Tried and True

I've been in a baking funk lately. I know summer is not prime time for baking, but it seems like nothing I have been making has come out quite right. So finally, I turned to a trusted source: Mom's zucchini bread recipe. It never lets me down, and tastes like my childhood.

Zucchini Bread

• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup shortening or butter
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Beat the shortening and sugar. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients, then stir in zucchini. Pour into 2 loaf pans that are generously buttered and floured. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.
Do not bake for more than 50 minutes, even if it doesn't look done. Trust me.

Jerry has already claimed one loaf for his office, and the other he has been eating for breakfast.

I claimed a different dessert for my breakfast.
Mama Pea's Almond Joy Bars.
This recipe is in her book, Peas and Thank You, Simple Meatless Meals the Whole Family Will Love. It is a bar cookie with oats, almonds, coconut, and chocolate chips. Upon reading the recipe, I had to try these immediately.

They ended up being less like a cookie, and more like a very chewy granola bar. So dense and delicious. The genius of these is that the fat comes from almond butter. They taste so decadent, but have good fats and are high in fiber. I have been addicted to coconut lately, and will definitely be making these again.
These treats are vegan, and therefore do not contain an egg. Next time I make them I am going to add an egg and see if the result is more like a cookie and less like a gooey granola bar. 
They would be a perfect substitute for a granola bar in a kids (or your own) lunch box.

After eating a gigantic Almond Joy Bar and one too many of my brother's homemade onion rings yesterday, my dinner was ruined.

Rojo Rings

I ended up eating this for dinner.

At least it wasn't ice cream.