Carrot Zucchini Bread with Raisins and Walnuts

Let me preface this by saying that this is going to sound a little crazy. Bear with me. For the past 25 years, I have owned various food processors that, for one reason or other, have not contained a shredding disc. I never really considered that to be of great importance until my most recently purchased food processor (read: about 10 years ago) conked out and I had to get a new one. I decided to get one with a little larger bowl due to reasons I will not disclose here. It came with both a slicing and shredding disc, so I decided to give that shredding disk a workout. I couldn’t believe all that I had been missing over the years. Somehow I felt as though life had shortchanged me. Suffice it to say that within the course of about five minutes I had shredded 4 pounds of carrots. Don’t ask me why. I just couldn’t believe the speed at which I was getting this done. It never occurred to me that I was actually going to have to use those carrots. As a consequence, I have been making carrot EVERYTHING. First stop is this delicious, carroty, appropriately seasonal zucchini bread. It is loaded with so many delicious bits and bobs, that it just has to be good for you. As far as the taste, fabulous!

Carrot Zucchini Bread with Raisins and Walnuts

1½ c. flour
½ t. salt
½ t. baking soda
½ t. baking powder
½ T. ground cinnamon

¼ t. allspice
1/8 t. cloves
2 large eggs
½ c. vegetable oil
¾ c. granulated sugar
½ c. brown sugar, packed
½ T. vanilla extract

1 c. grated zucchini

1 c. grated carrots

½ c. golden raisins

½ c. chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325° F. Spray a 9” x 5” loaf pan with Baker’s Joy.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves; set aside.

In a large bowl beat together eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugars until creamy. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, beating well. Fold in zucchini, carrots, raisins, and nuts. 

Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until loaf tests done. Cool in pan for 20 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.

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Bunny Tea Set - This Week's Find!

I have little by way of Easter tableware and decorations with the exception of some wonderful bunny dinner plates that I have used here. I was debating upon whether or not to bother with an Easter table considering I won’t be doing much by way of celebrating this year, when I stumbled upon this lovely Fitz & Floyd bunny tea set (from 1989) while clearing out the hutch in the breakfast room at my parents' house. 

My mother was like me in that she found it very difficult to resist the offerings of Fitz & Floyd. “Oh, that Fitz! Oh, that Floyd! They know what we like!” we used to say as we carried our finds up to the cash register.

She always hosted Easter brunch, but I don’t recall her ever serving tea, or even using the sugar and creamer when she served coffee.

Now that it's in my home, I guarantee it will be put to good use, more than likely with the pink cups that I found a week or so ago.

I love the detail in this set. The spout on the teapot is actually a bunny. Isn’t it adorable? After giving everything a good washing, my only decision now is to decide what type of tea to brew.

Come back next week to see what other treasures I have uncovered.

To see my previous find, click here.

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Tablescape Thursday

Applesauce Pecan Loaf

I don't know why I had a half a jar of applesauce in the far reaches of my fridge, but it was there, daily challenging me to remember what I'd done with the other half. This morning I decided to end the taunting and mix it into a cinnamon nut loaf. A cloudy, August day with morning temps in the sixties, it seemed far more like fall, so baking seemed appropriate. As it turned out, it was quite good. I topped it with streusel because, hey, who doesn't like streusel?  And dusted it with powdered sugar, because that always makes it look as though it has come from a bakery. It was the perfect accompaniment to my morning coffee as I sat watching the darling little goldfinches destroy my zinnias. Note to self: Buy birdseed.

Applesauce Pecan Loaf

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup applesauce

1/3 cup canola oil

2 extra-large eggs

2 Tablespoons milk

½ teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon cardamom

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease a loaf pan; set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl combine sugar, applesauce, oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla.  Set aside.  In a large mixing bowl whisk together dry ingredients until blended.  Make a well in the center, and pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients.  Stir to combine.  Fold in pecans.  Pour into the greased loaf pan and top with streusel mixture (recipe below).  Bake for approximately 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.  Dust with powdered sugar.

Streusel Topping

½ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup brown sugar, packed

½ stick unsalted butter

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until crumbly.

This is not an overly sweet loaf.  I find that it is excellent when served warm, topped with butter and a light dusting of cinnamon and sugar.

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Wow Us Wednesdays

New York-Style Crumb Cake

I love a good pastry -- just ask my thighs.  There is nothing better in the morning with a nice cup of freshly brewed coffee than a GOOD pastry.  But with the nearest bakery of quality (and when I say quality I'm not talking Bread Co/Panera or Starbucks, both of whom I do patronize and enjoy, and both have good muffins and such, I'm talking the bakers-in-the-back making crumb cakes, tarts, and danish kind of bakery, the scent of which wafts through the shop greeting you at the door when you walk in, kind of bakery...A BAKERY!) more that 15 miles away, if I want something handy at breakfast time I'm going to have to make it myself.


This morning I found a recipe that certainly fills the bill.  It's a product of the BAKED bakery shop in Brooklyn, NY and now you can make it in your own home thanks to the proprietors' latest book Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented, a sequel to their first book, simply entitled Baked.


It is dense, moist, and delicious with a hefty amount of crumbs (something I deem absolutely necessary in a good crumb cake), and the beauty of this particular recipe is that the cake is honestly better the next day.  It freezes well too, if you have any left (I tend to dole out slices to anyone who have them and offer up an opinion), and is enhanced, I think, by warming in the microwave for about 15 seconds before consuming.  Oh, mamma, you're going to love this one!

New York-Style Crumb Cake


For the Crumb Topping:

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and warm

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For the Cake:

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1-1/4 cups sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and position the rack in the center. Butter the sides and bottom of a glass 9 x 13-inch pan.

Make the Crumb Topping:

In a medium bowl, stir together both sugars, the salt, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter and whisk until combined. Fold in the flour until it is absorbed and set the mixture aside.

Make the Cake:

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into medium bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until it is completely smooth and ribbon-like. Scrape down the bowl and add the sugar. Beat the mixture until it starts to look fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for 30 seconds. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat just until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, scraping down the bowl before each addition, beating only until it is just incorporated.

Assemble the cake:

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Use your hands to scoop up a handful of the topping and make a fist. The topping should hold together. Break off in chunks and drop them over the cake. Repeat to use all the topping. Remember, the topping layer will look outrageously thick.

Bake the cake for 45 to 55 minutes or until tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Rotate the pan two times during the baking process. Cool the entire pan on a wire rack for about 30 minutes before serving.

Buy the book:

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Chocolate-Filled Butter Cookies

I cannot resist a good cookie. In fact, my favorite dessert is cookies. Unfashionable, I know, but once I got past the sixth grade, cake (namely bakery shop birthday cake with lots of icing roses) stopped being my favorite, and inasmuch as I come from a family of pie lovers, pie pretty much leaves me cold. But cookies! Ahhh, the perfect dessert. Small, tasty, portable! You can grab one on the go, balance one on a saucer to enjoy with a cup of afternoon tea, or slip one into your pocket when no one is looking. Or, as in the case of my sons when they were very young, grabbed warm off the cooling racks, sneaked out of the kitchen and into the family room, leaping the couch in a single bound.

My favorite cookie is the butter cookie because it can be enhanced in so many different ways. In this case I sandwiched them with a layer of chocolate, but jam would work equally well. Here I piped them with a star tip, but they could be run through a press with any variety of plates in order to make different designs and then topped with chocolate or colored sprinkles, various sugars, or whatever suits you.  If you choose the cookie press, an hour of chilling will be necessary.  The dough can also be tinted with food coloring, but I prefer the simple beauty of these. I hope you'll consider adding these to your holiday cookie tray.

Chocolate-Filled Butter Cookies

1 1/2 cups butter, softened 

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 eggs

2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 drops yellow food coloring

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, and the food coloring of your choice, if desired (I used yellow here to brighten the dough). Add flour and baking power and mix well.

Place dough in a pastry bag fitted with a number 4-S tip (the S means 'star'), and pipe out in 2 inch bars (I piped an "S")onto greased baking pan. (Can also be piped into rosettes or other shapes) Bake for about 5 to 7 minutes. Put baked cookies together with jam, frosting, or melted chocolate. Makes 4 dozen depending upon size.