A Bid Farewell to Summer: Zucchini, two ways

I recently loaded up on zucchini, trying to get my fill while it's still in season here in Central Texas. It may still feel like summer, but fall is drawing near and soon we will be loading our plates with root vegetables and cole crops.

My 7 month old enjoyed eating whole chunks of soft, steamed zucchini slices and homemade purees like one I made with zucchini, black beans, sweet potato, and cumin.

I often go simple when it comes to zucchini, like cutting lengthwise and grilling, or slicing and sautéing with onion & garlic. This time, feeling adventurous, I looked up some recipes and found two that I will definitely make again.

The first was a chocolate zucchini bread (see this post for a slightly healthier of version Chocolate Zucchini Bread). I used this recipe as my guide:
http://www.realmomnutrition.com/2016/07/25/chocolate-zucchini-bread/
Changes: I used less sugar, greek yogurt instead of regular, cacao powder instead of cocoa, 63% dark chocolate chips, coconut oil instead of vegetable, and added 1 tsp vanilla extract.
This moist, dense, but not too heavy, cake---errr, bread, was excellent on it's own, but the night I made it we also happened to have some Caramel Salt Lick ice cream from our favorite local shop Lick Honest Ice Creams  so we threw a scoop (or two) on top of the bread. Oh. My. Goodness.... that was heaven!

The next recipe I made was a Zucchini-Tomato-Rice Gratin (YES! I finally got to use my Le Creuset gratin dish).  I used this recipe:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2012/07/zucchini-tomato-and-rice-gratin/
The recipe seems to have a lot of steps, but it's really not that difficult. And once you get the steps down, there is a lot of room for adjustment/substitutions. It would be especially easy using leftover rice instead of making it fresh. I let my zucchini and tomatoes roast a bit longer than the recipe states- until the zucchini was golden and the tomatoes were starting to shrink down. I also let the onions caramelize instead of covering/steaming as the recipe instructs. I did not have fresh thyme on hand, so I used dried, but I would just omit if I don't have fresh in the future. I added fresh basil which was an excellent addition.
I served this alongside roasted salmon and asparagus which all went wonderfully together!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

So this is the first time I've tried making zucchini bread and it was a surprising success.
Even after I altered the recipe a bit (which I know can often lead to ruin when it comes to baking). 
In this case it didn't, which really helped my baking confidence because I've almost thrown in the towel too many times thinking I am NOT a chemist! I am a cook and I don't like to measure stuff! But every now and then I want something baked and so I keep trying.

I found the original recipe here:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chocolate_zucchini_bread/

The original recipe makes 2 loaves, but I didn't want to make 2 loaves of something I may not even like, so I cut the recipe in half.
Here's the recipe w/ the changes I made:

2 cups grated zucchini 
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour  organic whole wheat flour
1/4  1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa (use natural unsweetened cocoa, NOT Dutch processed)
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cups granulated white sugar
1 egg
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted 3 Tbsp melted light butter & 3 Tbsp coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules  fresh ground coffee (not instant)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (kept this amount same as original 'cause I like the extra almond flavor)

1 Place the freshly grated zucchini in colander in the sink to let it release excess moisture, or in a colander over a bowl if no room in the sink.

2 Preheat oven to 350°F, with a rack in the middle. Spray a 9x5 in loaf pan.

3 Vigorously whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Whisk until there are no more clumps and the ingredients are well combined.

4 In a separate large bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs until smooth, about a minute. You can do this with an electric mixer on medium speed, or by hand with a wooden spoon. Add the melted butter, coconut oil, coffee and almond extract. Beat until smooth.

5 Mix the shredded zucchini into the sugar egg mixture. Add the flour to the zucchini mixture in 3 batches, stirring to combine after each addition.

6 Work quickly, pouring the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Place into the oven. Bake for 50 minutes at 350°F, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean and easily. Remove to a rack. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then run a blunt knife around the edges to separate the bread from the pan. Remove from the loaf pan and let cool completely on a rack.

Note that if you try to slice the chocolate zucchini bread before it has completely cooled, it will be rather crumbly.

Yield: 1 loaf.