ZUCCHINI BREAD

It has begun!  That period where the summer harvest (zucchini) get away from you and you run out of things to do with them.  Enter the Zucchini Bread.  Subtly sweet with a fresh, green fields taste.  I also make a lot of ratatouille once the tomatoes really kick in.  So far this year I've harvested more than the last 3 years combined....don't know why but I'm cooking and baking the heck out of this vegetable.  I can go out in the garden in the morning and there will be a small to medium sized zucchini but by the time I return in the afternoon it's the size of a baby's arm.

Preheat oven to 350

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup oat flour (make your own by putting whole oats in your spice grinder) 

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground mace (or nutmeg)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup organic raw coconut sugar

Wet:

1 cup over ripe bananas (mashed)
1 cup shredded and chopped zucchini (keep the skin but if you want you can remove the seeds using a teaspoon)
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional:
1/2 cup walnuts almonds (chopped)
1/2 cup raisins

Thoroughly mix all dry ingredients together (a whisk works well for this).  In a separate bowl, mix all wet ingredients.  You can put the wet ingredients in a blender to mix, but leave the zucchini out.  In a large bowl, combine both the wet (including the zucchini) and dry ingredients until just mixed.  Don't
over mix.  Pour bread mix into a 9 X 5 X 3 inch loaf pan (paper pan, parchment paper lined, non-stick or silicon pan).  Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry. Remove the pan from the oven and turn the loaf out onto a cooling rack and wait about 45 minutes to an hour to slice into it.  It continues to cook outside of the oven so this is a critical step.  If you want it warm you can always warm it in the oven before you serve it.  Serve it with some of my homemade cream cheeze.