Summer's End Meets Auntumn's Beginning in Noel's Recipe

Another Tuesday that feels like the race is on to get apples sorted and ready to sell at NorthSide Farmers Market, which begins at 4. Lucky for me, Noel has been blogging longer than I have, and her Apron Free Cooking site is chock full of seasonal food ideas. I gotta tell you, though, I've never heard of pairing zucchini and pumpkin together for a vegetable bread. Noel's recipe sounds yummy, and is a good way to use up surplus "zukes" (as she calls zucchinis!).

Marcheta *learning something new every day

P.S. isn't the graphic of Noel shedding her apron just the best?

Noel writes:

This article originally published in the Galion Inquirer on  September 14, 2011.


Zucchini Pumpkin Bread

What are we going to do with the zucchini now? Sometimes too much of a good thing can be….well… too much.

 There comes a point where my daughter won’t eat anything without spending five minutes inspecting the meal in detail. She’s figured out that I’ve been dicing, chopping and shredding zucchini into very small bits and mixing it in all kinds of menu items.

I’m going to outsmart her yet!

In the past I’ve tried a recipe for zucchini bread that involves chocolate chips, one that includes bananas and one that bakes up like a cake. My daughter has a super zucchini detector and I’ve not been able to slide those breads past her. My son, on the other hand, spreads the butter and continues to play his video game.


This year though, I think I’ll be able to convince my daughter that zucchini doesn’t deserve the reputation she’s assigned it. I’ve found a recipe for zucchini bread that’s going to convince this vegetable deserves a spot on the “like” list. The secret to this recipe is finely shredded zucchini. Shhh, don’t tell her.



3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup shredded zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts


In a mixing bowl, combine eggs and sugar. Add pumpkin, butter and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir in zucchini and nuts. Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until breads test done. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack.


I made this bread for a family gathering and the loaves just disappeared. Nobody asked me how I got the bread to be so moist. Nobody asked if it was a healthy recipe. Nobody asked if there was zucchini in the bread. They just gobbled it up and asked if I had another loaf with me.


So, I’m going to shred up the rest of the zucchini bumper crop and freeze it. I figure if I measure the 1 cup amount required by this recipe into zip top sandwich bags and freeze it, I’ll have an easy time mixing up a loaf of bread whenever I want one.
I think I’ve just found the family Christmas gifts, zucchini pumpkin bread for one and all! Zucchini has a way of bringing people together!


Noel Lizotte is breaking free of corporate stress with convenience cooking! www.apronfreecooking.com