The Perfect Zucchini Bread

So, I've been trying to follow a gluten-free diet lately. I've never been diagnosed with Celiac, but I definitely have a gluten sensitivity that makes eating super gluten-y food pretty uncomfortable. I love to bake, and before I stopped eating gluten, whole-wheat bread was my favorite thing to make. There is just nothing that compares to the smell of baking bread! I've been experimenting with gluten-free baking, and I think I've come up with a pretty good, simple zucchini bread recipe. I've healthy-ed it up a little, too!

Perfect Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread

1 whole egg + 1 egg white
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1/4 Cup Truvia baking blend
Almost 1/2 cup applesauce, + enough vegetable oil to bring it to 1/2 cup
1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 Cups all-purpose gluten-free flour (I prefer Glutino brand for sweet recipes like this, as it contains no bean flours)
1/4 Cup gluten-free oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
Generous sprinkle of cinnamon, smaller sprinkles of ginger, cloves, and nutmeg

1 Cup grated zucchini
1/2 Cup of coarsely chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Generously grease one loaf pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, brown sugar, Truvia, applesauce, oil, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and spices. Fold dry ingredients into wet until just combined. Fold in zucchini and nut.

And of course, I couldn't do
much without my trusty
kitchen supervisor!

Place in prepared loaf pan and smooth the surface. This bread won't spread or rise too much, so make sure it's even in the pan! Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool the loaf in the pan for ~10 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack. It helps to run a knife along the edges of the pan to get it out in one piece!

Enjoy immediately! I love spreading a little butter on a slice (gotta cancel out all that healthiness somehow, right?) and eating it for breakfast, dessert, afternoon snack, dinner.... This bread doesn't last long in my apartment!

Let me know if you make it and enjoy it!
Catherine

A list, a song, and some cat drama. Normal day.

You know those songs that you just have to listen to, on repeat, for weeks? Music just gets into my blood and into my bones, sometimes, and I have to let it run its course till it's done with me. This song, Night of the Dancing Flame by Róisín Murphy is that song for me right now:

 

So good! Just Halloween-y and spooky enough to make me a little excited about Fall, but definitely still steamy enough for summer.

Things I am looking forward to in the next week:

1.) An all-day training tomorrow at work. Weird, maybe, that I'm looking forward to something that's usually so tedious, but I'm actually pretty excited; I'm the only part-timer at my work who will be attending this particular training with the rest of the full-timers, so I'm hoping this means that someone higher up is expecting a lot from me. And that's a good thing.

2.) Going home to the Bay Area this weekend with my man! He's going to meet my dog, hang out with my parents, see the place where I grew up... So exciting!

3.) Starting my new programs on Tuesday! I'm most looking forward to running a Harry Potter book club- does this generation of kids even know Harry Potter? They will soon!


Less awesome thing of the week: crazy sister ran away, again. But that's a story for another day. So, I'll end with my favorite part of the day: Steve Frisbee, the neighbor cat, flirting with my Little through the glass door this morning. They just can't quit each other, those crazy cats!

Catherine