And today, I baked.

Another bad weather day (seriously, this is getting ridiculous) made it hard for me to get motivated. An early afternoon visit by my mom and her friends bearing gifts of apron and potholders (thanks!) inspired me to ditch other home improvement activities in favor of turning leftover zucchinis into bread.

Donning my new apron I took a combination of a couple of recipes to see what would happen. I love to bake, and go at with the bravado of a mad scientist…substituting, rejiggering, making things up, etc. -- all while leaving a path of kitchen destruction in my wake.

Anyway, the bread is pretty darn good if I do say so myself:

(p.s. If you look closely, you'll see I printed and framed one of my photos I first mentioned in this post :-)

Here’s how to make the magic happen:

1-1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1-1/2 cups spelt flour (I highly recommend incorporating spelt flour into your baking projects)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 ¾ cup sugar (I use organic unbleached)
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3 large eggs, or eggs substitute equivalent
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup applesauce
2 tablespoons vanilla
4 cups grated zucchini (loosely packed)

You could add nuts, but I only have pignoli right now. And that’s too odd for even me.

- Grease and flour 2 loaf pans (mine are 9”), and preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Whisk all dry ingredients together in a bowl to fully incorporate.
- Beat eggs, oil, applesauce, sugar and vanilla in a separate bowl.
- Add dry mixture to wet in slow batches and blend well.
- Fold in zucchini (I find a rubber spatula is best). Add nuts at this point if you’re using.
- Divide the batter between the two pans and bake at 325 degrees for about 60 minutes turning pans at the 30 minute mark.

That’s all there is to it! A delicious (and somewhat healthy) way to avoid housework.