I’m starting a new series on this blog: Cinnamon Free Sundays. As you may know, I am allergic to cinnamon. Cinnamon is in a lot of dishes. I have learned to read labels and avoid various home-cooked foods at potluck dinners. Sometimes people remember when they’re cooking for holidays or dinners. And sometimes they forget. Furthermore, as my allergy didn’t develop until middle school, I remember what a lot of foods taste like and I miss certain things. And that brings us to Cinnamon Free Sundays.
I’m going to be presenting you with a recipe that usually calls for cinnamon and I’m going to give you a few small changes to make it taste good. I’ve learned some tricks over the years. I’ve also learned that, dang it, some things still taste just fine without cinnamon so, dang it, leave it out!
Also, because I’m so witty and funny, I chose Sunday for this theme because… get it? Cinnamon starts with… “sin.” And so, it’s a “sin” free day. Oh, I’m j ust hilarious sometimes, no? I also tend to do a lot of cooking and baking on Sundays for family meals so it just plain old makes sense.
However, I baked yesterday. What did I bake? Zucchini bread! Zucchini is coming in season and I grabbed some at our local Farmer’s Market this past Friday. My first thought was, “Mmm, zucchini bread.” My second thought was, “Flippin’ cinnamon!” So, I improvised. This particular bread will be more “sweet” than “spicy” for you spice loving people. So, take that as your warning and jump into this delicious little recipe.
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup raisins
1. Grate your zucchini. I used the larger holes (as opposed to the smaller ones) on our grater. This took almost two smaller zucchini and so logic would tell you that one larger zucchini would yield two cups of grated zucchini. I’m sure this is hit or miss.
2. In a large bowl (no, really, use your largest bowl; I’ll tell you why in a minute), combine your sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla. Once mixed together, add in your grated zucchini and mix that all together, too.
3. In a separate bowl, but still somewhat large, sift together your flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and ground ginger.
4. Now here’s the reason that you have your smaller amount of stuff in your biggest bowl: slowly blend your dry ingredients into your wet zucchini mixture. See? Told you. I made this mistake when baking and had to pour things into yet another bowl. Don’t be like me.
5. Pour the mixture into two greased 8×5 bread pans. Or, if you don’t bake much bread and you only have one pan, pour half of the mixture into the bread pan and cover the remaining mixture so you can cook it second.
6. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour. Remove pan. Let cool for approximately ten minutes and then remove the zucchini bread from the pan and place bread out to cool. If you’re like me, wash out and dry the pan and pour the rest of the mixture into the pan, place it in the over and bake (WITH HEAT*) for an hour.
* = I managed to turn off the oven after I baked the first loaf but didn’t seem to notice so I baked the second loaf, without heat, for a full hour, only discovering my error when the timer went off and I went to remove my uncooked loaf of zucchini bread. Yes. I am that awesome.
Zucchini bread tastes great as a dessert or an addition to your breakfast. Put a little butter on it, heat it up and it’s a great little snack. It’s also a great way to get your kids to eat some vegetables. You know, plus loads of sugar so they’ll bounce off the wall. Some people also add various nuts but I only like nuts in banana bread so, no nuts for me. Do whatever you please.
Just don’t add the cinnamon!
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If you’re interested in baking and cooking, even with cinnamon, how would you like to win a free cookbook? I’m giving away a copy of Heart of the Home: Notes from a Vineyard Kitchen by Susan Branch. It has a bunch of fabulous recipes including one for Stuffed Zucchini. No cinnamon there! Leave a comment on this post telling me that you, too, have cooked something for an entire hour in an oven that wasn’t even on and you’ll be eligible to win! (Or, any comment will do!) The contest will close on Saturday, June 29 at 3:00pm. I will then draw a winner via Random.org and announce it on Sunday with our next installment of Cinnamon Free Sundays!
82 Responses to “Cinnamon Free Sundays: Zucchini Bread (+Giveaway)”
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Greetings! What a wonderful site you have. Your zucchini recipe sounds delicious. I eat zucchini fried, in casseroles and as a sweet treat! My husband has thought his food was cooking in the oven, only to realize the oven wasn’t turned on! Susan Branch is fantastic. Her recipes and her illustrations and stories are fascinating. Please enter me in your delightful drawing. Many thanks, Cindi
I’ve never cooked anything in an oven that wasn’t on, but I’m constantly warming things up in the microwave and then forgetting that I have them in there. Hours (or sometimes days) later my husband will discover a bowl of melted butter or defrosted meat and tease me.
I would love to have this cookbook, we’re always looking for new recipes in our family!
I’ve forgotten to turn the oven on tons of times! But my most traumatic oven-related memory comes from when I was 8 years old and I said to the neighborhood kids that I had to go in and bake a cheesecake (meaning mix/assemble it). For some reason, me saying Bake a cheesecake really struck them as funny (even though I KNOW of some cheesecakes that are baked– apparently they were only used to the instant kind) and for the rest of the year they asked if my cheesecake was done baking yet. Sigh.
I baked a cherry pie in a oven that wasn’t turned on.
I have done the oven isn’t turned on thing more times than I care to admit. Just the other day I placed a meatloaf in our small oven broiler area on our stove, and didn’t even realize it was too big once the door shut, and the entire meatloaf top baked and burned and got stuck on the top. I was not a very happy chef that night!
I cooked a swedish apple crumble cake last night but fortunately the oven was on. Great giveaway, thanks!
I’ve actually never done that but I did preheat the oven once not realizing my daughter’s birthday cake from the day before was in there, on cardboard and the whole thing caught on fire!!
Oh boy! I have done this too. Most recently was setting up the crock pot with a pork roast and left it sitting on the counter for the day without turning it on. Needless to say we had pizza for dinner!
I haven’t yet put anything in an oven that wasn’t on, but I alway put toast in the toaster and forget to plug it in!
On Sunday, I just cooked dinner for my family. I reheated (takes a while) the oven, put the casserole dish in and let it cook for 45 minutes – or so I thought. I didn’t even turn it on.
I’ve never done that yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I did. When I am trying to boil something on top of the stove, sometimes I accidentally turn on the wrong burner and wonder why the pot isn’t even hot after a few minutes!
My Mistake was preheating the oven then forgetting to put the food in. I have cooked a couple of things a little to long getting distracted by things.
I have never done that, but our oven barely works, so I have to almost double the heating time because it never gets hot enough.
I have put dinner in my crockpot and forgot to plug it in…how about that! “)
I just found your blog! I will be back!
I don’t think that I have put something in the oven and not turned it on.. ( I am sure that I have, but just forgotten aobut that), but I sure know that I have burned one or two things quite a few times!!
I love CINNAMON as does the whole family.
Cute book also, would love to have it
I’ve come very close to half-cooking lasagna, bread, chicken, etc. When the beeper goes off on the oven letting me know it’s the right temperature, my kids sometimes think they’re helping by pushing the “off” button (they get it confused with the all-done beeper). So, needless to say, I’m always double-checking the oven’s still on after I hear that first beep!
Thanks!
Megret
meg.wilson@gmail.com
I’ve “cooked” in the oven without turning it on. I’ve “cooked” on the stove top without turning the burner on. I’ve preheated several pans of grease I forgot I shoved in the oven! Oh, and I’ve burnt a couple of burner covers by turning on the wrong one. Beleive me, your not alone! Blame it on mommy brain.
I didn’t put something in the oven without turning it on, but I DO have a good story:
When I was a teenager, I wanted to make cupcakes really badly. I don’t remember why, but I just had to bake some cupcakes. And we only had one egg in the house, and most recipes called for two or more eggs. So I searched through all my Mom’s cookbooks and actually found a recipe called, “One-Egg Cupcakes”! I was so excited. I mixed the batter, put it in the oven, waited expectantly, really wanting those cupcakes. But when I took them out of the oven, they looked AWFUL. Couldn’t figure out why–until I looked on the counter and saw the EGG, unbroken, still sitting there. I forgot to put the one egg in One-Egg Cupcakes! Grrrrr.
Viv, Editor
Cool Moms Rule!
I’ve for sure done that not turn the oven on thing. And also many turn the oven on at the wrong temperature things too!
Guilty. I’m certain that I’ve done it more than once, however what stands out in my mind is the birthday cake I “baked” for my daughter on her 5th birthday. Big party…lots of guests…… and yep, I forgot to turn on the oven. I had to send my husband to the bakery for an emergency replacement.
gkstratos @yahoo.com