Lemon Glazed Zucchini Bread

Everyone keeps saying that this summer is going by too quickly; the weather hasn't been the greatest in terms of temperature.  Despite that fact, I have been trying to make the most out of every opportunity.  The cooler weather and strange slow start to summer meant great things for my garden.  The first harvest of radishes was awesome, and the two varieties of lettuce I planted (mixed greens and a mesclum mix) have provided an abundance of yummy salads.  My Kirby cucumbers grow faster than I can pickle them and now the tomatoes and squash are competing with each other for who can produce the most!  Seeing my grocery bill shrink because I have all the fresh produce in my own backyard is such a nice rewarding feeling.

Check out those cute 8 Ball Squash!

I tried planting a new variety of squash this year, called "8 Ball" which is a little small round squash that looks just like a little pumpkin.  I have been really happy with how they have grown.  Both of my plants are just humongous! So, because they are coming in so quickly, I keep giving them away to friends and neighbors.  My next door neighbor is an elderly woman who just loves to get the fresh veggies we bring her.  This time, my good karma paid off because she turned my extra zucchini into some yummy bread and brought us over a small loaf as a thank you!  :)  So tasty!

Well that got me to thinking that I hadn't ever tried to make zucchini bread.  We've grilled it, roasted it, put it into salads and even sliced it paper thin and served it as a crudo with a fresh lemon vinaigrette.  So, why not bake it into a tasty bread that we can freeze and eat throughout the fall and winter months?Inspired by my neighbors tasty traditional version, I went in search of some unique and fun variations and found two excellent recipes - - one for a Lemon Zucchini bread with a glaze and one for a version with Nutella and honey.   My husband is a huge fan of lemon poppyseed cakes and muffins and he's never met a chocolate dessert he didn't like, so I figured it was worth a shot!

Shredded Zucchini sits in a
colander to drain the water

I will have to blog about the Nutella version sometime soon, but here is how the Lemon Zucchini bread turned out.  I started by grating the zucchini on a box grater using the largest option and placing it into a colander to let the water drain off.  Then I sprayed a non-stick loaf pan with cooking spray and lined it with parchment paper.  Some recipes will tell you to flour it to keep it from sticking but that method never seems to work for me and then half of whatever I'm baking ends up staying in the pan.  So now I always take the extra minute to cut the parchment to size and tuck it neatly into the pan, leaving just an inch or so of overhang on long sides.  The spray helps hold it in place and keeps the two ends from sticking as well.

Use one bowl for your dry ingredients,
and another for the wet.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.  Then, in another bowl beat 2 eggs with the oil and sugar.  Mix well.  Add in the buttermilk, lemon juice and zest and combine.  I think the addition of the buttermilk is what gives this bread a great tangy and rich flavor so you could substitute if you didn't want to use it or if you didn't have it on hand you can always make your own quick version.

Once you have all your wet ingredients mixed, you can stir in the zucchini.  Be sure and squeeze out the excess water before you add it.  I just used my fingers to pick up small handfuls and squeezed the moisture out; no need to dirty a dish towel.  Its amazing how much water you can remove that way.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined.  Don't do it the other way around or you will end up with lots of clumps of flour and a lumpy finished batter.  You might not think it would make that big of a difference but after you've made the mistake once and tried dumping your dry into your wet only to be met with an awful bowl of lumps, you will believe me!

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let it cool for a few minutes and then grab each side of the parchment paper and gently lift it out of the pan.  Set it on a wire rack to cool completely.  I tasted the bread just like this, without the glaze and it was pretty good all on its own.  So, if you want a finished product less on the sweet side you can stop there and enjoy.  But if you like your bread a bit more on the sweet side, you can take the extra step and make the glaze to pour over the top.

Finished loaf right out of the
oven.  Note the parchment paper
"handles"! 

The glaze could not be simpler to make.  You just take 1 cup of powdered sugar (be sure and break up any lumps) and add the juice of one lemon and a little splash of lemon extract (optional).  Then add in the milk and stir until you get the desired consistency.  It doesn't take much milk so I usually add in a tablespoon at a time, stir and then see how it looks. Carefully spoon the glaze over the cake letting it run down the sides and cover the top.  I did this on a plate and just kept spooning the excess back over the top of the bread until it was nicely coated.  Once it sits for a bit, it will harden up nicely.  The recipe I adapted this from also suggested adding 1/2 teaspoon of meringue powder to get the glaze to harden up even better.  I will have to give that a try next time!

It's a nice light color with small
specks of the lemon and zucchini

I'm pretty happy with the end result so I will definitely be making more loaves to tuck into the freezer as my garden keeps providing me with the beautiful squash.  That way I will have them at the ready and can mix up quick batch of the glaze and have homemade Lemon Zucchini bread for visiting houseguests or even just a treat on a weekend!

We can add this homemade bread to the list of reasons I love having a garden.  It might not be the ideal summer temperature, but at least I can complain about it while eating a piece of Lemony Zucchini bread and licking the glaze off my fingers!

The glaze coats the bread and glistens
nicely, beckoning you to cut a slice and enjoy! 

Lemon Zucchini Bread 
2 cups flour (All Purpose)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 Tbl fresh lemon juice and zest (1 lemon)
1 cup grated zucchini

Lemon Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp lemon extract (optional)

milk, as needed to reach desired consistency