someone's in the kitchen with delma
This is my friend Carol's great-aunt Delma's recipe, or maybe her grandmother, or uh ... well, some elderly relation named Delma who baked wonderful things before nutritionists told us that eggs, sugar, and oil are not the best things to feast on.
Zucchini Bread
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cloves
½ - 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Grease two (9" x 5" x 3") or three (8" x 4" x 2½") loaf pans. Beat eggs with wire whisk or fork until foamy. Stir in sugar, zucchini, oil and vanilla; mix well. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. It's better to use a large wooden spoon instead of an electric mixer, to avoid too much air in the batter. Pour into pans greased with vegetable oil. Bake at 325° for 50-60 minutes, inserting a toothpick into the center to test for doneness. Cool in pan for ten minutes.
I usually make three loaves in the 8 x 4 disposable aluminum loaf pans that most grocery stores carry - giving one to whoever has brought me the zucchini from their garden. For those who don't like chopped nuts but like the flavor they add, I use a full cup of nuts, but grind them to the consistency of flour in my food processor.
This freezes well, and can also be made into muffins, though they'll have to be checked for doneness often after 25 minutes of baking. You can substitute 2 large or 3 medium mashed bananas for the zucchini and reduce the sugar to 1¼ cups for banana bread/muffins.