Chocolate zucchini bread

I joined a CSA for the first time earlier this year. I researched a bunch of farms but most of them didn't appeal to me because I had to go pick up my produce at a faraway location, or they would charge me for weeks that I was on vacation.  My boss at work told me about the CSA that she belonged to, Dominion Harvest. Not only did they deliver to my house, but I also get the option of getting a produce box every week or every other week. In addition, I had a choice of three different produce boxes. My husband and I chose the box that provided produce, eggs and cheese.


In our last delivery, we received some beautiful yellow zucchini. I've never actually cooked with zucchini before, but I was excited to try it out. Being the baker that I am, I wanted to try to bake with it, and the first thing that popped in my mind was zucchini bread. You all know me - I wanted some chocolate in my zucchini bread, so I found this chocolate zucchini bread from Joy of Baking.


This zucchini bread couldn't have been easier to put together. And the taste was just amazing. I couldn't even make out the zucchini flavor in this bread, so it tasted like a loaf of decadent chocolate.  I'll tell my husband that the vegetables in the recipe cancel out any bad ingredients. That way, we each can have another slice without feeling too guilty!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups shredded raw zucchini (I used 4 small zucchini) 
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted (not Dutch-processed)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 
• 1/2 cup safflower or canola oil 
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar  
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar 
• 2 large eggs  
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
• 3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in the center of the oven. Grease (or spray with a nonstick vegetable spray) a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. Set aside.

Grate the zucchini, using a medium sized grater. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, and ground allspice. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the oil, sugars, eggs, and vanilla extract until well blended (about 2 minutes). 

Fold in the grated zucchini. Add the flour mixture, beating just until combined. Then fold in the chocolate chips.  

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the bread has risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 65 minutes. 

Place on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes, then remove the bread from the pan and cool completely.

Yield: One loaf

Source: Joy of Baking