zucchini bread: reminds you of grandma

Well, I don't like zucchini, but I LOVE zucchini bread. So, when my grandma gave me a home-grown zucchini from my great aunt's garden I knew exactly what to do with it.

I tend to find food recipes online or in cookbooks and then adapt them to my own tastes and health needs. I must say I am getting really good at this. When I first started cooking {grade school} the only thing I could make was a salad with homemade dressing. Over the years, though, I became more and more interested in cooking and began observing the culinary methods of my mother and grandmothers. In recent years I have become a cookbook-, Food Network-, food blog-aholic. I have even considered an associates in Culinary Management {that's the most offered in STL.} Today, I can look at a recipe and tell if it has too much sugar, too little seasoning, or if olive oil can easily replace unnecessary butter.  But, it took me several years to get to this point : ) Anyway, I found several zucchini bread recipes online, all of which contained waaay too much sugar and butter. This is my version.

Meredith's Zucchini Bread {relatively healthy minus the sugar}

3 eggs
1 1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup pure cane sugar

1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 heaping cups grated, unpeeled raw zucchini
2 cups whole wheat flour {does not take away from the over-all taste. I promise.}
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans or both

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs, oil, sugar, honey and vanilla until fully incorporated. Beat in grated zucchini. Sift dry ingredients together until just blended. Fold dry mix and walnuts into the wet batter. Grease bunt, bread pan, muffin tins, or even cast-iron skillet with canola oil {use pastry brush; it's easy.} Pour final product into any vehicle of your choice and bake until toothpick comes out clean. My key to a moist baked good is to always under-cook it a little. Enjoy with a little spread of butter if you must.

I hope you like the recipe. Eating it reminds me of my childhood and my 'happy place.' : )