Chocolate Coffee Zucchini Bread: Zucchini Bread Day

Tomorrow is National Zucchini Bread Day, but I have no zucchini in my garden. Luckily for me, it's available at my market. If you don't find any, save this recipe for the summer when your garden is filled with zucchini!

The 'secret' ingredient in this particular Chocolate Zucchini Bread is 'Coffee.' If you've been following my daily posts, you know that coffee enhances the flavor of chocolate, and you'll find that happens in this recipe! As always, your final results will only be as good as your ingredients. Use the very best cocoa, fresh oil, and good coffee.

Chocolate Coffee Zucchini Bread 

ingredients
1-1/2 cups shredded fresh zucchini (approximately 1 zucchini)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup brewed coffee, cold
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg + 1 egg white
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened DARK cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup walnuts,  chopped (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Lightly oil 9 × 5 bread pan.
Shred zucchini using fine shredding disc on food processor or hand shredder. I usually wrap the shredded zucchini in a paper towel and squeeze after shredding to get out excess moisture. Do this before measuring.
Measure 1-1/2 cups and set aside.
Beat together oil, brewed coffee, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients until incorporated, then beat together until smooth. Fold in shredded zucchini and walnuts (optional). Once zucchini is incorporated, pour into prepared pan and bake 55 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out dry. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Remove from pan after cooling for 15 minutes.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD with Pistachios: National Zucchini Bread Day!

Oddly, today is National Zucchini Bread Day. That doesn't really make any sense since it's only April 25 and my zucchini hasn't even started to bloom. Maybe this holiday refers to zucchini growing Down Under? Of course you can buy zucchini in the market all year round, but it's a summer crop in the Northern Hemisphere. By mid-summer if you're growing zucchini here (even one plant!), you've probably run out of friends to hand zukes off to, and you're thinking of wrapping your zucchini up in a blanket, putting them in a basket and leaving them on the church steps, so you might want to save this recipe for the summer.

Unfortunately Zucchini Bread doesn't use up a lot of zucchini, but it's a tasty way of serving up your courgettes! Add chocolate and you're calling my name!

When I first started baking 'vegetable' breads, I used old coffee tins for baking pans, but that was a long time ago, and my beans now come in recyclable paper bags. I usually make my zucchini breads in Bundt pans. Of course conventional loaf pans work, too, since this is a quick bread.

Most recipes say to let the zucchini bread cool before serving. I don't follow that advice since by the time the aroma has filled my kitchen for an hour, I'm ready to devour this Chocolate Zucchini Bread and often do! Since you, too, may make short shrift of this Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread with Pistachios, you'll want to make two, so double the recipe, if you plan to share.

A few comments on zucchini. Depending on where you live, zucchini may be called courgettes or marrows (remember Hercule Poirot throwing the marrow over the fence in the opening of Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd) and sometimes summer squash (although in my neck of the woods summer squash is a totally different squash and a different color).

For your recipe pleasure, here's a link to recipes for different, but equally tasty Chocolate Zucchini Bread: Geeky Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread and Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Bread. As you know, you can never have too many recipes for Chocolate Zucchini Bread!

This Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread tastes great toasted with a little cream cheese or mascarpone! And, the secret ingredient --  Pistachios!

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD with Pistachios!

Ingredients
3 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp pure Vanilla
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
6 Tbsp DARK Cocoa
2 cups zucchini, grated
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 cup chopped chocolate or dark chocolate chips
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pistachios
2 tsp flour

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°.
In large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Mix until well blended.
In small saucepan, melt 2 Tbsp butter, add 6 Tbsp cocoa and blend until smooth. Set aside to cool.
Peel and grate zucchini. Add zucchini and cooled cocoa mixture to the large mixing bowl and blend well.
In separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to batter. Stir only enough to blend in all dry ingredients.
In another bowl, coat broken up chocolate chunks (or chips) with 2 tsp flour.
Fold in flour-coated chocolate chunks and chopped pistachios to batter.
Spoon batter into two greased and floured 9x5x3 loaf pans or into greased bundt pan.
Bake 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.
Cool in pans for 5-10 minutes.
Remove from pans and continue to cool on wire rack.

KAHLUA CHOCOLATE CHIP ZUCCHINI BREAD: National Zucchini Bread Day

Zucchini is one of those vegetables that seems to proliferate when you're not looking. If you don't check under the leaves every day, you'll find yourself with a gigantic marrow! And that not withstanding, even the small ones seem to multiply overnight. Oddly today's holiday, National Zucchini Bread Day, is not during the growing season, but there's lots of zucchini in the market, so you can still make this to celebrate. I love this recipe for Kahlua Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread.

Because of the addition of Kahlua, this is a treat for adults. And, if you're so inclined, you can make your own Kahlua. It will have to sit for a month, so if you want to make this Kahlua Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread today, use store bought Kahlua. Scroll down for the Homemade Kahlua recipe.

Kahlua Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
This recipe makes one loaf, but it can easily be doubled. You can also substitute oil for the butter.  I love quick breads. They're fast and easy, and you only use one bowl!

Ingredients
2 cups flour (all-purpose, but you can use 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup all purpose)
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup Kahlua
1 cup shredded zucchini
3 ounces chocolate chips (or more)

Directions
In medium bowl, sift flour with soda and salt. Set aside.
In large bowl of electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then Kahlua. (Don't worry if it seems curdled). Add dry ingredients and mix on low speed until blended. Stir in zucchini and chocolate chips to distribute evenly.
Pour into greased and floured 8-1/2 × 4 inch loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F, about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until wood pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool in pan 10 minutes.
Turn out onto wire rack and cool completely.

***

Homemade Kahlua

Ingredients
4 cups water
4 cups sugar
2 ounces instant coffee
1 vanilla bean
Fifth of vodka or bourbon

Directions
Bring 4 cups water to a boil. Add the 4 cups sugar and cook until dissolved. Add the instant coffee. Simmer slowly - do not boil!
Add vanilla bean and 1/5 vodka or bourbon.
Bottle and cap. Leave for a month or more!

Chocolate Coffee Zucchini Bread: National Zucchini Bread Day

Today is National Zucchini Bread Day, but I have no zucchini in my garden. Luckily for me, it's available in my markets. If you don't find any, save this recipe for the summer when your Victory Garden is filled with zucchini!

The 'secret' ingredient in this particular Chocolate Zucchini Bread is 'Coffee.' If you've been following my daily posts, you know that coffee enhances the flavor of chocolate, and you'll find that happens in this recipe! As always, your final results will only be as good as your ingredients. Use the very best cocoa, fresh oil, and good coffee.

Chocolate Coffee Zucchini Bread 

ingredients
1-1/2 cups shredded fresh zucchini (approximately 1 zucchini)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup brewed coffee, cold
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg + 1 egg white
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened DARK cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup walnuts,  chopped (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Lightly oil 9 × 5 bread pan.
Shred zucchini using fine shredding disc on food processor or hand shredder. I usually wrap the shredded zucchini in a paper towel and squeeze after shredding to get out excess moisture. Do this before measuring.
Measure 1-1/2 cups and set aside.
Beat together oil, brewed coffee, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients until incorporated, then beat together until smooth. Fold in shredded zucchini and walnuts (optional). Once zucchini is incorporated, pour into prepared pan and bake 55 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out dry. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Remove from pan after cooling for 15 minutes.

KAHLUA ZUCCHINI CHOCOLATE CHUNK BREAD: National Zucchini Bread Day

Today is National Zucchini Bread Day, not to be confused with National Zucchini Day on August 8.  Be sure and bookmark this recipe for that summer food holiday when you will have a surplus of zucchini. This Kahlua Zucchini Chocolate Chunk Bread is great for toasting at breakfast, for a snack, or to take on a picnic. But here's a heads-up. This zucchini bread includes a hefty amount of Kahlua, so you might want to reserve it for adults.

You can buy Kahlua, but you can make it, too. Lots of other uses. Here's a recipe for homemade Kahlua.

Homemade Kahlua

Ingredients
4 cups water
4 cups sugar
2 ounces instant coffee
1 vanilla bean
Fifth of vodka or bourbon

Directions
Bring 4 cups water to a boil. Add the 4 cups sugar and cook until dissolved. Add the instant coffee. Simmer slowly - do not boil!
Add vanilla bean and 1/5 vodka or bourbon.
Bottle and cap. Leave for a month or more!

Kahlua Zucchini Chocolate Chunk Bread
This recipe makes one loaf, but it can easily be doubled. You can also substitute oil for the butter.  I love quick breads. They're fast and easy, and you only use one bowl! Because this Zucchini Bread with Chocolate Chunks has Kahlua in it, you might want to take it on an 'adult' picnic only.

Ingredients
2 cups flour (all-purpose, but you can use 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup all purpose)
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup Kahlua
1 cup shredded zucchini
3 ounces good quality dark chocolate, chopped into smallish chunks (or chocolate chips if that's what you have)

Directions
In medium bowl, sift flour with soda and salt. Set aside.
In large bowl of electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then Kahlua. (Don't worry if it seems curdled). Add dry ingredients and mix on low speed until blended. Stir in zucchini and chocolate chunks to distribute evenly.
Pour into greased and floured 8-1/2 × 4 inch loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F, about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until wood pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool in pan 10 minutes.
Turn out onto wire rack and cool completely.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD WITH PISTACHIOS: National Zucchini Bread Day

Oddly, today is National Zucchini Bread Day. That doesn't really make any sense since it's only April 25 and my zucchini hasn't even started to bloom. Maybe this holiday refers to zucchini growing Down Under? Of course you can buy zucchini in the market all year round, but it's a summer crop in the Northern Hemisphere. By mid-summer here if you're growing zucchini (even one plant!), you've probably run out of friends to hand zukes off to, and you're thinking of wrapping your zucchini up in a blanket, putting them in a basket and leaving them on the church steps, so you might want to save this recipe for the summer.

Unfortunately Zucchini Bread doesn't use up a lot of zucchini, but it's a tasty way of serving up your courgettes! Add chocolate and you're calling my name!

When I first started baking 'vegetable' breads, I used old coffee tins for baking pans, but that was a long time ago, and my beans now come in recyclable paper bags. I usually make my zucchini breads in Bundt pans. Of course conventional loaf pans work, too, since this is a quick bread.

Most recipes say to let the zucchini bread cool before serving. I don't follow that advice since by the time the aroma has filled my kitchen for an hour, I'm ready to devour this Chocolate Zucchini Bread and often do! Since you, too, may make short shrift of this Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread with Pistachios, you'll want to make two, so double the recipe, if you plan to share.

A few comments on zucchini. Depending on where you live, zucchini may be called courgettes or marrows (remember Hercule Poirot throwing the marrow over the fence in the opening of Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd) and sometimes summer squash (although in my neck of the woods summer squash is a totally different squash and a different color).

For your recipe pleasure, here's a link to recipes for different, but equally tasty Chocolate Zucchini Bread: Geeky Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread and Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Bread. As you know, you can never have too many recipes for Chocolate Zucchini Bread!

This Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread tastes great toasted with a little cream cheese or mascarpone! And, the secret ingredient --  Pistachios!

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD with Pistachios!

Ingredients
3 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp Madagascar Vanilla
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
6 Tbsp DARK Cocoa
2 cups zucchini, grated
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 cup chopped chocolate or dark chocolate chips
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pistachios
2 tsp flour

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°.
In large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Mix until well blended.
In small saucepan, melt 2 Tbsp butter, add 6 Tbsp cocoa and blend until smooth. Set aside to cool.
Peel and grate zucchini. Add zucchini and cooled cocoa mixture to the large mixing bowl and blend well.
In separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to the batter. Stir only enough to blend in all the dry ingredients.
In another bowl, coat broken up chocolate chunks (or chips) with 2 tsp flour.
Fold in flour-coated chocolate chunks and chopped pistachios to the batter.
Spoon batter into two greased and floured 9x5x3 loaf pans or into a greased bundt pan.
Bake 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.
Cool in pans for 5-10 minutes.
Remove from pans and continue to cool on wire rack.

KAHLUA ZUCCHINI CHOCOLATE CHIP BREAD: National Zucchini Day

Zucchini is one of those vegetables that seems to proliferate when you're not looking. If you don't check under the leaves every day, you'll find yourself with a gigantic marrow! And that not withstanding, even the small ones seem to multiply overnight. So for today's food holiday: National Zucchini Day, here's a wonderful way to use up some of that zucchini bounty. I love this recipe for Kahlua Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread.

This is, of course, a treat for adults. And, if you're so inclined, you can make your own Kahlua. It will have to sit for a month, so if you want to make this Kahlua Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread today, use store bought Kahlua. Scroll down for the Homemade Kahlua recipe.

Kahlua Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread
This recipe makes one loaf, but it can easily be doubled. You can also substitute oil for the butter.  I love quick breads. They're fast and easy, and you only use one bowl!

Ingredients
2 cups flour (all-purpose, but you can use 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup all purpose)
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup Kahlua
1 cup shredded zucchini
3 ounces chocolate chips (or more)

Directions
In medium bowl, sift flour with soda and salt. Set aside.
In large bowl of electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then Kahlua. (Don't worry if it seems curdled). Add dry ingredients and mix on low speed until blended. Stir in zucchini and chocolate chips to distribute evenly.
Pour into greased and floured 8-1/2 × 4 inch loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F, about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until wood pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool in pan 10 minutes.
Turn out onto wire rack and cool completely.

***

Homemade Kahlua

Ingredients
4 cups water
4 cups sugar
2 ounces instant coffee
1 vanilla bean
Fifth of vodka or bourbon

Directions
Bring 4 cups water to a boil. Add the 4 cups sugar and cook until dissolved. Add the instant coffee. Simmer slowly - do not boil!
Add vanilla bean and 1/5 vodka or bourbon.
Bottle and cap. Leave for a month or more!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread with Pistachios: Zucchini Bread Day

Oddly, today is National Zucchini Bread Day. That doesn't really make any sense since it's only April 25. Maybe this refers to zucchini growing Down Under? Of course you can buy zucchini all year round, but it's a summer crop in the Northern Hemisphere. So, by mid-summer if you're growing zucchini (even one plant!), you've probably run out of friends to hand zukes off to, and you're thinking of wrapping your zucchini up in a blanket, putting them in a basket and leaving them on the church steps. Consequently, you might want to save this recipe for the summer.

Unfortunately Zucchini Bread doesn't use up a lot of zucchini, but it's a tasty way of serving up your courgettes! Add chocolate and you're calling my name!

When I first started baking 'vegetable' breads, I used old coffee tins for baking pans, but that was a long time ago, and my beans now come in recyclable paper bags. So I usually make my zucchini breads in bundt pans. Of course conventional loaf pans work, too, since this is a quick bread.

Most recipes say to let the zucchini bread cool before serving. I don't follow that advice since by the time the aroma has filled my kitchen for an hour, I'm ready to devour this Chocolate Zucchini Bread and often do! Since you, too, might make short shrift of this Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread with Pistachios, you'll want to make two, so double the recipe, if you plan to share.

A few comments on zucchini. Depending on where you live, zucchini may be called courgettes or marrows (remember Hercule Poirot throwing the marrow over the fence in the opening of Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd?) and sometimes summer squash (although in my neck of the woods summer squash is a totally different squash and a different color).

For your recipe pleasure, here are two links to recipes for different, but equally tasty Chocolate Zucchini Bread: Geeky Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread and Chcocolate Chunk Zucchini Bread. As you know, you can never have too many recipes for Chocolate Zucchini Bread to enjoy!

This Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread tastes great toasted with a little cream cheese or mascarpone! And, the secret ingredient: Pistachios!

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD with Pistachios!

Ingredients
3 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp Madagascar Vanilla
2 Tbsp sweet butter
6 Tbsp DARK Cocoa
2 cups zucchini, grated
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 cup chopped chocolate chunks or dark chocolate chips
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pistachios
2 tsp flour

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°.
In large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Mix until well blended.
In small saucepan, melt 2 Tbsp butter, add 6 Tbsp cocoa and blend tuntil smooth. Set aside to cool.
Peel and grate zucchini. Add zucchini and cooled cocoa mixture to the large mixing bowl and blend well.
In separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to the batter. Stir only enough to blend in all the dry ingredients.
In another bowl, coat broken up chocolate chunks (or chips) with 2 tsp. flour.
Fold in flour-coated chocolate chunks and chopped pistachios to the batter.
Spoon batter into two greased and floured 9x5x3 loaf pans or into a greased bundt pan.
Bake 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.
Cool in pans for 5-10 minutes.
Remove from pans and continue to cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate Coffee Zucchini Bread

Today is National Zucchini Day, and there's an abundance of zucchini in the garden. One can never have too many recipes for zucchini, this vegetable that seems to multiply overnight, hiding under leaves until you find the zucchini that swallowed Manhattan. So for today's holiday I decided to post yet another recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Bread. The 'secret' ingredient  of this particular chocolate zucchini bread is 'Coffee'. If you've been following my daily posts, you know that coffee often enhances the flavor of chocolate, and you'll find that in this recipe! As always, your final results will only be as good as your ingredients. Use the very best cocoa, fresh oil, and good coffee.

Chocolate Coffee Zucchini Bread 

ingredients
1-1/2 cups shredded fresh zucchini (approximately 1 zucchini)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup brewed coffee, cold
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg + 1 egg white
1 tsp Madagascar vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened DARK cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup Walnuts,  chopped (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Lightly oil 9×5 bread pan.
Shred zucchini using fine shredding disc on food processor or hand shredder. I usually wrap the shredded zucchini in a paper towel and squeeze after shredding to get out excess moisture. Do this before measuring.
Measure 1-1/2 cups and set aside.
Beat together oil, brewed coffee, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients until incorporated, then beat together until smooth. Fold in shredded zucchini and walnuts (optional). Once zucchini is incorporated, pour into prepared pan and bake 55 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out dry. Remove  from oven and cool on wire rack. Remove from pan after cooling for 15 minutes.

Chocolate Coffee Zucchini Bread

I  know it's not National Zucchini Day ... or Zucchini Bread Day, for that matter, but with the abundance of zucchini in the garden, I decided to post yet another recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Bread. The 'secret' ingredient  of this particular chocolate zucchini bread is 'Coffee'. If you've been following my daily posts, you know that coffee often enhances the flavor of chocolate, and you'll find that in this recipe! As always, your final results will only be as good as your ingredients. Use the very best cocoa, fresh oil, and good coffee.

Chocolate Coffee Zucchini Bread 

ingredients
1-1/2 cups shredded fresh zucchini (approximately 1 zucchini)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup brewed coffee, cold
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg + 1 egg white
1 tsp Madagascar vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup Flour
1/2 cup unsweetened DARK cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup Walnuts,  chopped (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350° F
Lightly oil 9×5 bread pan.
Shred zucchini using fine shredding disc on food processor or hand shredder. I usually wrap the shredded zucchini in a paper towel and squeeze after shredding to get out excess moisture. Do this before measuring.
Measure 1-1/2 cups and set aside.
Beat together oil, brewed coffee, sugar, egg and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients until incorporated, then beat together until smooth. Fold in shredded zucchini and walnuts (optional). Once zucchini incorporated, pour into prepared pan and bake 55 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out dry. Remove  from oven and cool on wire rack. Remove from pan after cooling for 15 minutes.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread with Pistachios

Oddly, today is National Zucchini Bread Day. That doesn't really make any sense since it's only April 25. Maybe this refers to zucchini growing Down Under? Oh yes, you can buy zucchini all year round, but it's a summer crop in the Northern Hemisphere. So, by mid-summer if you're growing zucchini (even one plant!), you've probably run out of friends to hand zukes off to, and you're thinking of wrapping them up in a blanket, putting them a basket and leaving them on the church steps. So you might want to save this recipe for the summer.

To be fair, Zucchini Bread doesn't use up a lot of zucchini, but it's a tasty way of serving up your courgettes! Add chocolate and you're calling my name!

When I first started baking 'vegetable' breads, I used old coffee tins for baking pans, but that was a long time ago. Now, I usually make my zucchini breads in bundt pans, and I'm always amazed by the new bundt pan shapes. Of course conventional loaf pans work, too, since this is a quick bread. Most recipes say to let the zucchini bread cool before serving. I don't follow that advice since by the time the aroma has filled my kitchen for an hour, I'm ready to devour this Chocolate Zucchini Bread and often do! Since you, too, might make short shrift of this Chocolate Zucchini Bread, you'll want to make two or double the recipe, so others get a chance to taste.

A few comments on zucchini. Depending on where you live, zucchini is also called courgettes or marrows (remember Hercule Poirot throwing the marrow over the fence in the opening of Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Acroyd?) and sometimes summer squash (although in my neck of the woods summer squash is a totally different squash and a different color).

For your recipe pleasure, here are two links to recipes for different, but equally tasty Chocolate Zucchini Bread: Geeky Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread and Chcocolate Chunk Zucchini Bread. As you know, you can never have too many recipes for Chocolate Zucchini Bread to enjoy!

This Chocolate Zucchini Bread tastes great toasted with a little cream cheese or mascarpone! And, the secret ingredient: Pistachios!

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD with Pistachios!

Ingredients
3 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp Madagascar Vanilla
2 Tbsp sweet butter
6 Tbsp DARK Cocoa
2 cups zucchini, grated
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 cup chopped chocolate chunks or dark chocolate chips
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pistachios
2 tsp. flour

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°.
In large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Mix until well blended.
In small saucepan, melt 2 Tbsp butter, add 6 Tbsp cocoa and blend tuntil smooth. Set aside to cool.
Peel and grate zucchini. Add zucchini and cooled cocoa mixture to the large mixing bowl and blend well.
In separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to the batter. Stir only enough to blend in all the dry ingredients.
In another bowl, coat broken up chocolate chunks (or chips) with 2 tsp. flour.
Fold in flour-coated chocolate chunks and chopped pistachios to the batter.
Spoon batter into two greased and floured 9x5x3 loaf pans or into a greased bundt pan.
Bake 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.
Cool in pans for 5-10 minutes.
Remove from pans and continue to cool on a wire rack.