Packing and Purging

In the 24 frenzied hours before boarding a plane, the place is always a madhouse. Clothes fly everywhere the second the dryer buzzer dings, suitcases leave scuff marks as they’re dragged across the floor, and dogs bound happily into the car to ride off to the kennel. Oh, and somebody is left with the lovely task of cleaning out the fridge.

 

I felt guilty throwing away fresh produce, and a fat zucchini and half-eaten can of pineapple (okay, so it technically used to be fresh!) sat sadly on the shelf. They begged not to be tossed in the trashcan, and they easily suckered me into spending my precious packing time on the internet, searching for any recipe that called for both.  

 

And then a miracle happened. I found something that used both pineapple and zucchini, and sounded delicious to boot! I quickly got to work, mixing up this quick bread and shoving it in the oven so I could pack as it baked.

 

By the time the tantalizing smells wafted into my bedroom, I had already zipped my suitcase shut, which gave me enough time to spare to let the bread cool and slice myself a piece before hopping in the car to drive to the airport.

 

 

Pineapple Zucchini Bread

taken from CL’s recipe 

serves 8-10

Although the original recipe didn’t call for it, I’d add a little of the drained pineapple juice to boost the pineapple flavor. Because it isn’t too sweet, a slice would be delicious for either breakfast, a mid-afternoon snack, or even after dinner as a bit of dessert!

1½ c. flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp baking powder

¾ tsp ground cinnamon

2 eggs

1 c. sugar

1 large zucchini, grated

⅓ c. vegetable or canola oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Lightly coat a 9×5” loaf pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2. Whisk together flour through cinnamon in a large bowl. In a separate medium bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla together. Stir in zucchini.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring just until incorporated. Gently fold in the pineapple, and pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 min in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

 

 

Note: I found my bread took about 15-20 min longer than the set time. To prevent the top from burning, I covered the pan with foil and removed it partway through. Give that a shot if your bread has the same problems!