Zucchini Bread

Yesterday a neighbor dropped by a bag of Zucchini from their garden. They had a bumper crop this year. I remember the end of the season and wondering what to do with all the produce our garden had blessed us with.

The first farm we owned was off of a road that led to a state park. We hauled an old picnic table to the drive and I would place large baskets of vegetables in them with a "Free Vegetables" sign on it. Every Friday morning I would pick extra and place them out on the road side table. Often there would be notes of thanks or a little something someone had left for us. For many years I was "the lady with that table". I figured there were a lot of people enjoying our extras. How much can one family cook, can, pickle, freeze, or put away?

All those memories came flooding back with the delivery of a bag of Zucchini. I pulled out my grandmother's recipe for Zucchini bread and made a few loaves. Thought I would share it with you. Enjoy!

Ingredients

3 eggs/well beaten
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup of chopped nuts - optional - I like pecans
2 cups of raw zucchini - washed, grated, peeled or unpeeled

Beat the eggs in a large bowl.
Add the sugar and oil gradually to the eggs.
Sift all of the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.
Add the dry ingredients to the egg, sugar, and oil mixture.
Then pat the grated zucchini dry with a paper towel.
Add the zucchini, vanilla, and optional nuts to the mixture.
Gently mix all ingredients together.
Pour into greased and floured loaf pans[2]. I use the 8 1/2 inch by 4 1/2 inch pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for an hour and ten minutes. Makes 2 scrumptious loaves.