Zucchini-Pineapple Quick Bread

In the newest edition of Cooking Light, the "make-over" recipe featured is for Zucchini-Pineapple Quick Bread. The new and improved recipe cut down the amount of fat and calories significantly. Just reading the short blurb about the bread made me want to try it. Reviewers said that they liked the low-fat version better than the original. Could that really be true? Were they lying??

Well, I've made the recipe, and it's really good! I never tried the orignal, but I'd say that if someone served this to me, I would have no idea it was low fat because it tastes just that good. I give it a big thumbs up.

It's an easy recipe. Here are the players.

Just add the zucchini in with the rest of the batter.

Pre-oven bread. I halved the recipe to only make one loaf- the full recipe makes two.

Soooooooo moist and tasty. I think I love it more than banana bread.

Zucchini-Pineapple Quick Bread

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour (about 13 1/2 ounces)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini (about 1 1/2 medium zucchini)
2/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup egg substitute
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 (8-ounce) cans crushed pineapple in juice, drained
Baking spray with flour

1. Preheat oven to 325°.

2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, salt, and next 3 ingredients (through ground cinnamon) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk.

3. Beat eggs with a mixer at medium speed until foamy. Add sugar, zucchini, oil, egg substitute, and vanilla, beating until well blended. Add zucchini mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in pineapple. Spoon batter into 2 (9 x 5-inch) loaf pans coated with baking spray. Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

Yield: 2 loaves, 14 servings per loaf (serving size: 1 slice)

CALORIES 167 (32% from fat); FAT 5.9g (sat 0.5g,mono 3.3g,poly 1.7g); PROTEIN 2.4g; CHOLESTEROL 15mg; CALCIUM 16mg; SODIUM 151mg; FIBER 0.7g; IRON 0.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 26.5g

Cooking Light, JUNE 2008

Bad to the Scone!

Cream Scones

Get it? Bad to the bone.... bad to the scone?? These scones are ANYTHING but bad!! they are DELICIOUS! I'm hosting the ladies for brunch tomorrow and I figured in addition to buttermilk pancakes, we'd need something else to munch on too. This is another Dorie recipe - Cream Scones. They have the texture of a tender scone and the flavor of a buttery biscuit. The recipe called for currants, but I used some crasins too. Try slathering these suckers with some jam and whipped cream, that'd make YOU bad to the bone!

Dorie Greenspan Recipe #1

Tomorrow I am wishing my co-workers a happy Valentine's day with some Carrot Spice Muffins. These babies are from the first recipe I am trying from Dorie Greenspan's book "Baking: From my home to yours." They are pretty easy to whip up and bake - I'd say 45 minutes or so from start to finish. The smell of the carrots and spices wafting from the oven are better than any candle you can buy. :) The texture of these muffins is very light and the crumb is loose...not what I'd expect from a 'hearty'-seeming muffin.

Here's the recipe:
Carrot Spice Muffins

Makes 12
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup shredded carrots, about 3, peeled and trimmed
1/2 cup shredded coconut, sweetened
1/3 cup raisins or currants
1/3 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted, cooled and chopped

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 375°. Butter or spray the 12 muffin molds in a regular sized muffin tin, or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternately, use a silicone muffin pan, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda and salt. Stir in the brown sugar, making certain there are no lumps. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the oil, eggs, milk and vanilla extract together until well combined. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don't worry about being thorough - a few lumps are better than over-mixing the batter. Stir in the carrots, coconut, currants and nuts. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.Bake for 20 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

My little friend makes pancakes

Yeasted pancake batter.

The artist at work.

Pancake minis!

The recipe for these pancakes required a packet of yeast and 1 hr of patience while letting the batter do it's thing. They pancakes were fluffy and had a yeasty/nutty flavor. Pretty good. Not sure it's worth all the wait though! Here's the recipe:

Yeasted Pancakes

(adapted from this recipe)

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp active dry yeast
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/4 cups milk (low fat/skim is fine), warm
• 1/4 cup water, warm
• 2 large eggs2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour, yeast and sugar. Stir in warm (110F) milk and water, mixing vigorously until smooth.

Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 1 hour.

In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, melted butter, vanilla. Stir in the rest of the flour and the salt. Pour into yeast mixture and stir until smooth. Add in baking soda and stir well. Batter will be quite thick.

Heat a griddle or large skillet until very hot; a drop of water will sizzle and dance on the surface. Drop dollops onto hot griddle and cook until golden brown.

Serve immediately.

Makes 6 generous servings.