Got Zucchini?

Many years ago I knew a man named Bob who had a large family to support.  Bob always planted a summer garden. One year the zucchini really took off and Bob had a lot of it on his hands.

He grilled, boiled, baked, and fried it.  He marinated, stuffed, and pickled it. He chopped and sliced it.  He made zucchini boats, pasta salad, soup, bread, and omelets.  He added it to leafy salads and also served raw zucchini sticks.  He hid it in the mac 'n cheese and the spaghetti sauce!  He made zucchini curd, zucchini crab cakes, and zucchini shrimp. He tried feeding it to his cat and dogs. He even arranged a table centerpiece featuring zucchini!

Bob brought zucchini to work and begged us to take it. I took home a large bag to make him smile, ate a few, but  the rest spoiled in the fridge. Bob piled it up on the sidewalk at his house and put up a sign, "Free, Help Yourself."  However, the size of the pile never went down.  Evidently everyone else in the neighborhood was experiencing a good year for zucchini, too!

Bob remarked that if he could afford to, he would pay people to take it. I told him to just let it rot in the garden.  After all, he couldn't send it to the starving children in China.  You've heard that one, haven't you? "Eat your vegetables, there's starving children in China."   Or, "Don't throw away that left-over casserole, there's starving children in China." 

Well, if I had contact with Bob now (Oh,  I wonder if he ever planted zucchini again?) I would send him this Pineapple Zucchini Bread recipe.  He could bake it and sell it, easily.  In fact, it is so good, that Bob could possibly quit his job and spend his days, instead, baking and selling Pineapple Zucchini  Bread. He may even be able to send his kids to college with zucchini bread money.

This recipe is a winner!  It's moist and delicious.  You can give it as gifts. You can toast it for breakfast or eat it as a dessert or snack. Have a cup of coffee with it . . . even add whipped cream.  The big bonus is,  you can  (m-a-y-b-e)  count it towards your vegetables for the day.  I don't think, however, that idea would be supported by the USDA and National Institutes of Health!

I got this recipe from a cookbook compiled by my nephew's wife, Carolyn Fitzkee.  She has put together the book in memory of her grandmother, Ruth Clemmer (Latshaw) Bauman, whose dedication to family, faith, and good food has been passed on to the next generation.

And the winner is . . . Pineapple Zucchini Bread!

3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar (this is sweeter than I like it; I cut the sugar down to 1-1/4 cups)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini
3 cups flour
1 can (8-1/4 oz) crushed pineapple, well drained
1 cup chopped nuts
1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoons nutmeg
1 cup raisins
2 teaspoons baking soda

Beat eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla until thick.  Stir in remaining ingredients. Blend well.  Pour into 2 (5 x 9-inch) loaf pans and bake in 350 degree oven for one hour.  (I've found it takes a little less than an hour.)