Amy Houts Blog

Bernice's Zucchini Bread

8/31/2016

Looking through my recipe collection, I found one for zucchini bread from my cousin, Bernice, who is a great baker. Luckily, my husband had grown zucchini in the garden and had harvested a few. This recipe would be a perfect way to use them, I thought. Technically a quick bread, it should be called "cake," because it's sweet enough. Zucchini, grated and mixed into the batter, makes it healthy. The raisins and walnuts add to the moist, chewy texture. This recipe makes two nice-sized loaves.

Bernice's Zucchini Bread

Beat 4 eggs in a large bowl.
Add 2 cups sugar and 1 cup oil.

Combine and add until just mixed:
3 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Grate and add: 2 cups zucchini (scrubbed and rinsed if young; pared if old)

Stir in:
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins
1 teaspoon vanilla

Bake in 2 9x5-inch loaf pans, greased and floured, in lowest rack in oven preheated to 350 degrees for 55 minutes or until done.

You can see the green flecks of zucchini in the batter.

This recipe, written in my cousin's hand, was given to me about 30 years ago.

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The Secret Ingredient in Mock Apple Crisp

8/24/2016

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The brown sugar crumbs bake into a chewy topping. Best served a la mode.

My husband, Steve, is our gardener. Every year I look for new recipes for zucchini. Of course, we love zucchini bread, ratatouille, and other traditional zucchini dishes, but it's always fun to try something new. So this summer, when Steve came home from work stating that a co-worker substitutes zucchini for apples in a pie, I wanted to try it. However, before I went to the trouble of making a pie, I thought I would try something easier, a crisp. I like the taste and texture of a crisp, fresh fruit with sweet, chewy, crisp topping. Great warm with vanilla ice cream. Using a pastry blender, the ingredients mix up fairly quickly.

So, we had a nice size zucchini to use. I thoroughly rinsed it, scrubbing with a vegetable brush. Then I trimmed off the ends and cut it into slices that resembled apple slices. Although it's not necessary to remove the skin of this summer squash, I should have. The green skin was a sure giveaway that this wasn't apple crisp, and the psychology of eating is hard to get past. I really liked it. (However, Steve--not so much.) Here's the recipe so you can decide for yourself.

Mock Apple Crisp

1 or 2 small to medium zucchini, enough to make 4 cups sliced
2/3 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup quick (1-minute) oats
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a square glass pan, 8x8x2-inches.

Rinse and pare zucchini. Cut into apple-size slices. Place in prepared pan. Mix brown sugar, oats, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and butter or margarine with a pastry blender to make crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes or until zucchini is tender and crumbs are crisp and browned. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Yield: 6-8 servings

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Construction-Worker-Themed Birthday Party Cake

8/4/2016

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Our twin grandsons, Toby and Jake, turned three-years old this week. They had a construction-worker themed birthday party. The cake was a family creation. Toby used his hammer to break up the "dirt" (oreo cookie wafers) topping. Their dad, Nick, mixed up the chocolate frosting. I frosted the layer cake that their mom (our daughter, Emily) had baked the day before. Emily dug into the "perfectly" frosted cake with a spoon to make a it look like a construction site. She poured on the "dirt" and positioned two thoroughly washed and dried toy vehicles and candy boulders on top. So much fun! Of course, we had to eat it with vanilla and chocolate ice cream.

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Bernice's Zucchini Bread

The Secret Ingredient in Mock Apple Crisp

Construction-Worker-Themed Birthday Party Cake

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