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Use a silicone spatula to combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Store in a covered container in the fridge for up to a week.