From Me to You

I've turned our itty-bitty kitchen into a laboratory of sorts over the past month, cooking and baking up a storm, concocting all sorts of things that luckily, mostly yielded tasty results. Thank you Mom, Katherine, and Mike for lending your taste buds and tummies; your feedback was much appreciated!

Below is the recipe for my Zucchini-Carrot Fruit Bread, my favorite new dish. It's delicious and super quick and easy to make! The recipe makes one loaf of bread. Or, if you're going to New Zealand like I am, you can bake mini loafs so that you can take one...okay, maybe two...on the plane with you!

Zucchini-Carrot Fruit Bread

Preheat Oven: 350 degrees

A 9-by-5in. loaf pan, greased

Dry Ingredients:

3 Cups Whole Wheat Flour Sifted*

*Whole Wheat Flour is more dense than All Purpose Flour, so sifting here is very important because it helps lighten the batter. I suppose you could also use Whole Wheat Pastry Flour and say adios to sifting!

2 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. Nutmeg

Pinch of Cloves

Wet Ingredients:

1 Egg

3/4 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce

1 Cup milk of your choice

2 tsp. Vanilla extract

Zest and Juice of one Lemon (about 3 tbsp. juice)

1 tbsp. Honey

1/4 Cup Raw Cane Sugar, plus extra for dusting

The Good Stuff:

1 Cup shredded Zucchini*

1 Cup shredded Carrot*

*I don't shred them super super fine because I love seeing the slightly larger bits of veggie in my bread. It adds gorgeous color and lets you know what you're eating!

1/2 Cup Raisins**

3/4 Cup assorted dried fruit roughly chopped (Suggestions: Prunes, Apricots, Cranberries, Cherries)**

**This is really where you can make my bread your own. Add your favorite types of dried fruit to add even more color, texture, and deliciousness to the bread! I happen to be obsessed with dried fruit, so I always have various kinds around, and I think that the Prunes and Apricots work wonderfully. Or you can keep it simple and omit the assortment. Whatever you do, add the Raisins! The bread is not super sweet and the Raisins add a juicy little surprise from time to time, really waking up the bread.

Directions:

1. Mix together all dry ingredients in a large bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg. Then stir in wet ingredients until blended. Fold in zucchini and carrot. Fold in raisins and other fruit.

3. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not over mix :)

4. Pour the batter into your pan, making sure it's spread evenly. Then dust the top with raw cane sugar (however much your little heart desires!). Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees or until the toothpick test comes out clean.

5. Try to let it cool before you eat it. Yummy!