Zucchini Soup

It's been cold and rainy here for the past few days so it was the perfect time to make this soup. I made this soup for lunch yesterday and still have leftovers for today. Since it has been so cold and rainy I have been hauled up inside reading and watching reruns of Gilmore Girls. I just finished The Pioneer Woman's: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels and I just started The Help. I love a good spring/summertime read, especially when it is rainy out.
This recipe is from my mom. It's great for lunch or a light dinner and it's a good way to use up the abundance of zucchini everyone seems to have come late summer.

Zucchini Soup
3 cups Shredded Zucchini 
2 tablespoons Chopped Onion
2 tablespoons Water
2 cups Milk (I used 1%)
1/4 cup Butter
2 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
2 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
Salt and Pepper to taste
Freshly Grated Nutmeg (optional, but completely worth it)

Combine zucchini, onion and water in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat then whisk in the flour. Once mixture is bubbly, pour in the milk and whisk until mixture is slightly thickened. Pour milk mixture into zucchini mixture and stir until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper. Pour soup into bowls and top with freshly grated nutmeg. Serve with a hunk of buttered bread.

Serves 2

Zucchini Bread

Last summer D and I decided to grow a vegetable garden. We cleared a little spot directly behind our house and planted lots and lots of plants. So many plants in fact, that all that survived were the hearty zucchini and the tomatoes. We ended up with tons of zucchini which I was thrilled about, and tons of tomatoes which I was not as thrilled about and D won't touch (why we planted so many tomato plants, I have no idea). We gave our plethora of tomatoes to D's mom and I used the zucchini in breads, muffins, stir fry and any other way I could. I really love to bake and cook with zucchini because it is so versatile. One of my favorite recipes to make with zucchini is zucchini bread. I like to have this bread in the morning with my coffee or in the afternoon with some tea. It's really good any time of day and any time of year for that matter.
Lately I have been thinking a lot about summer. I think I have summer fever. Maybe this zucchini bread will help.

You will need... 
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature 

1/2 cup white sugar 

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

2 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

To make...
Grease loaf pan (I used a 1 1/2 lbs loaf pan for this recipe) and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium sized bowl whisk together flours, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, cinnamon and nutmeg, set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat together the butter and sugars till fluffy. Add the eggs and beat to combine. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix just to combine. Stir in the zucchini, sour cream and vanilla. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.