The most ecclectic Zucchini Bread recipe ever

So... we have all these zucchini's - I got them cheap at the market a little while ago. When I was talking about what I could make, Nat thought I was joking when I mentioned zucchini bread.

Well, to enlighten him on the wonders of zucchini bread, I had to first find a recipe. I found a couple of lovely ones - particularly Lindsay at Happy Herbivore's fat free fruity zucchini bread and one on Vegan Food: More than Tofu and Sprouts which just looks so versatile.

I decided that the fruity one looked good - but that was too much for nat (he has an aversion to fruit cake and I think a zucchini loaf with dried fruit was just too way out there) so I settled for looking at the other recipe.

I changed the recipe quite considerably - sometimes because I didn't have enough of the ingredients (I ran out of sugar and apple sauce) and I did a few of my own substitutions just because I wanted to make it oil free.

The loaf was awesome - I used Tofu mum's recipe as a base - and forgot to look at how many loaves it made (which is two) - I don't have two loaf pans and so I made 6 muffins and one loaf.


The verdict. Nat loves them. I think I have dispelled his fear of a vegetable being the base of a sweet bread and maybe next time I will stick in a few sultanas or chopped dates... when he doesn't get a choice he usually finds out that he likes it.
So without further ado my version of the zucchini loaf.
Ecclectic moist oil-free zucchini bread

1 tbsp ground flax seeds
3 tbsp water
300g silken tofu
1/4 cup applesauce
2 large ripe bananas - mashed

1 medium-large zucchini - grated
1 1/4 cup unprocessed sugar (cause thats all I use in the house)
1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla essence

2 cups unbleached spelt flour (just cause thats what I cook with)
1 cup wholemeal spelt flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp bicarb soda (baking soda)
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F)
2. Grease two loaf tins (or 1 loaf tin and 1 6x muffin pan)
3. Mix flax meal with water and set aside to expand
4. Place tofu, banana, applesauce and flax mix into a food processor and blend till smooth
5. In a large bowl mix zucchini with the sugar, vinegar and vanilla. Add the tofu mixture and mix well.
6. In a separate bowl, mix flours, salt, bicarb, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking powder.
7. Mix a little bit of the dry mix with the zucchini mix. Continue to add dry mix a little bit at a time until it is combined. (The mix will be very heavy - don't worry it worked really well for me)
8. Pour into loaf tins or spoon into muffin pan.
9. Cook for 30-40 mins (mine was done at 30) for the loaf and about 10-12mins for the muffins.
10. Let cool and then enjoy

Optional variations
choc chips
dried fruit pieces
you can replace applesauce or banana (or both) with oil - you might need a bit more sugar
use any egg replacer for 3 eggs (instead of tofu and flax)
use any vegetable or fruit in place of zucchini (I guess within reason - carrot would go well)