Blueberry Zucchini Bread

It's that part of summer: Zucchinis are freaking everywhere. To help control the zucchini population, I grate them into delicious bread!

My friend Laura suggested putting blueberries in zucchini bread a few years ago, and I've sworn by it ever since. Now that I've been picking a ton of berries this summer for jam, I wanted to use blueberries for something besides the blueberry lavender jam that's been selling like crazy.

Blueberry Zucchini Bread
Recipe adapted from Mark's grandma

Ingredients:
• 2 cups zucchini, grated
• 3 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup blueberries, set aside
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:
Mix all dry ingredients, flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda, and then slowly add wet ingredients, except for blueberries. Pour batter into two greased bread pans. Push berries into loaves at varying depths. This is the only way I can get the blueberries to not all sink to the bottom. Bake loaves at 325 degrees for about an hour, until brown and toothpick stuck in center of loaf comes out clean.

(FYI, the original recipe had a nuts or chocolate chip addition optional. I just switched those out for the blueberries.)

Usually we eat one loaf and freeze the other for later. Let me know if you try out the recipe!

Orange Cranberry Bread (for Bread Machine)

I had an epiphany over the weekend: Homemade bread is a damn miracle. Especially when a machine practically makes it for you.

Mark and I inherited his grandma's bread machine after she passed away a few years ago. I guess they had used it a lot together growing up. But for one reason or another, the bread machine sat in our laundry room until Saturday night, when I thought it would awesome to have some homemade bread in the house. I've baked sweet breads, and I've baked breads with yeast, but I've never made bread using a bread machine. I'm now a believer.

I found this Cranberry Orange Bread recipe from AllRecipes.com, and knew I had to make it because we already had all of the ingredients for it.

Ingredients:
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup dried cranberries (the cool kids call them Craisins)
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon orange oil
• 2 teaspoons dried orange zest (my own addition, for additional orangey flavor)

Directions:
Add ingredients to bread machine, wet ingredients on bottom, dry ingredients in middle, and yeast on top. Press start button.

WHO KNEW IT WOULD BE THAT EASY?

Full disclosure: I didn't realize the machine even mixes everything for you. It's like magic. Also, the bread machine has an overnight setting, for fresh bread first thing in the morning, so we opted for that. It came out with a slightly dark crust, but aside from that, it was delicious.

We decided to make french toast with it, and we topped it with cinnamon and sugar. Perfection.

All hail to the bread machine.

In other news, I had to show off the breakfast-themed clock I finally hung up in the kitchen. It still needs batteries, but it looks great up on the wall. My sister Ashley got it for me for Christmas. :)

You can also view this recipe on the Pittsburgh Kitchen blog.