Rustic Zucchini Quinoa Bread

I love zucchini bread and I have a basic recipe that I've used my whole life. But for some reason I wanted to change things up a bit and experiment this year.

I don't know why quinoa came to mind . . . it just did . . .

It turned out quite yummy  . . .

Quinoa is a complex carbohydrate, gluten-free and high in protein. It's not a grain--it's a fruit of a broadleaf plant and is in the same family as spinach and beets.

So I thought I'd substitute quinoa for half the white flour and see what would happen. First I had to process it in my food processor to turn it into quinoa flour (it ended up being a bit coarse).

Apparently you can buy quinoa flour and if you prefer a finer loaf--it might be a good idea to use that. We kind of liked the rustic nature and I think I would stick to processing my own. We eat quinoa often and I buy it in a big bag at Costco.


Zucchini Quinoa Bread
PREP 30 MIN | TOTAL 1 HR 45 MIN

1 cup salad oil

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups white flour

1 1/2 cups quinoa flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 Tbsp cinnamon

2 cups zucchini--grated--I remove the centres of the zucchini before I grate them and I drain a little liquid off if it seems too watery

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup raisins

MIX together oil and sugars and beat for one minute. Add eggs and beat until combined. Add vanilla.

SIFT together flours, salt, soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Add to egg mixture and blend until smooth. 

ADD zucchini and blend until it is evenly distributed and batter is smooth. Add walnuts and raisins.

LINE 2 loaf pans with parchment paper and fill with batter.

BAKE 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Test with toothpick. Remove loaf to rack and cool.

Makes 2 loaves.

and guess what? it passed the 'hubby' test . . .

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