September 6, 2018
Our most recent road trip to our family farm in East Tennessee brought on a whole new experience in this magical place – farming! The land has not been used for farming (with the exception of my moms flourishing vegetable gardens) since we’ve enjoyed the property for over 20 years, but due to some invasive species growth, last year, my mom and I met with a local farmer to “rent” out some of our land to grow crops. And, about a year ago, they began clearing the fields to grow.
Over the course of the year, we’ve witnessed the farmers and field hands clear the fields (including all of the invasive plants that were taking over) to reveal lush, beautiful soil, plant and weed the fields and last weekend we got to watch them pick – and pick ourselves! I love that my girls get to witness how food is grown, they get to observe the fields grow and produce – from seed to plant – they get to hear and interact with the workers who whistle songs and wave as they pick and haul truckloads of fresh produce to stores in the southeast – right from our very own farm! My mom likes to tell them we are playing a small part in feeding the world.
There are beehives that have been brought in to pollinate the crops and if you quietly stand among the fields, you can hear the hum of the bees working too. There is an irrigation system that brings water from different sources on the farm that the girls and their dad inspect and discuss how it works. The crops extend as far as the eye can see and the hunt for the perfect zucchini brings the girls’ tons of laughter – and a bit of healthy competition. It also brings a desire to try and taste their harvest in new ways. My middle even happily munched on fresh raw zucchini in the middle of the fields while picking.
Most of the fields are zucchini, but there is also some yellow squash and cucumber too. Once the girls had nonchalantly picked about 10 pounds of zucchini in less than an hour, we started to look for recipes! Over the next 3 days, we made zucchini fritters, zucchini chocolate cake, sauteed zucchini and tomatoes, Pasta Carbonara with zucchini, stuffed zucchini blossoms, roasted zucchini, and zucchini bread. Talk about farm to table!
The winner, of course, was the zucchini bread, so I’m sharing the recipe today! In the meantime, feel free to send your favorite zucchini recipes for us to try! (The original zucchini bread recipe is a combination of All Recipes and a recipe from Butter with a Side of Bread with a few alterations.)
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour (all-purpose or bread flour)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil or melted butter (you can replace half of the oil with applesauce)
- 2 cups white sugar
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups grated zucchini or more (we always add more)
- Optional: 1 cup chopped walnuts (we never add nuts)
Directions
- Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
- Combine flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl and use a whisk to mix.
- Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Fold in zucchini (and nuts) until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool. Devour, or freeze or share with neighbors!
Read more about our family farm here, here and viewing the solar eclipse up there here!
