We certainly had the best of intentions. Like we do every year when we plan out and plant our garden. But just like every year our enthusiasm overtook us and we got carried away. Sigh. Last years vegetable haul was disappointing to say the least. It was dismal weather wise with very few sunny hot days that are needed to grow vibrant and healthy veggies , and far too many cool rainy bleak days. Our main crop, tomatoes, was extremely disappointing . This year we decided we were going to increase our acreage by 2 fold. And we weren't going to fall into the whole "monocropping" pitfall this time. We've learned from our previous mistakes. Silly Urban Farmers. We're not one of "them." We were branching out into the Big Time. Peas. Corn. Lettuce. Leeks. Squash. Cucumber. Tomatoes.
And Yellow Zucchini.
Fortunately it has been a boon year for veggies as long as you've planted them correctly. Which we have not. Yet again #learningcurve. Plenty of sun, rain and heat. The peas were good but few. The corn I'm sure was good as the squirrels certainly seemed to have enjoyed them (freakin' squirrels. ) The lettuce was amazing! Iceberg that didn't look like Iceberg lettuce according to the sous chef. And some Tom Thumb lettuce. But I planted too many and we simply couldn't eat that much so quickly- it sadly went to seed. And the leeks. Well time will tell. I see a few that have survived the onslaught that is the zucchini. Squash: still remains to be seen. Cucumber: maybe 4? Slightly disappointing. Tomatoes: So much happier this year. Sid the dog has been enjoying them for sure. He's branched out from just eating the cherry tomatoes to eating the full sized-regular tomatoes .We planted 2 varieties that I can't quite remember right now... but they are lovely and doing great! Unfortunately I think we have a few back yard critters that are also enjoying the lower hanging tomatoes (rats? Eek. But probably. Ah nature. Gawd luv ya.)
Which brings me to the zucchini. I do love zucchini. Why wouldn't you? And as everyone knows...and as we now know...they are very prolific. And invasive. They are growing from one veggie bed on over to the other. They know no boundaries. So we have a lot of zucchini. A lot. I like zucchini. I like to cook. The sous chef has always wanted to make zucchini relish. Problem solved...or so we thought:
This barely touched the tip of the Zucchini Iceberg so to speak. We gave one away to the neighbours in the meantime. Merely a drop in the zucchini bucket. On to the next recipe. Chocolate Zucchini Bread. Yup I pulled out the Big Guns.
My Mom has made a chocolate zucchini bread for years. And I have enjoyed it for years. She's a great cook and baker and I owe much to her. Unfortunately I couldn't find her original recipe in my "inbox" so I did what all cooks/bakers do nowadays: I Googled Chocolate Zucchini Bread. I think I totally lucked out with my first hit. What follows is a recipe for a moist (yup I'm still ok with that word as long as it pertains to food), chocolatey, rich, decadent dessert bread (don't let the zucchini fool you...it's not that healthy for you despite the addition of a vegetable...just look at all that sugar!) with a crispy, sugary/cinnamon topping. Best enjoyed warm...but still delicious the next day. If there is any still remaining the next day.
As with any recipe, I did make some modifications. I just had to add more chocolate chips. And I didn't use mini chips...go big or go home I say. I used 1/2 cup regular sized semi-sweet chocolate chips. And then I added in some Milk Chocolate Chunks. And maybe I ate a few along the way. Maybe. But no one saw me so whatev. I loved it so much that I had to make another loaf this morning...and share it with my niece and her family. I'm such a great aunt like that :-) The ultimate compliment to a recipe. I had run out of sour cream so I used yogourt instead. No big whoop. Turns out basically perfect after 45 minutes of baking. And even though the topping ( 2 tbsps of white sugar, 2 tbsps of brown sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon) seems like a lot ...put all of it on top of the batter. It makes a lovely and unexpectedly crisp and sweet topping. Some of it may flake off when you turn it out of the pan but don't worry, it just gives it more of a unique character ;-)
And then I went out into the yard to do my nightly garden tour and found 3 more zucchinis. Sigh. Which leads to Zucchini Overload - Part 2 at Bistro 164....
Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Adapted from The Recipe Critic
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup canola oil
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ cup sour cream or plain yogourt
- 1½ cups grated zucchini (leave the peel on...it's good for you and you'll never notice it)
- ½ cups mini chocolate chips or regular sized semi-sweet or milk chocolate chunks
- Topping:
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or spray a large 9" bread pan and set aside. Mix topping ingredients and set aside.
- Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder in a small bowl until combined. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, beat together sugars, oil, and eggs for about 1-2 minutes until slightly fluffy. Add vanilla and sour cream/yogourt.
- Fold in the grated zucchini. Add the remaining dry flour ingredients. Stir to combine and lastly fold in the chocolate chips/chunks.
- Pour into prepared 9" bread pan. Sprinkle the topping on the top. Bake for around 45 minutes, testing "doneness" with a toothpick.
- Let cool for 10 minutes and remove from pan.
- Cheers from Bistro 164!
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