The joy of cooking reinvented

So instead of bitching about the state of the world, apathy and morally bankrupt politicians, I've decided it's more fun to write about my new love of cooking. As in food I can actually eat without wearing. So today, let me introduce you to a fabulous lo-carb, grain free Zucchini nut bread. You'll need a few things, so don't start breaking out the baking essentials unless you've got some Almond Flour (not meal, needs to be finely ground) and some good spices.

OK. I know, where does one get Almond Flour? My personal favorite is www.nuts.com. In fact I love their variety of crazy ingredients and fabulous foods I can actually eat.

Back to Zucchini Nut Bread. In all fairness, I started with a few different recipes I found online. After trial and error, settled on this one to start with. Great site by the way. http://comfybelly.com/2012/09/zucchini-bread-using-almond-flour/#.UeGraTW9KSN

Then I made my usual adjustments. Melissa wanted walnuts. I can't use honey. So we improvised a bit.

Here's the recipe in final form:

2 cups almond flour

1/2 teaspoon each of sea salt and baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon each of ground ginger and nutmeg

1/4 cup Stevia or Splenda BLEND (half sugar half sweetener) or use the equivalent of 1/3 to half cup honey

2 eggs (use organic please)

1/4 cup half and half. I do this because the liquid from the honey is missing. And nut flours can end up dry. You can use Cream if you don't have half and half.

1/4 cup Olive Oil (or organic butter or Ghee)

1 grated small zucchini.  (about 1.5 cups to 2 cups)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (unsalted)

So preheat oven to 350 F. Spray or grease a smaller loaf pan. Now if you are like me, you run around searching for the exact size loaf pan used in the other cook's recipe only to find there are 5,000 different size loaf pans in the world. Great. All I can tell you is the smaller the pan, the higher the loaf. I used a 8 x 3.75 but 8 x 5 can work... the 9 x 5 was too big.

Mix all the dry ingredients together except the nuts. Then add the wet ingredients, including the Zucchini. Did I mention you should pat the zucchini down with a paper towel? Anyway, mix it all well, then fold in the nuts. Pour the batter into the loaf pan, bake for about 50 to 60 minutes and check it with a toothpick. If it's clean take it out. Let cool on a rack. I recommend storing it in the fridge. It's great for a snack, as a side dish to a crustless quiche, or even a quick breakfast. And  a slab of cream cheese on it? 

Yum.

Enjoy.