bell & basket

cooking. baking. home.

The Best Zucchini Bread (that just happens to be vegan)

This is the best zucchini bread I’ve ever eaten. You’d never guess that it’s vegan. It’s moist, flavorful, crunchy on the outside, warm and soft on the inside.

And even though summer is officially over, I bet you still have a zucchini or two in your refrigerator, right? If you have extra plums or peaches lying around, you can chop them up and sprinkle them into the batter. Or if you like your zucchini bread a little bit more decadent, you can add chocolate chips (likely not vegan, but if this isn’t an issue for you, go right ahead). This recipe also uses half whole wheat flour, unrefined sugar and lots of nutritious, fiber filled zucchini. So it’s basically a health food.

And you might be thinking to yourself, “why is Michelle making a vegan recipe when her favorite food in the world is butter?” Well, I was trying to figure out what to do with all of the zucchini from our CSA (during peak zucchini season) and didn’t have eggs at the time and I was too lazy to walk to the corner store (it was likely 100 degrees outside too). I did, however, have flax seeds and heard that I could make “flax eggs” with them. And although I was skeptical at first about an egg substitution, once the flax seeds soaked in water for 5 minutes, the mixture became viscous and really did resemble the texture of raw eggs. Eureka!

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Heirloom Tomato, Zucchini and Goat Cheese Crostata

There comes a point in the summer when the overabundance of vegetables is too much to handle, and friends, neighbors, and anyone else is saying, “here, take a few tomatoes and a few zucchini!”

And with it comes this feeling of, “it’s still tomato season!” and at the same time, the “what am I going to do with all of these tomatoes?” So this recipe is a solution to both the tomato and zucchini crisis–and it also helps to get rid of any leftover pie dough you have in the freezer. Yeah, remember that disc wrapped in plastic wrap that’s been there for two weeks?

And if there’s no pie dough in the freezer, don’t fret. I have the best pie dough recipe that is super versatile, can be used for sweet or savory fillings, and keeps in the freezer for a few good weeks.

This heirloom tomato, zucchini and goat cheese crostata is a knock out. It’s good with fried eggs for breakfast, or served with a big salad for dinner. You can eat it with your hands or with a fork and a knife. You can take it to the beach, eat it hot, eat it cold or eat it all in one sitting. Really, there’s no wrong way to eat it.

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Maple Olive Oil Granola

This granola is one of the reasons my husband married me. It’s the thing he asks me to make every Sunday, so he can eat it for breakfast all week long. It’s good plain, in cold milk, with fruit and yogurt, and on vanilla ice cream with homemade strawberry (or blueberry or plum) jam. It’s hands down the most addictive, crunchy, salty-sweet granola I’ve ever eaten.

But I must give credit where credit is due. I started making this granola after Colin kept coming home with ten dollar bags of Early Bird granola from our neighborhood specialty grocery store. When I saw the price tag I knew I could make it for a lot less money and in larger batches, so he’d no longer buy three bags a week.

Since then, this granola has become such an important part of our lives that I made 40 jars to give away as favors at our wedding. I’ve made a few versions of it for friends without the brown sugar, with honey instead of maple syrup, but this “crack” version continually comes out on top.

The trick to this recipe is the low oven temperature and the constant stirring of the granola so it doesn’t clump together. Every oat gets covered in a golden caramel coating of maple syrup and brown sugar. The almonds get crunchy and salty, and the olive oil peaks through slightly. It’s not greasy, it’s not too sweet, it’s just right.

And when I add other ingredients–like coconut, dried fruit, other nuts, or dare I even say chocolate, Colin and I always agree that the original version, with just six ingredients, always wins.

And that’s why I’ve made this video. It’s an homage to our relationship and the gift of this granola recipe. I hope it gets you through lots of laughs, on-the-go breakfasts, road trips, tough times, weddings, honeymoons, and so much more.

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