Tag Archives: Zucchini

Marbled Zucchini Bread

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Sometimes I like to experiment with baking.

Sometimes I’ll come up with something incredible, and sometimes it’s a flop.

I took this recipe for Zucchini Bread and tried to make it healthier, but with the addition of cocoa.

I went a little too far, made too many substitutions and lets just say it didn’t end in my favor.  I changed the oil for yogurt, and the white sugar for brown sugar and applesauce.

Too many substitutions and not enough knowledge and experience on my part for what I may need to add in addition, or change completely.  The bread was interesting to look at, not photographically pleasing and did not rise even a little. The texture was all wrong, kind of spongy and wasn’t very sweet.

After a few bites and some time contemplating the bread.  I decided I needed to find out what happened. So in order to compare the two, I made a second batch of bread, but from the original recipe, a Martha Stewart one.

This one rose up so perfectly. It was moist with a crispy sugar top, but this time might have been a little too sweet.

All in all, neither were totally perfect, but both were still good, in their own way.  A little note for next time would be to start with smaller substitutions so the components aren’t altered completely.  Reduce the sugar, but don’t eliminate it. Maybe even add a few more swirls in the mixture to get more of a marbled effect.

Marble Chocolate & Zucchini Bread     

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour (minus 2 tbsp for marble)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar (less if you prefer)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup finely grated zucchini (1 to 2 medium)
2 tbsp Cocoa Powder

Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease a loaf pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla. Stir in the zucchini. Add the flour mixture, and stir to combine; but not overmix.  Divide batter into two bowls, as equally as possible.  Add reserved flour to one bowl and cocoa to the other.  Stir to combine.  Spoon regular batter into prepared loaf pan in three seperate parts, then spoon the chocolate batter into empty spots.  Pull a knife through batter mixing two batters together gently.

Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until  bread is firm to touch, golden and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Remove for pan and let cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature.

From Martha Stewart Baking Handbook

Spaghetti Squash Primavera

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Last week something very exciting happened.  Something I’ve been waiting ever so patiently for. What we had, some people didn’t even know existed.  Ready for it?  High speed Internet! No more painfully slow dial up, hurray! To be able to sit comfortably on the couch, bring the laptop around the house, upload, download, it’s amazing. Ah, everything seems so easy now.

At night once my husband, my baby and my dog are sleeping, and before I head off to bed, I have some time to peruse the internet. I could spend hours upon hours looking at beautiful food blogs, searching for recipes, ideas for toddler foods, random google searches, pinterest and yes, facebook too.  But mostly food blogs.  Honestly I must have hundreds bookmarked. There are so many I am in aw of; food I would love to make, photos that make you drool, moods, scenes and reactions I would love to create. It’s an addiction, I am fully aware, and completely ok with (hehe).  You can find my current list of favorites on the right hand side of this blog. They’re each inspiring, each different, telling their story photo by photo, recipe by recipe.

I’m also very excited to be able to put some time in on this little blog of mine.  It’s been about 7 months since I started, and I’m so very happy I did.  Starting this had been on my mind for awhile, and it’s been really great, but there’s alot still I’d like to learn about.  I hope you will be patient with me as I work my way around the site figuring out the best layout and design. You may see some small changes one day and some big changes the next. I would love to hear from you if you think one particular layout is better than another, if you see any mistakes I’ve made or if there’s something missing.

This little post here was from one day in the summer.  One day when I looked through the fridge, saw nothing but vegetables and was struck by not knowing what to make.  Literally the only think we had was vegetables.  Not such a bad thing I know, but I was drawing a blank.  So finally after some pondering, repeatedly opening and closing the fridge door to see if anything had changed inside, I came up with Spaghetti Squash Primavera.  Who knew a bowl of veggies, some dried herbs and spices, a few artichokes and a handful or two (or three) of Parmesan Cheese could taste so good.

Spaghetti Squash Primavera

1 Spaghetti Squash

3 small zucchinis, diced
10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 hot house tomato, diced
1 can artichokes, sliced
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 long red pepper, diced
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper
Parmesan Cheese
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onions, finely diced
1 tbsp Olive oil

Preheat oven to 375F.  Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop and flesh and seeds.  Spray lightly with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Cook for about 30 minutes or until soft and a fork can easily pull squash out in spaghetti strands.  Remove from oven and set aside.

Heat a large skillet with olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and let cook until slightly browned, 1-2 minutes. Add zucchinis, yellow and red pepper.  Let cook 2-3 minutes, until just softened.  Once squash has cooled enough to touch, take a fork and scrape out squash working outter edges in, so it pulls out in spaghetti strands.  Add to skillet and mix together.  Add all remaining ingredients, stir together to combine and let cool about 5 minutes or until all ingredients have combined and tomatoes are soft.

Remove from element and stir in parmesan cheese, as much as you would like.  Taste for seasoning.  Divide into bowls and garnish with more parmesan cheese.  Serve warm.

Barley & Vegetable Medley Salad

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When I think of barley, I think of stew. Hearty beef and barley stew on a cold winter day.  I now have a newfound admiration for barley and its at the completely opposite spectrum.  Cold barley salad with vegetables on a warm summer day.  This salad is so addictive, it puts regular lettuce salads to shame.

The barley and dressing alone tastes incredible and I will admit, I snuck a couple spoonfuls before adding the vegetables. Tossed together with some fresh herbs, cherry tomatoes and parmesan cheese creates a salad that’s filling and delectable.

For such a small chewy grain, barley brings so much more to the table than just incredible texture.  It’s soothing to the digestive tract and liver, heals stomach ulcers and lowers cholesterol.

Vegetable Medley & Barley Salad (adapted from Sprouted Kitchen)

1 Cup pearled barley, rinsed
3 Cups Water
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 Large Zucchini, sliced into half circles
1 Yellow Pepper, diced
1 Orange Pepper, diced
2 Cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/3 cup basil, finely chopped
1/4 cup Parsley, finely chopped
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt & Pepper

In a medium pot, add rinsed barley and 3 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for about 25-30 minutes, or until tender.  Drain any excess water, transfer to a large mixing bowl and mix in garlic and just a pinch of salt while the grains are still hot.  Stir together.  Add oil, honey and vinegar, stir again to coat and set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat about 1 tbsp olive oil.  Add zucchini and let cook on medium high heat until slightly browned and cooked through, 5-10 minutes. Transfer to a side plate. Add yellow pepper and a touch more oil, cook for a few minutes, just enough to take the edge off, but still crispy.  Transfer to side plate.  Repeat with orange pepper.

Once zucchini and peppers have cooled, add to mixing bowl with barley and stir together.  Toss in quartered tomatoes, basil and parsley.  Season with salt, pepper and parmesan cheese.  Mix together and add extra fresh herbs and vinegar if needed.

Creamy Avocado Coleslaw

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Wow, 1 Cabbage produces copious amounts of shredded cabbage!!  Having bought 1 green and 1 purple cabbage, I had no idea what I was in and needed to get a little innovative so we wouldn’t be eating the same salad for days and days.

With two salads in mind, I started out with a Creamy Avocado dressing.

No oil or mayo needed, this green salad dressing was made entirely of veggies, some herbs, lemon and buttermilk.  Cream-y!!

You could use this dressings for many salads, or even add a few more avocados and use it as a dip for veggies.

Biggest mistake I made with this salad, was not shredding the cabbage thin enough, I made sure to do that for the second salad though, which should be coming up tomorrow, so please stay tuned

(Adapted from The New Moosewood Cookbook)

Creamy Avocado Veggie Salad

Small Handful of Parsley
Handful of Spinach
1/2 a zucchini, chopped
A few fresh basil leaves
1 clove Garlic
1 cup Buttermilk
Salt
1 tsp Lemon Juice
2 Ripe Avocados
Small Handful of cilantro

1/2 Small Purple Cabbage, finely shredded
1/2 Small Green Cabbage, finely shredded
1 Carrot, peeled in strips
1 Cucumber, sliced

In a blender or food processor, add all dressing ingredients and pulse until smooth.  Taste for seasoning, then pulse once again.

Finely shred both cabbages and arrange in a bowl.  Add sliced cucumber and peel carrot pieces.  Pour dressing over salad and mix together.

Banana Zucchini Mini Loaves

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This is no ordinary banana bread.

It is truly delicious, and with no butter or oil, just the help of a small zucchini to keep it moist.

A few extra features include the addition of walnuts, dried cranberries, & unsweetened coconut.

If you want a little more nutrition, feel free to add some flax seeds and hemp hearts. With only 1/8 cup each, you can’t even taste them in there, but you can always add more if your heart desires.

Adapted from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice

2 Large Eggs
1/4 cup Honey
1 cup mashed bananas, about 2-3 bananas
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup pastry flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 heaping cup finely grated zucchini, about 1 medium
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
1/8 cup whole flax seeds (optional)
1/8 cup hemp hearts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. With a pastry brush, lightly grease an 8 cup mini loaf pan with butter.

In a large bowl, mix together eggs, honey, mashed bananas & vanilla extract. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together flours, sat, baking soda, baking powder & cinnamon.

Stir the dry ingredients into wet ingredients, mix until just combined, do not overmix.

Stir in remaining ingredients, & flax seeds & hemp hearts, if using.

Divide batter evenly among loaf cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 5 minutes.  Flip loaves on their side to cool in pan or remove completely and let cool on wire rack.

Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer up to 1 month.

For regular size loaf, grease loaf pan lightly and bake for 50-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.