Author Notes: i picked up some beautiful looking zucchini at the union square greenmark, and thought – instead of roasting them, like i usually do, why not make a zucchini bread?
fruit/vegetables cake-bread {more like it, given the butter, sugar, and eggs involved} are usually a more attractive option for me. i like to have a sliver of whatever dessert i’ve made after dinner, and if it can incorporate nutrients, all the better!
i adapted this an apple bread recipe in mark bittman’s how to cook everything. i used zucchini because it looked so darn beautiful, but the vegetable is also jammed packed with folate, potassium, manganese & vitamin A. the rind contains all that lovely beta carotene, so don’t peel the vegetable before shredding. i also added a half cup of pecans to the mix because as we all know – nuts are a super food. pecans are a great source of vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc and fiber, as well as antioxidants. whew! that’s a lot of nutrition! i also increased the ratio of whole wheat flour to add just a notch more fiber. —nadiact
Makes: one loaf
Ingredients
-
1 1/2
cups all-purpose flour
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1 1.2
cups whole wheat flour
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1/2
teaspoon salt
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1
tablespoon baking powder
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1
cup sugar
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2
eggs
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1/4
cup butter
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1 1/4
cups milk
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1
cup grated zucchini
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1/2
cup chopped pecans
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sprinkle of raw cane sugar
Directions
- preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan
- combine all the dry ingredients. beat the eggs with butter and milk. make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients in the center, along with the zucchini. using a large spoon, combine ingredients swiftly, stirring and folding rather than beating. add pecans and then stop stirring as soon as all dry ingredients are moistened.
- pour the batter into the prepared pan. top with sprinkles of raw cane sugar. bake for about an hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan.