Zucchini Bread and Zucchini Quiche

Like most people, we had an abundance of zucchini in our garden, so we had to use it in creative ways. I have to share this recipe (at the bottom) for zucchini bread. I can almost always depend on Cooks' Illustrated to provide the best, most researched, most fiddled-with recipe for practically anything. The book The Best Recipe, given to us by Marnie for our wedding, is my go-to book for: - cinnamon buns - cheesecake - beef burgundy - quiche - roasted chicken - turkey for t-giving - etc

In just a little over a year, the proof of this book's worth is evidenced by the number of sticky/flour-y/and stained pages already mucking up the book.

The only two recipes that haven't gone well were the chocolate chip cookies. David said they lacked something -- butter flavor once, a brown sugar depth another time -- and he's always right about chocolate chip cookies; the other recipe that recently failed was Chicken Tikki Masala. It was tasty, and David liked it, but I felt it had twice the amount of fresh ginger and cardamom. I had our neighbor Jalpa taste it. She is Indian-American and a good cook, so she was able to identify the problems.

Anyway, the recipe for zucchini bread was not only delicious, but beautiful. Other breads took on a dark tone, but this one was bright yellow and green. The process was lengthy -- shredding the zucchini and letting it drain -- but worth the effort, and I used the juice in some spaghetti sauce. The zucchini monster I used was larger than New England Patriot Teddy Bruschi's forearm, so it made two large loaves. I added the olbigatory chocolate chips to David's loaf and kept mine pure (no nuts, even, though they would've been good).

Zucchini Bread Recipe

• 2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting pan
• 1 lb zucchini, washed and dried, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, lightly toasted (optional)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 2 large eggs, beaten lightly
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
  

1. Preheat to 375. Grease and flour 9x12 loaf pan.
2. Shred zucchini with 2 tablespoons sugar in 12-15 one-second pulses. Transfer mixture to colander over bowl and allow to drain 30 minutes. (You can also shred with box grater.)
3. Mix flour, nuts, baking soda, powder, and salt in bowl.
4. Whisk together remaining 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons of sugar, yogurt, eggs, lemon juice, and melted butter.
5. Squeeze zucchini with towels, and stir in yogurt and flour mixture until just combined.
6. Add to loaf pan and bake 55-60 minutes until golden brown and knife comes out clean.

A couple weeks ago, I made this quiche and added zucchini to offset the bacon. (Yum, bacon.) It also looked prettier that way -- especially after adding more fresh herbs and our cherry tomatoes.

How food looks is almost as important as its nutrition.

--Camille

Late Bloomers

Our flowers weren't a complete failure, and David has been interested in documenting up-close flower shots. He printed a bunch of flower and vegetable shots for his classroom. I want some now too!

--Camille

Perambulations

Okay, so these pictures weren't from our garden, but they are inspiration for our flowers next year. We walk regularly in the neighborhood down the street, and although most of the houses are the same style-different color, we do like the passels of kids running around and sharing yards. Everyone we have met has been nice too. Our last encounter was with a man who saw me bending over these plants while David squatted down to take photos of the bees.

The man didn't see David, he said, so he walked over, having seen I was pregnant and in a weird position in his yard. "I got worried something was wrong with you. I hoped you weren't going into labor." Me too!

Two other neighbors came over and we chatted about the neighborhood and flowers while David snapped away happily.

We have some of these sedums(?) in our side yard, and they are quite popular with the bees. Maybe there isn't a virus killing all the fruit pollinators; maybe they are just bored and want to change menus.

These morning glories (?) were open in the evening, so I'm guessing I got the name wrong. We need something like this wrapped around our sad rusty mailbox. Problem is, it's buried in the pavement, so I might need to fashion some sort of split barrel around it to get some plants and color. I'm also hesitant because any flowers we had in the front yard have died because we are never out there to water. Maybe we'll be more conscientious next year. After all, 2008 is the year of the flowers at the Bernsteins'.

These pink geraniums -- I think I got that one right! -- scream for attention. They remind me of high school girls -- vibrant and fresh.

A bonus shot: the Franklin Conservation land on our walk. It's all around us. Our swamp in the back yard is great for animals, but it's not picturesque, and it's difficult to walk through. This scene always pleases us -- all year round.

Tomato Jam

I've been eager to make an old-fashioned condiment: tomato jam. It is a mix of tangy (from tomatoes and lemons), sweet (sugar), and umami -- earthy -- from the pickling spice. I've seen recipes for lamb and tandoori chicken that use it as a condiment.

Our unlimited supply of currant and sun sugars were perfect candidates for the experiment -- and soooo pretty. Picking this batch (left; one day's haul!) might've been the first time the sun sugars have made it into the house. Usually we just eat them off the vine.

The recipe in my home preserving book said to blanch them first, to remove the skins...can you say "not worth the effort"? That drudgery sucked the fun right out of the process, so I ditched the step after the first 20 tomatoes.

Meanwhile, I boiled sugar and water and lemons, and a tea ball filled with pickling spice. I didn't have cheesecloth, and this was my solution -- a good one, until I needed the tea ball afterwards. The sugar created a seal on the ball and made it impossible to open, even after a soak in clean hot water. I tossed it out. (I am out of my loose tea phase anyway.)

Next came the tomatoes and some serious boiling time. So pretty, so fragrant! David, who had been skeptical about tomato jam, came in to the kitchen several times to investigate and comment on the aroma. The recipe didn't call for it, but I added 1/2 a package of pectin to help set the jam.

Finally, I ladled the hot jam into itty-bitty jars -- always a mess, even when Clumsy Camille tries hard -- and boiled them in the canner for 20 minutes. I worried that setting would fail in the jars that tipped over a little, but all seemed well 24 hours later. I love the satisfying, shy, little "pop" of the jars when they seal on the counter.

And here's the final product! We had ours on salmon -- delicious -- and a week later I ate it on crackers with manchego cheese; still later (but not the same night!), I spread it on samosas. I gave a jar to Jalpa, our neighbor who runs the market across the street, who said that her mother (who makes terrific Indian food) loved it. It reminds me a bit of tamarind sauce, so I was pleased with the report.

--Camille