Citrus Zucchini Bread

I know I start almost every post saying the same thing, but I really need to dedicate more time to blogging my recipes. A big reason this blog exists is to have something to look back on. Food plays a big part in almost all social gatherings, and it certainly is a factor of daily life. This blog, while mainly about food, will also serve as a reminder of all the fun, joyful things happening in my life, and will even be an indicator of my daily life. So I really need to keep up on writing, not only for the readers sake, but for my memories as well.

That said, I've been so busy lately that I haven't had much time to create new recipes. Working full time and spending as much time as I can with Logan doesn't allow me much kitchen time. I'm ok with that though, every day with him is something new. He learned to "swim" yesterday. Equipped with water wings, he headed right into the Long Island Sound until his feet no longer touched the bottom. He kicked his legs around and looked adorable while trying to keep his mouth out of the water. A couple times he became completely submerged, and came back to the surface laughing. I'm so lucky to have a baby that absolutely loves the water! He must get that from me.

I'm straying way too far from food here. Back to the recipe. My garden has been extremely productive, especially the squash bed. I ended up with a large harvest of zucchini last week, and my first thought was zucchini bread. I waited longer than I would have liked to pick a couple of the zucchinis, so some of them grew into monsters. One of them shredded into 8 cups, so I doubled this recipe to use 4 cups and froze the rest of the shreds. These are so delicious, I can't wait to make more!

Citrus Zucchini Bread

Makes two 9 x 5 loaves, or about 72 mini muffins

• 1 lemon
• 1 cup coconut milk (or other non dairy milk)
• 4 cups flour
• 1 1/3 cups of organic sugar
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup apple purée or applesauce
• 1 cup safflower oil
• 2 cups shredded zucchini

1. Preheat the oven to 350º.
2. Juice and zest the lemon. Keep in mind that it's easier to zest a lemon before it has been juiced.
3. Put one tablespoon of the lemon juice in a measuring cup. Fill the measuring cup to the one cup line with the non dairy milk. You've just made vegan "buttermilk"! Reserve the rest of the lemon juice.
4. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and salt together.
5. Add the apple purée, oil, reserved lemon juice and "buttermilk", and stir until combined.
6. Fold in the lemon zest and zucchini.
7. Bake mini muffins for about 15 minutes, and bread loaves for about 45.





I covered the mini muffins with an orange glaze,
made by mixing confectioners sugar and fresh squeezed orange juice.

The Quest to Find the Perfect Vegan Brownie- Part 2

Continuing my quest, I found a recipe on allrecipes.com that used, of all things, zucchini. I was skeptical about it, but at this point I'll try anything to find fudgy, rich vegan brownies. Besides, I had some shredded zucchini in the freezer left over from zucchini bread. After mixing all the other ingredients, I realized I only had about half the zucchini that I needed. So I divided the batter in half, added zucchini to half the mix, and apple purée to the other, ending up with two types of brownies.

While they're not exactly what I'm looking for, they're pretty darn close. They were moist and chocolatey, but not as fudgy as I would have liked. Still, they're the closest I've come to an ultimate vegan brownie so far. Both the apple and the zucchini batches were good, but I preferred the zucchini a tiny bit more.

Vegan Zucchini Brownies

• 1/4 cup oil
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup shredded zucchini

The batter will look pretty dry before you
add the zucchini, as you can see in the
bowl on the left.

1. Preheat the oven to 350º.
2. Mix the oil, sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt, and mix until combined.
4. Fold in the zucchini
5. Pour batter into a greased pan. Since this recipe only makes a small amount of batter, I used a glass 8 x 6 Pyrex dish.
6. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.

Swamp Soup

This soup tastes a lot better than it looks, I promise. I found it on a website listing it as a detox soup. I don't know how detoxifying it was, but it was very simple to make, tasted good, and is very healthy. You'll only be able to stomach this if you like cilantro. I absolutely love the stuff, and I put it in everything from quinoa to homemade tomato sauce. When my dad announced he didn't like it and thought it tasted like dirt, I was shocked. Not only because I've never heard him say he didn't like anything, but because who doesn't like cilantro? I just recently came across an article listing the 10 most polarizing foods,with cilantro topping the list. Apparently dad isn't the only cilantro hater. So if you're like my dad, steer clear of this recipe. If you are a fan of the leafy weed and are looking for a quick and healthy way to warm up this winter, go for it.

The ingredients are few and basic. Once you scoop the solids out of the pot and into the blender, the leftover broth can be saved, and reused later. Every time I steam veggies, I save the liquid left over underneath the steamer and freeze it in a large, glass container. I add vegetable scraps to it to, like the ends of carrot sticks and the skin from squash. When the container is full I throw in some fresh herbs like basil and thyme and put it back in the freezer. This is all used later as a vegetable stock. It tastes different each time so it adds an unpredictable variety to my cooking. The taste can always be adjusted when it's being thawed to your liking with other herbs and spices. Best of all, this helps me keep a New Year's resolution I made about reducing food waste. 

Swamp Soup

Makes about 3 servings

• 1 quart veggie stock
• 1 bunch swiss chard, stems and leaves chopped
• 2 zucchini, diced
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped (leaves only)
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1. Bring the stock to a boil in a large pot.
2. Add the swiss chard stalks and simmer covered for 4 minutes.
3. Add the swiss chard leaves, zucchini and salt and simmer covered for 4 minutes. 
4. Add the cilantro, lemon and cayenne, and cook for another minute.
5. Remove the solid veggies from the pot and into a blender with a slotted spoon.
6. Blend until everything is thoroughly mixed, and enjoy right away.