For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows grace and favor and glory - honor, splendor and heavenly bliss! No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

Psalms 84:11

Monday, August 3, 2009

Chocolate Zucchini Bread - Fresh From My Garden

I know I promised some zucchini recipes a while back, and while I did post this recipe I kinda fell off the band waggon about posting others. So here's a great one I've been using for years now.

It came from this cook book:



I went to the Franciscan Montissori Earth School in Portland, OR when I was in grade school. So when my mom found this at a used book store, and then gave it to me for Christmas, I was VERY excited! Those years at the Earth school were such a magical time in my life. In fact, I seriously considered becoming Catholic just so I could become a Franciscan nun.

But I guess I just liked boys too much.



They live in Bridal Veil, OR which is about a 40-45 minute drive from Portland. And it's such a gorgeous setting it's really no wonder they're willing to commute such a distance. They actually have a water fall in their back yard!! How cool is that?!



Here is the little blurb about them from the book:

The acreage itself provides an environment in which to learn and grow. The land is a classroom for the Franciscan Montessori Earth School in Portland, Oregon, which fosters a creative learning environment for children pre-school through high school. Here the students are awakened to their responsibility to be stewards of the earth. In complement, the land provides a fertile centering for the Sisters' counseling program which incorporates the care of animals, the herb, vegetable and flower gardens as part of the therapeutic process.


Each chapter features a different convent from around the world. It's really pretty amazing to read about each of their missions and how they minister to different segments of society, yet have a common theme that binds them together, their love of Christ.

So onto the bread! I don't ever remember eating Franciscan zucchini bread, but I do remember eating other things that came from their kitchen and seriously, those ladies can COOK! So I knew any recipe that came out of this book would be a hit. This time I tweeked the recipe a bit to make it my own by adding cocoa powder and chocolate chips. I figured that pretty much anything is better with chocolate, and I was right!



First I took my shredded zucchini from the freezer. What? You don't freeze your zucchini?? You're missing out! It's super easy if you use a food processor or salad shooter, and then you can use it in all kinds of recipes year round.

Then you beat 3 eggs.



And add 2 cups of sugar.



And 1 cup of oil.



And 1 T of vanilla. Yup, it's more vanilla than the recipe calls for, but I like most recipes with some extra.



Then you add 1 cup of zucchini. I don't have a picture of that. Oops!

Then you mix up your dry ingredients. Here I have 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour, 1 tsp. of salt, 1 tsp. of baking soda, 1 T of cinnamon, 1/4 t of baking powder.



And then I added 1/4 cup of cocoa powder.



Then I added a little at a time to the wet mixture and combined until smooth.



Then I added a cup of chocolate chips.



You can make 2 loaves with this batter, but I only made one.



And it was good!





Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Adapted from Franciscan Heritage Cookbook

3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
1 cup grated zucchini
1 T vanilla
3 cups flour (I used a combo of all purpose and whole wheat)
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 T cinnamon
1/4 t baking powder
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup of chocolate chips

Beat eggs. Add sugar and oil, beat for 2 minutes. Add zucchini. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then mix with wet until it has a smooth consistency. Mix in chocolate chips. Pour into well greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour.

4 comments:

monica said...

Thanks for the receipe. It sounds great and looks even better! My grandma would love it - i will have make her some!

debi9kids said...

That looks just delicious! I have a recipe for zucchini bread as well and add chocolate & chips very often. YUM! (going to try your recipe out too!)

ps Fascinating about the schools!

Nancy said...

Oh YUUUUUUM!!! Love chocolate chip zucchini bread, but I've never had chocolate zucchini bread. I might have to try that.

I just got a recipe for zucchini pizza - you use shredded zucchini as the dough! Gonna try it out tonight :)

Helene said...

That looks seriously yummy!! I have zucchini coming out of my ears from our veggie garden and I'm at a loss as to what to do with it. I had NO idea I could shred it and freeze it!! What an awesome tip!!

I have some chocolate chips somewhere in my pantry. I'm SOOO gonna make this with the kids! BTW, do you think I could sub applesauce for the oil or do you think that would change the consistency too much?

Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin