Zucchini Bread (#16)

I love having friends come visit. Especially friends who you have known for quite some time, who you can talk easily with, and who brings along her daughter, a sweet, charming playmate and role model for my little ladies. Company also means an excuse to bake (as if I needed one, these days!). I've been eyeing this recipe and used it as my inspiration.

I've decided that I want to learn how to bake. Really bake, not just follow a recipe. I want to create recipes, but I'm still working on the whole "wet ingredients to dry ingredients" ratio and the "more baking soda or more baking powder" dilemma. I figure the only way to learn, is to do. So this is what I did, using Gran's zucchini bread recipe as a starting point:

• Grease and flour loaf pan; preheat oven to 325 degrees
• 2 organic eggs
• 1/4 C. oil
• 1/4 C. organic applesauce
• 1/4 C. organic cane sugar
• 2 T. local honey
• 2 T. organic agave
• 1 C. grated organic zucchini
• 1 C. organic crushed pineapple (drained)
• 1 tsp. organic vanilla
• 1 C. organic whole wheat flour
• 1/2 C. organic white flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• Bake for approx. 45 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean

I'm happy with the result - it was quite moist and chewy at first, maybe a little too much so, but after sitting for a couple of hours and cooling completely, it firmed up a bit and was a super morning snack for us and our guests as well as the requested lunch-dessert by the girls: "Momma, more 'cchini bread, peas-uh?".

(I've also been playing with camera settings - pretty happy with the above pic!)