Zucchini Bread

I found myself with a surplus of zucchini this week. I could only find one of my bread pans, so the excess batter became muffins. This recipe makes two loaves of bread or about 18 large muffins. Turbokid screamed "Cupcakes!" when he saw the muffins and devoured two of them.

Zucchini Bread

2 cups grated zucchini (about two zucchini)
3 Tbsp ground flax seed
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup mashed banana (about 1 medium ripe banana)
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp baking soda
3 cups white whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two bread pans.

In a small, stir together the ground flax and water and let sit for about 5 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, combine the grated zucchini, flax and water mixture, coconut oil, mashed banana, sugar, and vanilla. Stir in the salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda, then add the flour and mix well.

Pour batter into the bread pans. Bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Muffin variation: This recipe makes approximately 18 muffins. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Pumpkin Spice Bran Muffins

I wasn't able to get a decent picture of these because my kids were more concerned with eating the muffins than food photography. I started out by using pumpkin puree in place of oil and then decided to add the spices for a pumpkin pie flavor.

Pumpkin Spice Bran Muffins

1 1/2 cups wheat bran
1/2 cup hot water
1 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 Tbsp ground flax seed mixed into 2 Tbsp water
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice

1 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour


Preheat oven to 400F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine wheat bran and hot water. Allow to sit for a few minutes so the bran absorbs the moisture. Meanwhile, combine soy milk and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl or measuring cup. Allow to curdle, then stir into bran. Mix in brown sugar, pumpkin puree, and flax. Sift in baking soda, salt, and spices, stir, then sift in white whole wheat flour and mix until well combined.

Spoon batter into 12 greased or papered muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Kumquat Cashew Bran Muffins

A local grocery store had kumquats for $2 a pint, so I picked some up. I had no idea what to do with the odd little citrus fruits. They are entirely edible except for the seeds. The skins are sweet and the pulp is tart.

In my respiratory infection-induced delirium, I decided muffins would be a good way to use some of these mystery fruits. If you don't have kumquats available, try chopped apples instead. I wasn't sure how these would turn out, but they are quite good and Turbokid loves them.

Kumquat Cashew Bran Muffins

1/2 cup untoasted wheat germ
1/2 cup wheat bran (alternatively, you can use all germ or bran totaling 1 cup. I only had 1/2 cup germ left, so I used both)
1 Tbsp ground flax seed mixed into 3 Tbsp water
1 cup almond milk (I used vanilla)
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp blackstrap molasses
4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp oil
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup chopped and seeded kumquats
1/2 cup raw cashew pieces

Preheat oven to 400F.

Mix wheat germ and wheat bran together in a mixing bowl. Stir in flax mixture and almond milk and let sit briefly until some of the moisture is absorbed. Mix in sugar, molasses, baking powder, salt, and oil, then mix in the white whole wheat flour. Fold in chopped kumquats and cashews.

Fill lined or greased muffin cups with the batter. Bake for 15-20 minutes.