Zucchini bread

The abundance of fabulous summer produce has inspired me to spend much of my free time in the kitchen. I've been trying all sorts of new recipes and whipping up some old favorites like this zucchini bread recipe from Auntie Syl. Since it makes two loaves, there is always enough to share with a friend (or slice up and freeze).

Zucchini Bread

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup oil

2 cups grated zucchini

3 cups flour

{I use 2 cups regular and 1 cup whole wheat}

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

chopped nuts {optional}

Beat eggs and add in sugar, oil and zucchini. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Mix wet and dry ingredients. Pour into 2 greased pans and bake at 325 for one hour.

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Do try it, you won't be sorry. I love simple recipes, but I occasionally attempt something complicated. A few nights ago, I made a sweet and spicy seasoning paste from one of my Rick Bayless texts. The recipe called for toasting dried ancho chiles, grinding whole spices and straining the whole mixture through a fine mesh sieve. It's a bit time consuming, but it felt like an exotic adventure to me. I mixed the paste with a bit of balsamic vinegar and slathered it on piece of salmon for broiling. Served alongside some cilantro rice and roasted veggies, the food looked and tasted pretty impressive. Pretty impressive, until dessert. I sliced a mango and plunked the happy yellow pieces onto a couple saucers. That was about it. The fruit was sweet, a tiny bit tart and slightly nutty. A perfect mango. There's just no competing with mango perfection.