Blueberry Zucchini Bread

So there I was socializing minding my own business last week at Fat Moon Farm and Elizabeth (my dear farmer friend) mentions her first zucchini bread cook off on the farm.  WHAT?!?!?!  How did I miss this bit of information in her newsletter?  Oh, that's right, I have 3 amazing kids, a dog named Finnegan, a guinea pig named Big Papi, a husband that's wonderful...ahem, most of the time, and my day was just mayhem.   I left that farm so excited and to top it off she was having an "under 18" category as well.  I was already planning what I would do before I left the driveway and the girls would have to agree on what version they wanted to bake.  Then it came.  An email from Elizabeth.  She wanted little ole me to be one of the judges for "Bloggers Choice".  Me?  What?  Well of course I was honored and said yes!  There were two other judges there with me yesterday, Andy from My Untangled Life and Sally from How Does YOUR Garden Grow.  We needed to agree on 2 different entries, one from the "under 18" and the other from the "over 18" categories.  There were 3 breads in the kids division and about 6 or 7 in the adult division...and I am here to tell you that they were all delicious.  We ended up choosing 2 incredible breads that I will make in my very own kitchen and serve proudly.

My babies worked great as a team and made their version of this Blueberry Zucchini Bread.  It was a big hit here and at the bake off, and they won PEOPLE'S CHOICE!!!  I did have to help with a few things and I did monitor the mixing so they didn't go overboard.  I am so proud of my cherubs, I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as everyone else has!

Here's What You Need:

• 3 Eggs, beaten
• 1 cup Applesauce
• 3 teaspoons Vanilla
• 1 ¼ cups Sugar
• 1 cup Honey (we used Big Buzz Apiary honey)
• 2 cups Zucchini, grated
• 1 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 ½ cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
• 2 ½ cups Blueberries

Preheat your oven to 325℉.  Spray two loaf pans with a non-stick spray.

Add eggs, applesauce, vanilla, sugar and honey to your mixer and combine well.  Next you'll want to incorporate the zucchini.  I've come to the realization that doing this step now helps blend it more evenly and you don't have to worry about the potential for over mixing after the flour is added in.  If you forget this step it's not a deal breaker, add it at the end (before the blueberries) and mix for 10 seconds.  Problem solved.

In a separate bowl combine your flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.  This should get added in two parts to the wet ingredients and each addition should be just combined.

The blueberries get folded in to the batter then divide the batter between your loaf pans.  Bake them for 55-65 minutes until the toothpick you stick in the middle comes out clean.  I did lay a piece of tin foil over the pans after about 45 minutes so the tops didn't brown too much.  Let them cool in their pans for 15-20 minutes and then turn them out onto a cooling rack.  I suggest you give them a good bit of time to cool before you taste it...those blueberries are like molten lava when hot!  

Bon Appetit...it's time to eat!

Kathi