Zucchini-Parmesan Bread

This fall we are hosting a lot of visitors from the States and I always like to offer fresh baked goods when there are guests in the house. (It gives the impression that I actually have my act together!) Lately, I've been baking some old favorites like banana bread, cranberry orange bread and last week I tried a new bread, using zucchini and parmesan. The recipe is slightly adapted from one of the oldest cookbooks on my shelves, Jane Brody's Good Food Book. My mother bought this book in the '80's when she was on her serious health kick. Back then, my sister and I thought her recipes were pretty disgusting, but now we both have well-worn copies of her book and I think its fair to say we both use it pretty frequently.

I made this bread twice and the second time I doubled the amount of parmesan for extra flavor. I also experimented with substituting olive-oil for the butter, but I preferred the butter version.

Zucchini-Parmesan Bread

makes 1 loaf

1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

6 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

5 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup shredded, unpeeled zucchini squeezed dry (the Roman type of zucchini I used yielded no liquid)

1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled

1 cup buttermilk (or substitute 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon white vinegar, let sit for 5 minutes)

2 eggs

2 tablespoons grated onion

In a large bowl, mix together the flours, sugar, parmesan, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix in the zucchini.

In a small bowl, combine the butter, buttermilk, eggs, and onion. Add to the flour mixture, stirring the ingredients to combine them well. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan.

Bake the bread in a preheated 350 degree oven for 55 to 60 minutes or until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before turning out of the loaf pan. Cool completely before slicing.