Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Happy to be Home, with Chocolate

Cool and gray November days here still, we don't have anywhere to go till tomorrow, and Sean is home from school for the day -- a good occasion to make chocolate zucchini bread. I've found that if you don't have zucchini, applesauce works quite well as a substitute. You may just want to add a bit less sugar and oil, since the applesauce is sweeter and more runny than the shredded zucchini.


Chocolate Zucchini Bread

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour milk or buttermilk
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups flour, all-purpose
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 cups zucchini shredded
1/4 cup chocolate chips (we used carob chips instead)


Directions

  • Cream together butter, oil, sugar, vanilla, sour milk, and eggs.
  • Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and cocoa; mix well.
  • Fold in zucchini.
  • Put batter into 2 greased and floured loaf pans.
  • Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of each loaf before baking.
  • Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.
Here's a version that you can print out.
Here's a slightly different version using slightly healthier ingredients.
For decadence, if you lived in Eugene, Oregon, you could make it the way my dear friend did who gave me the recipe... and sprinkle some Euphoria chocolate buttons on top. Oh, sometimes I am homesick for Oregon!

Tastes great with Chocolate Caramel Enchantment Chai Tea, given to me by a friend.

Aidan likes to help bake things, and get into pictures, too. : ).




















This is a neat idea. I could go on forever once I started but a few that come to mind right away are: fires in the hearth, the smells of cinnamon and coffee, giant conifers, cloudy skies, high school boys home from school for the day, ruby red laptops, cameras, early dusks, football, and voices of a range of kids involved happily in various activities. And chocolate caramel enchantment tea, and friends, even if they are far away.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks great. the only problem is that I froze my shredded zucchini in 1.5 cup batches because that's what my Good Housekeeping z. bread recipe calls for...

Anonymous said...

Looks yummy Willa! Wish I could drop by and have a bite! Give Aidan and Paddy a kiss for me!
Miss you!
Lori

Anonymous said...

You know, Willa, I've been enjoying your blog lately-- the nice mix of home and learning and deep thinking-- not that I didn't enjoy it before. But post something about chocolate and mention Eugene and Oregon and Euphoria chocolate and you've got my attention! The chocolate zucchini bread looks and sounds great, and I love your friend's idea. (I'm never opposed to chocolate chips *in* this kind of bread, either!)

Anonymous said...

It looks delicious. Can I come over? :-D