Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip, Coconut, Carrot & Zucchini Bread

After a couple busy weeks without much baking, I had a LOT of discard to use up.  I also had this random bag of frozen "zoodles" in the freezer that we bought quite a while ago. I've used them in recipes a few different times...but they don't thaw well and become mush.  So, I thought maybe a zucchini bread might be a better option to use them up. And in an effort to sneak some extra veggies into my kids diet, I decided to shred up some carrot as well (but include chocolate chips to guarantee that he ate it--he's been known to turn up his nose at several of my sourdough concoctions). And coconut...for me. Because I like it.

INGREDIENTS (Makes 1 Loaf):

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 125g sourdough discard
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup coconut  oil (melted)
• 175g shredded zucchini (or about 1/2 bag of thawed chopped zoodles) after removing excess moisture [Note: I made two loaves to use up all of the zoodles]
• 75g grated carrot (I used a pretty fine grate)
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Mix together the sugar, eggs, discard, vanilla, and coconut oil until smooth.
3. Add in the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinamon, and mix until just combined.  Then fold in the zucchini, carrot, chocolate chips, and coconut.
4. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and pour in the batter.
5. Bake for ~60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
6. Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, and then transfer onto a cooling rack and allow to cool for 1 hour.

This was a really nice option to have for breakfast in the morning with a cup of coffee, or as an afternoon snack with some tea! If you wanted, you could definitely include some pecans or walnuts

What I've Been Cooking Lately

Honestly...I haven't been cooking that much. At least, not trying out new recipes, since we bought the new house.  We've had pizza over the last few weeks more than I care to admit.  I have been able to find time to test out a few new recipes over the last few months---I just haven't had time to blog about them individually.  So here I'll share my results, along with a link to the original recipe I used, and then note any changes I made.

Roasted Asparagus & Mushroom Carbonara

This is probably one of the most delicious things I've made myself in a LONG time.  And it was pretty darn easy to make.  One day, when I have free time again, I WILL be making more of this.  No tinkering with the recipe--original turned out great. I was nervous about using raw egg in a sauce but it was totally amazing.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce with Zucchini Noodles

I tinkered with this one a lot, but still really liked the results.  The original recipe here is vegan, but we used regular milk. I didn't have tahini or almond butter, so I used peanut butter, and tossed in some grated parmesan to help thicken the sauce.  I also added a few dashes of Tabasco Chipotle Sauce for some heat and smokiness.  Finally, we added smoked sausage for protein.

LOVE my veggie spiralizer.

One Pot Spaghetti

Saw the Video for this on my Facebook feed and thought a) that looks easy, and b) I've got a ton of basil & tomatoes to use up.  It was very easy, and delicious.

Sweet Potato Quinoa Patties

We made these while doing a one week Daniel Fast, and they were super tasty.  I will probably make them again, but use egg as a binder, since they were kind of crumbly (couldn't use egg during the Fast).  We definitely had to let them cook longer than what the recipe calls for to get them crusty enough on one side so that they could be flipped without falling apart (I'd say 4-6 minutes per side, rather than 2 minutes, but if you use egg as a binder that might change the cook time.  Just make one first as a tester to figure out the times, and then fill your pan with patties after that.)

Served with a side of garlic green beans.

French Onion Soup

This was to satisfy a craving, and can only *sorta* qualify as semi-homemade.  I had some canned French Onion soup, but wanted to step it up, so I sauteed some fresh onions first to caramelize them, then added the canned soup and brought it to a boil.  Then I preheated my broiler, and set two ramekins on a cookie sheet.  I cracked open a raw egg into each of the ramekins (a weird trick one of my Louisiana buddies taught me), added a little pepper, and then gently ladled the hot soup over the top of the egg (the heat from the soup & broiler will cook the eggs).  

Next, I placed a 1 inch slice of french bread onto the top of the soup, and topped with 2 slices of Swiss cheese.  Broiled just until the cheese was melted, and then, devour.

Zucchini Pasta

I grew up in the era when pasta was good for you.  “YAYYY CARBS!!!” we would scream in Health Class. (This is a lie. I’m pretty sure I didn’t actually know what a carb was until I was halfway through college.)  But anyway, pasta was totally acceptable and not at all the evil monster it’s portrayed as today.  My dad would drive us 45 minutes to the nearest “big city” (Missourites: I’m talking about Jeff City.  Feel free to snicker now.) once a year for Olive Garden’s Never Ending Pasta Bowl Feast.  Hamburger Helper was a staple in our house.  Spaghetti was one of the first things I ever learned to cook from scratch (though my earliest memories of helping my mom “cook” always involved Jiffy cake & cornbread boxes). 

When you grow up with that sort of mindset, it’s REALLY hard to break away and start thinking of pasta as something that should be moderated…heaven forbid be left out of one’s diet altogether.  But alas, I am an adult, and I am old enough to understand that MAYBEEE we should be dining on dishes that are a bit more veggie-and-protein-dense than my beloved trough of fettuccini alfredo from the O.G.

So when a friend who had recently decided to do the low-carb thing told me about the Veggie Spiralizer, I figured it was worth $15 to try it out.  Especially since we were growing zucchini in our container garden this year, and I am typically very boring with zucchini—either sautéing it with garlic & parm, or baking it into bread.

We threw this recipe together after a long day, and I’m a LITTLE proud that so many of the ingredients came from our garden—the zucchini, the tomatoes, the basil, rosemary…

This recipe can be Paleo (if you use the right sauce) and even Whole-30 approved (if you use a pasta sauce with no sugar and nitrate/sugar free bacon, and leave off the cheese).

 INGREDIENTS: (makes 2 servings)

1 zucchini, spiral sliced into noodles

olive oil

1 sprig rosemary

1 tsp garlic, minced

1/2 jar of your favorite pasta sauce (we used Bertolli’s Organic Olive Oil, Basil & Garlic sauce)

small handful of fresh basil

2-3 slices bacon, cooked & chopped

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

1 green onion

1/4 cup shredded parmesan (I get Priano from Aldis—great quality & CHEAP)

 

DIRECTIONS:

Spiral-slice your zucchini.

Then add your noodles to a large skillet w/olive oil, rosemary & garlic over medium heat, tossing/stirring frequently for about 5 minutes.

Then add the pasta sauce and tomatoes to the pan, lower heat to medium-low to heat the sauce.

Add the basil (julienned) near the end so it doesn’t get bitter.  Then transfer into two bowls, top with the bacon, cheese, & green onions (and the rosemary sprig for garnish). 

NUTRIFACTS:

 Calories 269.2

  Total Fat 15.2 g

  Saturated Fat 4.9 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 2.1 g

  Cholesterol 18.6 mg

  Sodium 909.0 mg

  Potassium 627.3 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 20.7 g

  Dietary Fiber 6.1 g

  Sugars 13.6 g

  Protein 11.1 g

Chocolate Zucchini Bread…Cake…Whatevs. It’s Awesome.

My love of all things Kitchen started early. When I was a kid, one of my favorite things was to go over to my Aunt Donna’s house for a Baking Day.  These might as well have been official holidays as far as I was concerned.  By the end of the day, the kitchen table would be covered with cakes, Amish Friendship Bread, cookies… anything drool-worthy, it was there.  Aunt Donna was our family’s official baking genius.  You need a recipe, she’s got it.  She even taught cake decorating classes at the local middle school.

Aunt Donna had three sons: J, P, and D:

The Boys, circa 1995ish.  This is one of my favorite photos on the planet.  How two boys managed to hide almost entirely behind a baby, I still can’t figure out.  Anyway, these lil’ cuties are now 28, 24, and 21.  *sigh* Makes me feel old…

And I got recruited to babysit them a lot, which was okay with me, becauseit meant I got free pizza and a little cash and got to watch 3 Ninjas with my cousins. Or Ninja Turtles.  It varied occasionally.

“We don't wanna hurt youuuu… we just wanna kidnap you!”

And in honor of this blog post, I made a special trip down Memory Lane and scanned in a pile of old photos.  Enjoy.

Myself with Aunt Donna’s two oldest boys, J & P, circa 1992-3.  Check. Those. Bangs.  Thanks Mom.

 

So when a pile of zucchini landed at my house (thanks to the Mom-In-Law), I knew some of Aunt Donna’s famous Chocolate Zucchini Bread was in order.

Though…I mean…really.  CHOCOLATE.  It’s cake.  We can call it bread all day long, but nobody’s spreadin’ butta on it & serving it as a side with spaghetti.  But it’s made in a loaf pan, so I GUESS we can call it a bread.

Whatevs.  It’s DELICIOUS no matter what you call it.  And a “better for you” dessert choice, since zucchini has tons of fiber, Vitamins A & C, and magnesium, along with a slew of other good-for-new minerals.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup cinnamon applesauce (Change #1 that I make from the original recipe—purists could use oil, but this cuts out a good bit of fat & calories)

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup Splenda (original recipe calls for 1/2 cup sugar)

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1.5 cup shredded zucchini

3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (or 1/2 cup of mini chips)

 

Directions:

First, have a front porch concert with your cousin. Jump rope microphone required.

Circa 1987? Squawking chicken backup microphone entirely optional.

Now that that’s out of your system, go preheat your oven to 350F.

Next, beat together flour, cocoa, baking soda & powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Set mixture aside.

Then beat together the applesauce, sugars & Splenda, eggs, & vanilla.  Fold in your zucchini.

Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients until just combined, then mix in the chocolate chips.

CHOCOLATE….

Pour into a greased & floured pan:

I <3 my blue Pyrex…

And then bake for about 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick entered into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Perhaps go make your own Slip-n-Slide with a trash bag while your masterpiece bakes.

Once your creation is done cooking, remove from pan & let cool on a wire rack.  Then slice for nommage.

The outside has a nice “crust” to it, while the inside is super moist and a bit dense, almost like a brownie.

Five stars, Aunt Donna!  Two thumbs Way Up!

NutriFacts: (makes 12 servings—cut into 6 thick slices, then make one cut down the middle to divide into 12)

Calories 181.6

  Total Fat 4.8 g

  Saturated Fat 2.6 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 0.5 g

  Cholesterol 34.2 mg

  Sodium 214.6 mg

  Potassium 192.6 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 38.2 g

  Dietary Fiber 2.1 g

  Sugars 26.4 g

  Protein 3.4 g