Zucchini Bread

It's hard to get excited about zucchini bread, but it's an excellent venue for this summer squash, which I always buy in enormous quantities intending to prepare as a vegetable but somehow always manage to transform into chocolate cake, cookies or even "apple"pie. 

So before the season ends, here's a moist and rather delicious, albeit not guilt-free, way to "use up" all those good farmer's market intentions.

Below is the mis en place. There are but two cups of sugar in the recipe, making the bread not overly sweet, which is typical of vintage recipes.

It's a very quick recipe, especially if you grate the zucchini in a food processor.

Pour the batter into two greased and floured bread pans.

Bake for about an hour.

And enjoy your vegetables!

Production notes: I followed this recipe exactly, using the larger quantity of sugar.  I did not seed the zucchini, but if you use ginormous ones, it might be a good idea. I used the larger quantity of baking powder, used vegetable (not corn) oil, used both cinnamon and nutmeg, and did not add the optional dried fruit. I covered one pan with aluminum foil and left one uncovered but didn't notice any difference between the two.

Little Mermaid Tuna Muffins

As much as I like to cook, I always dreaded preparing school lunches for my children. Both were picky eaters, and didn't care for sandwiches, making the task infinitely more difficult. Now that they're grown-ups, there are many things I miss about their childhood; making school lunches is NOT among them.

How I wish I'd discovered these handy portable tuna muffins sooner! They are simply delicious, easy to prepare and (dare I say) rather nutritious.

The recipe, though not on a handwritten card, is from a delightful, albeit out-of-print cookbook, Once Upon a Recipe by Karen Green. It is beautifully illustrated.

Here's the mis en place for the muffins. Quite a number of ingredients, but most are already in the pantry. The cooked brown rice is a take-out from a nearby Chinese restaurant.

Mix all ingredients, except the egg whites, in a bowl and combine well.

Beat the egg whites until stiff, but not dry (you can add a bit of cream of tartar to insure you don't over beat). Gently fold them into the mixture.

It should look like this.

Spoon the mixture into six greased muffin cups.

Bake for about 40 minutes. Remove from the pan by running a butter knife around the edge of each muffin.