Summer Squash Bread

Although I haven't yet figured out how to cultivate a garden in my apartment, I was fortunate enough to receive two home-grown summer squashes from my parents' garden.  Thank you, mom and dad, for enabling me to make Summer Squash Bread! 

A sweet, fragrant loaf of squash bread.

Recipe:     
Summer Squash Bread

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups grated summer squash
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons honey or another liquid sweetener
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 1 carrot, grated
• zest of 1 lime
• 1.5 cups Ghirardelli chocolate chips (optional)

First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place 12 muffin cups in a muffin tin and set aside.  Lightly grease a loaf pan and set aside. 

Next, mix together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl.  Form a well in the center of the bowl and set aside.  In a separate medium bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients (except chocolate chips).  Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir until just combined.  Then fold in the chocolate chips.

Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full with batter; then pour the remaining batter into the loaf pan.  Bake both pans for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Once the muffins have been removed, lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the loaf for another 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Once the muffins have cooled for a few minutes in the pan, remove them to cool completely on a wire rack. 


Yields 12 muffins and 1 loaf.

Comments:
Taste:        

I'm not sure there are many more delicious ways to eat squash.  This spiced bread is moist and dense, yet springy.  I'd say it's almost more of a cake than a bread.  The chocolate chips are optional--and the bread would be great without them--but for the chocoholic like me, they do add a little something special.  

Accessibility:     

This "bread" recipe makes use of a healthy number of fruits and vegetables (pun intended!), so it's probably best made in the summer. 

 Ease of Preparation:        

If you have a grater attachment on your food processor, this is a good time to use it.  Once the ingredients are ready to go, the method is quite simple.

Non-vegan friendliness:       

I brought the muffins in to work and they were a big hit!  My vegan/gluten-free coworker and I are slowly but surely exposing our office to the joys of vegan baking.