Zucchini Week 2011 : Zucchini Breads

I think one of the first things people do when they get Zucchini is make Zucchini Bread.  I mean....why not.  I mean, a slice of warm bread with some butter on it is one of my favorite snacks.

This year, I tried two new Zucchini recipes.  It's great to go online & find what other people have done with this proliferating vegetable.

First off, is my Original Zucchini Bread.

Zucchini Bread

{hahaha....I don't have a picture of just my regular bread.....you'll just have to trust me that it's good}

I adapted this recipe 4 years ago.  It works great for me.  I've even entered this bread into the State Fair, and although the judges like it {from what my Mom says who works there}, I've never gotten a ribbon.  Oh well.  And if you notice, between the original recipe & my version, I've halved the sugar.  It works.  It's still good & yummy without all that extra sweetness.

Second, is a recipe I came across last year,

Blueberry Zucchini Bread

I had never thought to add Fruit to any of my zucchini breads.  When I made this particular recipe, my family devoured it.  Devoured.

The little Oat/Sugar topping is an added bonus to this bread.

Third, is a recipe that I came up with this year.  Playing off the idea of fruit in my zucchini breads, I used my original recipe & added stuff to it.

Cranberry-Orange Zucchini Bread

I loved this version.  I like the Cranberry-Orange Bread from Great Harvest, and although this is soooo different from that {since it is a Quick Bread}, I love that flavor combination.

Fourth, is a recipe that I found when I typed in, "Zucchini Bread Variations" into the search engine.

Pineapple Zucchini Bread - {scroll down to the middle of the page & you'll find it}

We picked this one to try because it was different.  My husband didn't want to try any chocolate zucchini breads, and we didn't have any coconut in the house to try a Coconut Zucchini Bread version.

I, of course, couldn't follow the recipe exactly, so here's what I did differently:

• replaced the olive oil {which I thought was weird in the first place} with applesauce
• substituted half the white flour with wheat flour
• I didn't have any crushed pineapple, but I did have pineapple chunks, so I weighed out what I needed and then chopped up the chunks.

The was for sure different from other Zucchini breads I tried, and I think that's mostly to the fact that there's nutmeg & raisins in the recipe, and not necessarily the pineapple.

This bread appeased 50% of my tasters.  Those who didn't like it, just didn't care for the nuts & raisins {nuts??? really???}.  Those who did like it, liked it because it tasted like a spiced-cake bread.

I'll have to try this recipe again, without the nuts & raisins, and see if we can't get that pineapple to "shine" a little bit more.

Well, there you have it.....Day 2 of Zucchini Week.  Remember to click on the Zucchini Week Tab & submit your favorite Zucchini Recipe :)