When life gives you zucchini...

You make super yummy zucchini bread!!

Since our garden was non-existent this year, and our poor tomatoes that we tried to grow on the porch still look like mini granny apples, I thought our plentiful produce dining would be also non-existent.

Enter sweet friend, who also happens to be ultra green thumb, and our counters are suddenly overflowing with zany zucchini, sweet squash, and cool cucumbers.

And when I see zucchini, I pretty much turn into pavlovs salivating dog as I think about scrumptious zucchini bread fresh from the oven.

The dietitian in me always cringes at the sight of the recipe of such scrumptious bread, which usually includes about a bottle of oil and a carton of eggs...

So, after researching a few recipes and experimenting with many mushy/soggy/too-dry/too-wet/too-heavy/too-light versions...

I proudly present the yummy-not-kill-your-arteries-version of yummy zucchini bread:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or white flour, or 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 white... you get the picture)
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 or 1 tsp salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 -1/4 tsp all spice
1 cup sugar
1 egg plus enough milk to make 3/4 cup
1 1/2 cup grated zucchini
1 tsp lemon extract (optional - can use vanilla here)

1.  preheat oven to 350 degrees spray one loaf pan (or 4 mini loaf pans - my preference...)
2.  Mix milk, egg, and sugar together for 7-10 minutes, add zucchini and lemon extract (or vanilla), mix.
3.  mix dry ingredients all together in separate bowl, then add and mix just until blended
4.  Pour into loaf pan(s) and bake 1 hour for regular loaf pan or 25-30 minutes for mini loaf pans
5.  Take out, flip onto cooling rack, wait as long as you can stand (hopefully cool enough so it doesn't burn your mouth), and dig in!!