Summer harvest zucchini bread: a recipe

Summer harvest zucchini bread

Harvest time in the garden is the most rewarding time of the year.

But it can also be the time when you realize your planning and planting mistakes and, hopefully, learn some lessons.

This year's lesson learned?

Two people cannot eat this much zucchini.

(Especially when one of the aforementioned two people has never met a vegetable he liked.)

Yes, folks, it's zucchini overload time here in Ninjaville, as I'm sure it is where you live as well. You know this time well: large quantities of the stuff start showing up in the break room at work, with little "Help Yourself!" signs.

Don't get me wrong, I love zucchini -- heck, that's why I planted it. (Way too much of it, apparently, but that's a "lesson learned" now, water under the bridge. )

So, if you have indeed helped yourself to someone else's zucchini bounty or have found yourself overwhelmed by the prolific courgette, I have a completely wicked way for you to make it useful.

Zucchini bread.

No, no, don't roll your eyes. Really. This is not just any zucchini bread, mind you -- not the masquerading-as-bread-but-really-cake chocolate chip zucchini bread (although don't doubt for a minute that there isn't a loaf of that already in the Ninj's freezer), but a real, veggie-packed, garden-in-a-loaf zucchini bread.

You will not want to eat this for breakfast.

This zucchini bread is wonderfully savory and cheesy, not at all sweet, and full of fresh veg that makes it colorful and gorgeous to look at, as well as delicious. You should serve it as an accompaniment to dinner, slathered with some creamy butter.

Or, better yet, toast a few thick slices and make a still-warm-from-the-sun tomato sandwich with it.

Oh. My. GAWD.

Now that is some bread!

Summer Harvest Zucchini Bread (adapted from a Cuisine Lite publication)

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup grated zucchini
1/2 cup diced tomato, seeded
1/2 cup green onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup buttermilk (I used the white vinegar in milk trick and it worked perfectly)
2 eggs
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine the first four (dry) ingredients in a large bowl. Add the zucchini, tomato, onion, basil and cheese and stir to combine. In a small bowl, whisk the milk, eggs, oil and vinegar. Add this wet mixture to the dry and stir (it's thick!!) until combined.

Pour the batter into a prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan for about 5 minutes then remove it from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.