Man, it's hot here. Not just hot, but all fans full bore, walking around the house in underwear, eating popsicles for dinner hot. We're wilting. The only happy thing around here are my tomato plants. The little green blops have started to finally ripen. Of course, the Early Girl starts that I bought this spring have all turned out to be mini roma tomatos, but at least they'll be red.
The other thing that the heat brings on is zucchini. This is the time that gardeners have to be vigilant, constantly checking for ripe zucchinis lurking under the leaves. Left too long in this kind of weather they will swell and bloat up to Herculean proportions. Then you only have three options. 1) Use them as baseball bats. 2) Hollow them out and use them as one-man canoes. 3) Swaddle them up like babies and leave them in a Moses basket on the doorstep of a kind stranger.
If you are the recipient of said swaddled zucchini (or unswaddled for that matter), I can think of no more delicious way to use it up than to make this bread. Chocolate Cherry Zucchini Bread. Even the finickiest of non-vegetable eaters (such as my husband) won't object to zucchini when it's folded into a luscious chocolate bread studded with ripe cherries and chocolate chips. It's deliciously moist and when warm (like today) it takes on a fabulously melty chocolate texture, requiring frequent licking of fingertips as you devour your piece. Um, two pieces. Excuse me, could you look the other way? Er, three pieces.
The recipe is from the lovely blog Feeding My Enthusiasms. I was fortunate enough to get to meet up with the blog author this past week and she's wonderful. Go get the recipe and then take a stroll through her blog to enjoy her beautiful recipes and her lovely writing.
I think I'll go cut another slice of the chocolate zucchini bread and then stick my feet in a bucket of ice water.
You didn't tell any stories about baking said bread ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt is quiet good, and I'm not even a huge chocolate person. It's more lake cake Sam and I decided.
Nice way to eat your veggies :) I ll follow your example :) looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteThe loaf Sarah made for moving day was delicious and I can't wait to make this with the cherries I bought, but not today. Too hot. All the stores are out of fans and air conditioners. I wonder if there has been a run on kiddy wading pools. I may go check. Even if they're out, the store is probably air conditioned.
ReplyDeleteI diligently checked said zucchini plant before we left home for five days. There were only 3 tiny-sized zukes on the vine. When we came home, they were all three ready for the canoe comparison. Just like having young children around the house, you can't turn your back for a moment or all heck breaks loose!
ReplyDeleteBut if it's SO HOT, who wants to turn on their oven to bake? The never-ending catch 22.
Question: can you taste the zucchini in there? Because I don't, er, like it at all. But now this sounds appealing. So maybe this is a new way to trick my brain into eating zucchini (and have a reaaally good excuse for a chocolate splurge).
ReplyDeleteI have cherries, I have zucchini....
ReplyDeleteThis is the loving husband writing - In answer to the question Dolce asked, no you really can't taste the zucchini. I must say that in other foods (carrot cake, etc.) I can taste vegetable additions but the chocolate and cherries in this are very strong flavors and the zucchini is basically undetectable. Give it a try. In my mind I've convinced myself that eating a slice of this is analogous to eating 1 USDA serving of vegetables for the day!
ReplyDeleteWe are having very different weather from you. But I can see that this bread will be enjoyed anytime and anywhere :)
ReplyDeleteIf I bring my own bag of ice and the bucket is big enough can you share it and a slice of this with me?
ReplyDeletePortland is slightly warmer at 105° today after yesterday's 107°.
It's cooler in Dallas - now what's up with that????
What a great way to use up the summer zucchini!
ReplyDeleteI want to try this recipe for one reason - to test if my non vegetable eating (read - vegetable hating) husband will notice that he's eating a chocolate cake with courgettes in. The look on his face when I tell him will be worth it!
ReplyDeletethat's one heck of a dense loaf, and it's filled with such incredible stuff! bring on the glut of zucchini--i'm ready!
ReplyDeleteA chocolate zucchini loaf sounds wonderful!! Added cherries too? Will wander over for the recipe.
ReplyDeleteMy sis lives in Tacoma, where she says it's 90 degrees in the house at night right now. ICK!
We just have not had that hot, hot heat this summer. My tomatoes are still small, green rocks and will likely need a couple of weeks at least.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of the zucchini in the sweet bread - a great idea!
Too bad I am not close enough to receive a swaddled zucchini baby...
If you really want to be sneaky about the zucchini, peal it before you shred it. That way the darkest green bits won't show. That's what I do with my insane in-laws when I make them chocolate cake.
ReplyDeleteI've been wanting zucchini bread, but not just the same ol', same ol'. This fits the bill!
ReplyDeleteI've got cherries here right now but need to get some zucchini. Looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteYum this sounds like a great twist on zucchini bread! It's been quite hot here but thankfully the last couple of days have been a bit cooler so we can sleep easier!
ReplyDeleteOk, you could've spared us the trip around the house in your undies ;-). But I'll admit, if that is what gets you motivated to bake Chocolate Zucchini Bread, then I guess I'll have to learn to adjust.
ReplyDelete