Rosie Makes Zucchini Bread.

Every day I walk through my garden and poke around looking for yellow squash (Certainly easy to find), cucumbers, and the ever-elusive zucchini. Why is it that I always miss the zucchini? I went out one day last week and found a zucchini the size of a baseball bat. And that's after searching every day for this camo-veggie. I miss the zuke. On a regular basis. Squash and zucchini are best picked and eaten at the small stage, when you don't need to peel them and they're wonderfully sweet. When you let the sq & zu grow on, they become tough-skinned and starchy and fibrous and seedy. Not to worry if this happens. Make zucchini bread! As Middle Hawthorne used to say, "Mama, would you make some bikini bread?" When you find a zucchini the size of your thigh, simply peel it lightly and grate 2 cups, packed hard, with the water squuzzed out. 

  I proudly present Mama Hawthorne's recipe for Zucchini Bread:

Mama Hawthorne's Zucchini Bread
2 cups zucchini, grated (I drained and packed hard.)
 2 cups sugar
 1 cup oil
3 eggs, beaten 
  3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
  1/2 tsp baking powder
  1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon 
  2 tsp vanilla 
  1/2 cup pecans
  (I used 1 cup since I like nuts. Heh.)
Grease and flour 2 9-inch bread pans.
  Mix sugar, oil, and eggs.
 Sift flour and spices and add to above.
Add vanilla, pecans, and drained zucchini.
  Bake at 325 degrees about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
 

Here's my hidden green treasure.

And here's how big it is. Let's start on the zuke bread:

Three eggs went into my mixing bowl. Bear with me for action shots ...

... and cascading ova. Speaking of OVA, here are some pics I've been saving to post and now I've found the perfect time to post them:

I just liked these pictures so I thought I'd share.

They were shot June 16. I recall I was getting ready to make an omelet for Mr. Hawthorne and just liked the way the cream wafted into the egg whites.

I whupped the eggs until light and lemony and slowly added in the oil.

Then gradually added in the sugar.

I grated the zucchini, set it in a sieve, and pressed to drain out the water. You want 2 cups drained and packed grated zuke.

I sifted the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

And slowly added it to the egg mixture.

I always use more vanilla than is called for because I am a vanilla whore.

Pecans went in.

Nice green wave of zucchini.

I poured the batter into two baking pans which I buttahed but didn't flour. I guess since Mama Hawthorne said to butter and flour the pans, I'm still being combative and rebellious and passive/aggressive and refusing to flour the pans. Or maybe I just forgot. If it's not one thing, it's your mother.

After making two large loaves of zuke bread, I still have this much of the zucchini left.

I baked these for about 1 hour 5-10 minutes. They pop up in the middle and that's totally good.

Lovely texture. This is excellent zucchini bread. Fine bread crumbiness. Nice occasional crunch of pecan. Smoky sweet heat of cinnamon. Sweetness. Goodness.

I would not be averse to putting raisins in this. Flour-coat them first so they stay suspended in the batter and not sink to the bottom. A honey/butter/brown sugar/powdered sugar (maybe some orange juice/zest) glaze on top would be excellent.

The previous photos were made June 16, 2010. The next set of photos of zucchini bread was made this morning. Monday, July 26, 2010. I baked more loaves since I found this:

Another zucchini the size of my lower leg. If I flex.

Sweet Junior is interested in my vegetable.

Today, instead of pouring the zucchini batter into 2 9-inch bread pans (as I did previously), I poured it into 7 small aluminum pans, buttered. I baked these in a 325 degree oven for about 45 minutes.

Let cool.

Even the little ones puff up and Vesuvius in the center.

Lovely loaf of sweet green zuke.

Dear readers, if you have zucchini in your garden that's languishing in the lushness of its surroundings and exponentially growing in and of itself, make ZUCCHINI BREAD.