zucchini-carrot bread

i am going to go ahead and say this--i think this is the best zucchini bread i have ever made. 

and now i am going to say that i feel more than a little guilty saying that since i love (LOVE) my mama's zucchini bread. and i still do (i promise, mama), but this bread made me feel all virtuous since i had managed to add in not only zucchini but also carrots, i used white wheat flour (via trader joes) and i cut the sugar back by 1/2 cup. the resulting loaf was a slightly sweet, dense (in a good way) bread that was seductively spiced throughout with all-spice and cinnamon and still manage to have a tender crumb.

(this is where you hear angels sing, if you believe in that sort of stuff).

i was wary of altering the moisture content of this bread too much and so i ended up only using 1 large zuch and 1 med carrot but i have faith in this little loaf that it could handle another zuch AND another carrot.

i cut the sugar back to 3/4c and then added 1/4c honey but i would have done 1/2 sugar and 1/2 honey if i wasnt down to my last bits o' honey. i think some ground ginger could be a nice addition, maybe 1/2 tsp. if i had walnuts on hand, i would have ground them up (maybe 1/2 cup) pretty fine in the food processor and then added them in.

i happily ate this for breakfast with a little butter and also for dessert with a schmear of cream cheese.

Zucchini Bread

Cook's Country Cookbook

recipe copied from taste of home

Makes one 9-inch loaf

Cut large zucchini in half length-wise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon before shredding.

2 zucchini

2 medium carrots
2 cups white wheat flour (trader joe's)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar or 1/2c sugar +1/2c honey
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon lemon juice
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Generously coat 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

2. Shred and squeeze zucchini*. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, and salt in large bowl. Whisk sugar, yogurt, eggs, lemon juice, and butter in bowel until combined.
 

 Using the coarse holes on a box grater, grate the zucchini, peel and all. Place the grated zucchini in a clean dish towel and wring out as much liquid as possible.

3. Gently fold in yogurt mixture and zucchini into flour mixture suing spatula until just combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

4. Bake until golden brown and skewer inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 45-55 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, then turn out into wire rack to cool for at least 1 hour. (Bread can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for 3 days.)