Sweet Tooth

I've been in a baking mood recently. Cookies, pies, breads...you name it. My most recent baking venture was sparked by a few zucchinis that were sitting around in the refrigerator. I'd heard of zucchini bread, perhaps even tasted it a few times, and decided to ditch the chocolate chocolate, sugar sugar approach to baking and go with something a bit more veggie.

While most people probably wouldn't feel their sweet tooth acting up when they open up the vegetable drawer in their fridge veggies are actually the foundation for many baked classics. Take the carrot cake for example or even something as simple as cornbread with a bit of fresh chopped jalapeno added to the batter (I also like to throw in some chopped cilantro). To add moisture to baked goods many recipes, even outside of the pumpkin pie, turn to mashed pumpkin or sweet potato.

Some traditional chocolate cake recipes call for about a cup of tomato sauce to be added to the batter, the acidity fleshing out tones of the chocolate much as a dash of brewed coffee would do. That particular technique brings me back to third grade when Thunder Cake, inspired by a popular children's book at the time where a grandmother helps her granddaughter overcome her fear of thunder by baking the confection, was all the rage. The chocolate cake recipe called for a 1/3 cup of pureed tomatoes. See the link for a recipe if you want to try it out.

(As a side note, though a baked good may involve vegetables in one way or another it doesn't necessarily make said baked good healthier. Sure you have a different mixture of vitamins in that bread but there's often a cup or more of sugar mixed in there meaning it's still wise to show some reserve when it comes time for taste testing.)

Perhaps as a call out to those days when the wonder of tomato sauce and chocolate was still raw I grated the left over zucchini last night and baked Blueberry Zucchini Bread (courtesy of dabblingdiva on Allrecipes.com). The recipe called for mini-loafs but I turned them into muffins for a bit more portability. And the taste, well considering that there was 2 1/4 cups of sugar called for, it covered my sweet tooth as well as an very mild earthy taste put forth by the zucchini. The ground cinnamon added another layer of richness and made the house smell like a home.

So, the next time you're thinking about baking consider those leftover veggies. It's a great way to use veggies that are on the verge of going bad and believe me, once baked, those veggie goods will fly off the counter/shelf/table. CinnamonHearts.com has a great Baking with Vegetables page for those looking to test the limits of baking with veggies. I'm looking forward to trying out the Habanero Surprise cake recipes and the sweet potato biscuits. Happy baking!