The Garden Keeps Growing

I don't know how it happens. We walk out to the garden everyday. But every now and then I seem to miss a zucchini and before I know it I've got a bright green squash bigger than a kid's arm. No sense sautéing or babying these monster sized marrows. Giant zucchini calls for fresh loaves of sweet zucchini bread. Perfect for toast and an easy treat to keep in the freezer. Honestly I always start with a different recipe. Today I actually followed one by Bill and Cheryl Jamison willing travelers and, at least as far as this loaf goes, pretty good bakers. Mix 2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 3/4 cup white sugar, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt in a bowl. The Jamisons say to sift but I just skipped ahead. Stir in 1 cup of rolled oats (a terrific addition I have never used before). Then make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add in 3 eggs, 3/4 cup vegetable oil, and 2 tsp vanilla extract (all heated together before adding in) and mix your batter together lightly. Stir in 2 cups of grated zucchini (that was only half of today's monster) taking care not to over mix. This is basically a muffin recipe and too much mixing can make your bread too dense. Pour the prepared batter into a greased and floured 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and bake at 350º for about 65 minutes.
The Jamisons suggest cooling for 10 minutes in the pan and then another 10 on a rack (covered with a towel they say to prevent indentations -- poppycock!). We didn't wait that long and cut our breakfast bread into thick slices topped with creamy fresh butter.