Summer squash — it really is the gift that keeps on giving. Our squash season has just begun, so at this point, I’m still looking forward to sauteed patty pans, zucchini in my pasta, and filling in the gap with crooknecks. That probably won’t be the case by the end of the summer.
Yet I can’t help but love this extreme giver of food. You can do so many, many things with summer squash. My grandma has been gifted with zucchinis that are too large to cook and has discovered that they pickle as easily as cucumbers. Then of course, there is the gloriousness that is zucchini bread. They’re a great addition to stir fries. They’re lovely as a side dish. They’re terrific stuffed, as casserole, and even as appetizers. How could I not love something that gives so much and asks for so little?
Zucchini Bread Recipe
Ingredients
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups grated fresh zucchini
2/3 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, mix together sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add zucchini and butter. Sift flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together and gently spoon into mixture, a third at a time. Fold in walnuts.
Divide the batter equally between 2 buttered 5 by 9 inch loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour (check for doneness at 50 minutes) or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks to cool thoroughly.
Makes 2 loaves.
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