When Life Gives You Zucchini...

    I recently posted on my Facebook page that a friend gave me a rather large zucchini from their garden. I asked for suggestions as to what I should bake with it and was both surprised and pleased at the many responses I received.  My friend Sarah gave me this one. It was handed down to her and is her go to recipe for zucchini. I decided to give it a try and I was not sorry I did. It got rave reviews from all of my family (5 out of 5 is hard to come by in this house!) and my co-workers enjoyed it as well. The recipe yields two loaves so it's perfect for sharing! Give it a try, you'll be glad you did!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

You will need:

• 1 stick of butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 4 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
•  1 tsp salt
• 2 cups unpared zucchini, shredded
• 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

•  pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
•  in a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy
•  add in the oil, eggs, vanilla and buttermilk and mix until combined and set aside
•  in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda  and salt
•  add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and beat until just combined, do not overmix
•  stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips

• Pour mixture into two greased loaf pans and bake for 50 ~ 60 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean from the centre

• allow loaves to cool completely before slicing
• wrap bread in plastic wrap or store in an air tight container