Summer Bounty

Well, along with the heat of summer we are finally getting summer's bounty as well. My in-laws planted a fabulous garden and are very generous with its abundance of zucchini, tomatoes (finally), yellow squash, red potatoes, and onions... As soon as the zucchini makes it to the kitchen, the kiddos start asking for my zucchini bread, so that is what I will be doing today. Although the rich sweet scent of cinnamon and cloves has a decidedly autumnal aroma, I can't pass up the opportunity to take advantage of the free zucchini! For those of you who are, likewise, lucky enough to have an abundance of zucchini, feel free to join me.

Zucchini Bread - Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3 eggs
1 c. oil
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. granulated sugar
3 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. pureed zucchini
2 ½ c. all purpose flour, sifted
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves

Grease and flour two bread pans; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, oil, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Add the vanilla and zucchini. Mix well. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Mix until combined. Pour mixture into prepared bread pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near center of loaf comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

My husband loves the bread warm with butter, but I think it tastes even better the next day (preferably with a nice cup of hot tea, before the kids have woken up).