Fresh Zucchini Bread

Tonight, I made fresh zucchini bread from some zucchinis that came from my sister-in-law's garden. I made five mini loaves and one large loaf from the below recipe.

3 eggs

1 cup olive oil

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups coarsely grated zucchini

1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple, drained

3 cups all purpose flour*

2 teaspoons baking soda*

1 teaspoon salt*

1/2 teaspoon baking powder*

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup chopped walnuts- optional

1 cup raisins- optional

*I used self-rising flour in place of the starred items.

Instead of cinnamon and nutmeg, I used pumpkin pie spice. It was very tasty.

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat eggs. Add oil, sugar, and vanilla; continue beating mixture until thick and foamy. Stir in the zucchini and pineapple.

2 In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. A third at a time, add dry ingredients into wet and gently stir after each addition. Add the walnuts and raisins, blend gently.

3 Divide the batter equally between 2 greased and flour-dusted 5 by 9 inch loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in to the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks to cool thoroughly.

I used 5 mini loaf pans and a larger loaf pan. I really had enough batter to make 7 mini loaves, but I only had five pans. I cooked the bread for less than one hour, since the pans were smaller.

Everytime I make zucchini bread, I think about one of my beloved aunts. She always had various breads frozen. She would often give you a loaf on a visit. Zucchini is one of the kinds she always kept in her freezer. In fact, her zucchini bread was the first I ever ate. I have been hooked ever since.

Enjoy!