When I was in Idaho this past week, one morning my mom & I went horseback riding at Ride N High Trail Rides in Culdesac, Idaho (about 40 minutes from where we were staying in Lewiston).  It was early, so we saw the sunrise as we drove to the ranch & then our ride was beautiful!  Our guide, Redgey, was so great!  He told us stories of his family, history, & about the area.  He also sent us home with fresh cucumbers, corn, & a huge zucchini from his garden!  The zucchini was so large that it fed us for various meals throughout the week…we used it in a sauté with garlic, onions, & tomatoes; my mom cooked some up for an omelet; & then I made 2 loafs of zucchini bread.  And there is still some zucchini left!

The zucchini bread recipe I made is an adaptation of the Moist Chocolate Zucchini Bread recipe at PaleOMG.  I made two different loaves – a chocolate & non chocolate (because the group I made it for didn’t all want chocolate).

My version is:

• 1.5 cups shredded zucchini
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 3/4 cup almond butter
• 1/3 cup date paste
• 4 TBS coconut flour
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp cinnamon

[add 1/4c cocoa powder for Chocolate Zucchini Bread]

First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Shred up the zucchini.  I recommend using a food processor, as it makes it so much easier & smoother.  Remove as much liquid as you can from the shredded zucchini (I used paper towel…though I imagine there are better ways to do this).  Then, mix all the ingredients together, put them in a coconut oiled pan & cook up that bread for 30+ minutes (check on it as it gets closer to 30 minutes & keep cooking until it has bread consistency).

Since I was making two different loaves, in one pan, I separated them with no other than…you guessed it…zucchini!  Lesson for next time I do this (or you do it), after cooking them with the zucchini between, take it out when the loaves harden up a bit & then continue to bake because the moisture from the zucchini separator prevents the zucchini bread from cooking all the way through very well.

Enjoy!  And let me know what you think if you try out the recipe!

Venture on,

mel, the venture gal