There are veggies in my bread...

“Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.”

-Jim Davis 

I'm not usually a "drop everything and cook" kind of person, but I had a hankering for zucchini bread this weekend. So, I picked up a few locally grown zucchinis at the store and entertained myself yesterday afternoon while Rob was at work.

I used this recipe (inspired by "Mom's Zucchini Bread Recipe" found at AllRecipes.com):

• 3 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon soda 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon 
• 2 teaspoons nutmeg 
• 3 eggs 
• 1 cup vegetable oil 
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
• 2 cups grated zucchini (I'm really glad I had this grater that fits over the top of a bowl!) 
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and mix well. 
4. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into two prepared pans.
5. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

The recipe makes two loaves, but of course I only have one loaf pan, so it took twice as long. Gotta remember to put that on my wish list.

When he got home, Rob was totally thrown off by the sweet smell of baking bread. He wondered what was going on and was surprised when I told him the loaves were for us.

And, wouldn't you know... baking bread brought a spark back to my kitchen. I am even inspired to restart the Iron Chef Sisters challenge that Callie and I started last year. Click here to follow along!