Every year I engage in some insanity with friends who were in my Master Gardener's class. It actually is a challenge. At this time of year, our local farm stands sell huge zucchini for a dollar. These monsters are 18 to 24 inches long and if you dropped on your foot, serious damage could be done to your toes. At any rate, the challenge is to see who can make the best use of the dollar zucchini. The first year we did this was easy. We all had clean slates and didn't have to concern ourselves with repetitions or copy cat entries. However, we've done this for five years now and it is getting harder and harder to come up with new things to make. In past years I've worked on savory entries that could be served as meals. This year I want to confuse everyone and work my way through the sweet end of the spectrum. I made this bread just before we left for New Hampshire and it is one of the loaves that traveled with me from one coast to the other. It was given luggage space because the combination of zucchini and pineapple was a delightful surprise and I wanted to share it with my daughters. If you have not yet tried the combination, I hope you will give this moist and flavorful bread a try. I promise you won't regret it. Here's the recipe I used.

Zucchini Bread with Pineapple and Walnuts

Ingredients:

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup grated zucchini

1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple (with juice)

2 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Glaze
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1) Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour bottom only of a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

2) Cream brown sugar and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Reserve 1 tablespoon pineapple juice. Stir in pineapple, zucchini, and eggs. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and allspice. Blend well. Fold in nuts. Spread evenly in prepared pan.

3) Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, and then remove from pan and finish cooling on a wire rack.

4) To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, reserved 1 tablespoon pineapple juice, corn syrup and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Mix until smooth, and spoon over warm loaf. Cool completely on wire rack. Wrap and store in refrigerator. Yield: 8 to 12 servings.

One Year Ago Today: Savory Spinach and Rice Cakes

Two Years Ago Today: Raspberry Kuchen

Three Years Ago Today: Lemon-Herb Slow Cooker Chicken