Rosemary and Lemon Zucchini Bread

     I read a lot of food blogs these days.  I know I've said it before, but I love blogs!  It is so neat to get a glimpse into the lives of other people, through their posts and pictures.  I get a lot of my inspiration for my own cooking adventures from what I read.
     I recently found an app for my iPhone that makes managing all of my blogs so easy.  It's called Pulse.  You can use it to manage anything you read online, in one place. Using Pulse, I found this recipe for Rosemary Lemon Zucchini Bread from Simply Recipes.  I knew I had to try it because it made me think of my Grandma.  It is garden season and Gram has been working hard to keep her plants safe from woodchucks and sharing her bounty with the people she loves.  Just this week I was gifted the first yellow squash from her garden.  Nothing makes Gram happier than sharing her vegetables or a nickel tour of her land. 
     My Gram always grows zucchini in her garden and a favorite in my family is zucchini bread.  I'm not sure what's in it or how she makes it, but it is sweet and delicious.  Now the zucchini bread that I made today, I know will taste nothing like my grams.  Her zucchini bread never includes rosemary or lemon, but I wanted to give it a try.  I reluctantly shared some of the bread I made with my Grandma-reluctantly because once she tries it, there will surely be lectures for weeks to come about all of the things I did wrong, even though I wasn't trying to replicate her recipe!  No one can ever do it as good as Gram.  After I dropped the bread off, she did say that once her zucchinis are ready, we can make her recipe together.  I'll be taking notes!

Rosemary Lemon Zucchini Bread

Ingredients
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
2 eggs
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon zest
3 cups zucchini, grated (about 1 pound)

Method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, rosemary, and salt.  Set aside.
2. Beat the eggs and then beat in the sugar.  Next beat in the butter and olive oil.  Stir in the lemon zest and zucchini.
3. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, 1/3 of a cup at a time until everything is mixes well.
4. Divide the batter between two greased loaf pans (4x9).
5. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.

The Taste Test
  This next statement may not be a selling point, but anyone who knows the source will dismiss this.  My brother asked if I used fish in the recipe.  This idea probably came because he associates the taste of rosemary with fish.  Silly boy.  My sister said, "this isn't Grandma's."  The rosemary added a savory quality to this sweet bread, which some people will enjoy.  I thought it was a nice change and would have been even tastier with a handful of walnuts thrown in the mix.  However, my family is partial to Grandma's recipe so next time that's what I will aim for.