Monday 17 August 2009

WTA's courgette and pecan bread success!

Got an early start this morning determined to fit in cooking some WTA produce into my MA thesis writing schedule. Inspired by fellow bloggers Allotment 2 Kitchen, A girl named Go and Rossdorf allotment , I thought I'd have a crack at making some Courgette and Pecan bread. The idea of using courgettes for making something other than savoury dishes and that could be eaten with cuppa or used as a dessert when still warm (this could be good with ice cream, yoghurt or sour cream) had me baking. The result was delicious!



Courgette and Pecan Bread

3 eggs
2 cups of caster sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla essence
1 cup of olive/canola oil
2 cups of grated courgette
3 cups of plain flour
1/4 of teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1 cup of chopped pecan nuts

Method

Butter and flower two loaf tins or deep muffin tins.
Beat eggs until foaming, add sugar, vanilla and oil and beat until thick.
Stir in grated courgette.
Sift all dry ingredients and fold into courgette mixture with chopped pecans.
Pour into prepared tins and bake in a 180C oven for about 1 hour for the loaf tins or 25-30 minutes for deep muffin tins, or until a skewer inserted in the bread comes out clean.
Remove from oven; allow to sit in the tins for about ten minutes and then cool on a cake rack. Slice and butter or eat by itself when warm...


Growing Update...

Beans



The climbing French beans (Cobra) are really hitting their straps. About 2.3kg of their slender green pods have been harvested in the last week or so and eaten raw or blanched and frozen. Having climbing beans on an allotment makes good sense - they are great source of instant, super-healthy 'green snacks' while working away. I often find myself devouring a couple of beans straight off the vines when the hunger pangs hit mid-weeding or digging.
Cucumbers

WTA's cucumbers (Marketmore) are producing some handsome fruit. which should be able to be picked soon. You could have knocked me down with a feather a few years ago if you told me cucumbers could be grown outdoors in the UK - but here they are! Perhaps having some cucumber sandwiches and a glass of Pimms under the walnut tree next week might be a very English way to mark the summer success of WTA this year!

Eat and grow well!

1 comment:

  1. Hi Scott,
    Thanks for the comment on my blog.
    This combination sounds really scrummy, though I would personally be tempted to add some of your 'walnuts' to the courgette bread.

    ReplyDelete