Zucchini Bread or thoughts of this year's summer farmer's markets

I realize my last post was in January just before winter arrived full force and then some here in New England. Between the extreme amounts of snow, the extreme cold and having to dress for Anartica expedition each time I ventured out of the house I a have not had the opportunity to bake, cook and blog about my cooking adventures as much as I would like.

With the mountains of snow now gone and the local summer farmer's markets starting my thoughts move to all the great produce which will arrive in the coming weeks. One of my favorite recipes is Zucchini Bread as it can be easily doubled, unused portions frozen and is a great way to cook up those extremely large zucchinis.

While there are many zucchini bread recipes out there, I have found this one, which I received from my girlfriend, Sally, many years ago to be the recipe I've used time and again without fail. This includes the time I accidently added all the ingredients. Zucchini for this recipe can be shredded in advance and stored overnight in an airtight container in the back of the refrigerator prior to use. Zucchini shredded should be used within 24 hours for best results.

Zucchini Bread (makes one 9” loaf , four mini-loaves, 12 to 18 muffins)

2 eggs

½ cup canola oil

1 ¼ cup sugar

2 ½ cups flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ginger

2 cups shredded zucchini

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Place oven rack on middle rung. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees farenheit. Grease loaf pan(s) or line muffin tins with bake cups.

If not already done wash, dry, and slice off ends of zucchini. Shred zucchini using either a food processor or box grater.

In a medium to large bowl, beat eggs, oil and sugar. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, grated lemon peel, cinnamon, ginger and zucchini. Combine until blended. Add walnuts. Mix. Pour into loaf pan(s) or bake cups.

For 9” loaf bake 30 – 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Turn bread halfway through baking time for even bake. Remove from the pan and cool on a rack.

For mini-loaves, bake 25 – 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Turn bread halfway through baking time for even bake. Remove from pans and cool on a rack.

For muffins, bake 25 – 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Turn muffins halfway through baking time for even bake. Cool and then remove from tins.