Banana Zucchini Bread

It's been awhile since I've made zucchini bread....I make banana bread all of the time.  A girlfriend of mine was telling me about how her family devours zucchini bread and was in the process of making some herself, so I was inspired to make a loaf as well!  She sent me the recipe she had been using which was from Better Homes and Gardens. 

I adapted it slightly by swapping out the granulated sugar for brown sugar, adding an additional cup of shredded zucchini (good tip from the girlfriend!), omitting the nuts (my boys can go one way or the other on nuts in the breads - I didn't have any in the pantry, so I didn't use any), and I threw in a banana for good measure. 

I do currently have a multitude of bananas in my freezer that need to be used - I could have probably thrown two in this recipe.  If the bananas start to go brown in fruit bowl, I put them in the freezer then thaw them in the microwave when I make banana bread (or anything that calls for a mashed banana) - they are the perfect consistency!  Good tip from my mom!

Banana Zucchini Bread
Makes 1 Loaf
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 egg, beaten
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups shredded, unpeeled zucchini
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 -2 overly ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease the bottom and sides of an 8x8x2-inch loaf pan.  In a large bowl, add your flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. 

To the well, add the egg, brown sugar, zucchini, oil, and bananas.  Stir until just moistened, batter should be lumpy.  Spoon batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the cneter comes clean.  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Remove from pan, cool completely on a wire rack.  Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

Spaghetti with Roasted Asparagus and Shaved Parmesan

A girlfriend of mine and I took a cooking class at Sur La Table called "Fresh Pasta and Sauces".  To read more about our experience, check out my post from a few days ago here:  Fresh Pasta and Sauces Cooking Class.

I decided that our family would begin making fresh pasta more often!  We started by making a dish I learned in class for our Mother's Day dinner - the boys had so much fun with this and were amazed that we could make spaghetti out of a pile of flour, eggs, and salt.  I plan to make this an annual tradition for us - making pasta together on Mother's Day - but we'll also want lots of practice all year long! 

This recipe is courtesy of Sur La Table, I did add about 1/2 cup of Junebug Pinot Grigio to the sauce at the end, but wanted to credit where credit is due!  Thanks Chef Mac!

Please note:  I will write a post on how to make fresh pasta soon - we had a lot going on during our pasta making on Mother's Day and I didn't stop to take photos along the way! 

Spaghetti with Roasted Asparagus and Shaved Parmesan
Serves 4
Recipe courtesy of Sur La Table

(no ingredients photo this time - sorry!)
1 recipe Fresh Pasta Dough
1 pound asparagus spears, washed and trimmed
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 medium shallot, peeled, trimmed, and minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red peppers flakes, or to taste
1 cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)

To prepare roasted asparagus, preheat oven to 425 degrees and place a rack in the center.  Pour 1/3 cup oil across a rimmed baking sheet and arrange asparagus in an even layer on the pan, rolling to coat with the oil.  Season with salt and pepper and transfer to preheated oven.   Roast until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.  Slice asparagus crosswise into 2-inch long pieces and set aside.

Roll pasta to desired thickness and cut into spaghetti using the pasta machine attachment.  Heat a large pot over high heat until boiling.

Place 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet and heat over medium heat until butter foams.  When foaming subsides, add garlic, shallots, and red pepper flakes.  Cook, stirring often, until vegetables have softened slightly and are fragrant, about 4-5 minutes.  Add broth and thyme, stirring well to combine.  Increase heat to high and cook sauce until reduced by half, about 5-7 minutes. 


Add enough kosher salt to season the water like sea water (seriously - add A LOT of salt).  While salted water boils vigorously, add spaghetti and stir immediately to prevent pasta from sticking.  Boil until pasta is al dente, about 2 to 3 minutes.


Add the pasta directly to the pan with the sauce.  Add Parmesan, asparagus, about 1/4 cup pasta water, and remaining 1 tablespoon butter.  Gently toss to coat the pasta.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.


To serve, divide spaghetti between 4 warmed dinner plates.  Serve immediately.

Fresh Pasta and Sauces Cooking Class

I was very excited to put this post together!  A girlfriend of mine and I decided to take a cooking class - we found one offered at Sur La Table called "Easy Fresh Pasta and Sauces".  Being Italian, I certainly do own a pasta machine, and I believe it may have even been on our wedding registry and given to us as a gift!  The hubby and I used to make fresh pasta all of the time.  Then we had kids and starting heading back down the dried pasta aisle at the grocery store.  That is about to come to an end!  My brother makes fresh pasta all of the time - I plan to jump back on that bandwagon!  You can check out his Facebook page with his ideas at
Leisure Cooking.

My girlfriend who invited me to join her had never made fresh pasta - so this was the perfect course for us to take!  The class lasted about two hours - with a break in the middle of course for shopping!  During the introduction we were given an appetizer to eat and then we were on to cooking!  The chef taught us how to make our pasta dough, how to prepare our sauces, how to use a knife properly, how to roll our pasta, how to cut our pasta, and how to prepare our pasta.  At the end, we were able to all enjoy the fruits of our labor - and each dish was delicious.

The dishes we prepared included:  Spaghetti with Roasted Asparagus and Shaved Parmesan, Fettuccini and Crabmeat with a Lemon Alfredo Sauce, and Pappardelle with Pancetta, Peas, and Mint.  Chef Mac was our instructor - he was an enthusiastic teacher and talented chef. We had so much fun and can't wait to do it again.

I remembered how easy it was to make fresh pasta by going to this class.  I am already planning to make fresh pasta with my boys and the hubby for dinner on Mother's Day.  Stay tuned for another post!   My girlfriend and I are definitely going to continue to take classes together - we had so much fun and learned a lot!  In the meantime, enjoy the photos from our class!