Zucchini bread is one of those things that I grew up having and is total “memory food”. You know, that food that you love because it takes you right back to a good memory or reminds you of a good time in your life.  I remember as a child mosey-ing to the kitchen in the morning, after deciding I was ready to face the world (even as a child I loathed mornings), and there it would be!  A thick slice, lightly toasted with just a thin layer of butter melted into the top…mmmmm.  I think the secret is adding pineapple!  I’ve tried other zucchini bread recipes and they’re nice but not, yes I’d like another slice and in fact just give me the whole damn loaf good. 🙂 

This is a really easy recipe! There are a few tricks my mom and I have learned over the years; 1. sifting the baking soda into the flour mixture is a must (nothing is grosser then getting a bite with overwhelming baking soda flavor); and 2. using pineapple rings and then cutting them up instead of just buying crushed.  The reason the extra work is worth it, is that I have found that the rings are better quality pineapple whereas the crushed sometimes you get bits of core. It’s not my favorite to bite into a bread or any dessert that has pineapple in it and you hit that hard, stringy core that you just can’t chew through and end up spitting out.  (I suppose if you’re a lady, you swallow it, but when it comes to “yucky” I’m a spitter. lol 

Zucchini Bread

Yields 2 loaves

3 eggs

2 cups sugar*

1 cup oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

¾ cup diced pineapple, well drained

2 cups grated zucchini, I use the large hole side of my grater

1 cup raisins

 

*If I’m feeling really healthy I reduce the sugar to 1⅔ cups, but most of the time I leave it at the 2 cups and just enjoy it as sweet bread.

 

Preheat oven to 350°.  Mix the dry ingredients together, sifting in the baking soda. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until fluffy.  Add oil and vanilla and continue beating until thick and foamy.

 

Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix well.  Gently fold in the pineapple and zucchini.  Lastly fold in the raisins.

 

Pour mixture into 2 well-greased loaf pans and bake for 50 – 60 minutes.  I rotate halfway through the baking because I don’t have a convection oven and my oven does not heat evenly.  Test for doneness using a toothpick; you’ll want the toothpick to come out pretty clean, a few crumbs is okay too. 🙂