The other day, my mother tried a piece of my Zucchini Bread.
“What is that flavor?” she said. “Mine has never been this nice.”
“Cloves,” I told her.
“I don’t like cloves,” she said. “But I love that.”
I have to admit it was particularly good batch. I usually grind whole cloves and if you are not diligent with the mortar and pestle, the flavour of the chunks of clove can over power the loaf.
This time I hadn’t been able to find whole cloves at the store, so I used ground and found it was better for this bread.
Also, I wrung out the grated zucchini just the right amount and the moisture level was perfect. Last time I was showing someone how to wring out the excess moisture in a tea towel, was over zealous and the bread was a touch dry. But do wring it out to prevent a soggy loaf.
It’s a great way to use that excess zucchini at this time of year, or get a nice size one at the farmer’s market and knock yourself out!
In The Good Neighbor, (yes! out this week!) Stephanie goes out to her garden and finds:
The stump end of a mammoth zucchini peeked out at her from under a leaf. Not good. Zucchini were the jesters of the garden, growing to ridiculous, bulbous proportions when your back was turned…
Hefting a giant zucchini in one hand, she measured its weight, reminded of a childhood summer day spent grating the big ones for zucchini bread, the smell of cloves and cinnamon filling the air. She put the offender under one arm, the basket over the other, and started down the shoreline path to the cabin.
Cloves and spice, Aunt Augusta’s trademark. Stephanie must have the same recipe I have.
Enjoy!
