Late summers of my childhood brought bags full of friends’ excess produce from their gardens. Thoughtful folks with far too many vegetables to contend with on their own, graciously remembered all the mouths my parents had to feed. I can’t imagine the gift these bundles of fresh produce really were to my family’s budget. We loved to see tomatoes and watermelon arrive, but my mom would shudder with disgust when a bag of squash was brought to our door. She didn’t have the slightest idea how to fix squash so that it turned out any way other than slimy and soggy. And it came in such mass quantities! Finally, someone shared with her the idea of baking one of the most prolific varieties into a delicious bread. Thus began our family love affair with zucchini bread.
Recipe from The Good Housekeeping Cookbook
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange peel
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease loaf pan.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a medium bowl mix oil, eggs, zucchini, walnuts and orange peel. Stir wet mixture into dry until just moistened.
Pour into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (about 1 hr. 10 min.)
