Zuc Suit Riot

What's your take on acting your age? Is age really just a number? Is it all in your head? Once you receive your 20-30-40 card on your birthday, do you have to change? Or are we always allowed to tell pseudo-innuendo jokes and give a noogie to an old friend?

I've met 20 year olds that I have their heads on straighter and sensible than most married 40 year old couples. But then again, I've also seen middle aged women with permed hair, mid-drift shirts, belly button rings, and eye makeup must of raised Avon's stock 100 points.

So, I think to myself... Balance. Act middle aged when it's time to budget and pay bills. Laugh, play, and learn the rest of the time. I think it's simple, and I plan on sticking to this for a real long time. I don't plan on ever being boring, but I plan on acting my age or older when it counts.

What's this have to do with food? Well, you see... Zucchini Bread is something of a childhood favorite of mine. My mother made it all the time, and I ate it light years before I ever ate zucchini raw.

So whenever that delicious veggie-cinnamon smell creeps out of the hot box, it time travels me back. I think about Transformers (which apparently is back now), Edward Scissorhands (kinda scary for a kid), and The Red Hot Chili Peppers (Great Album). I'm older now, but it's amazing what a certain scent can do for your hardwiring. I just bake these up, share with some friends, and think, dude we've come a long way.

I found this recipe over at Simply Recipes. I didn't change it much, I just tweaked the spices a bit, and brought the butter down a little because that's all I had left. The mix was still plenty wet because of the zucchini. I came out with 12 muffins, and a little extra. Definitely enjoy this while summer squash is cheap and in season.


Zucchini Muffins
Adapted from Simply Recipes

-3 cups grated fresh zucchini, grated up
- 2 or 3 medium sized ones

-1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

-1 1/3 cup sugar
-2 eggs, beaten

-2 teaspoons vanilla

-2 teaspoons baking soda

-1/2 tsp salt

-3 cups all-purpose flour

-1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

-1 teaspoon nutmeg


Preheat your oven to 350*. Butter or grease a 12 cup muffin tin. Break out your wooden spoon and some guns. Muffins are muscle work.


In a large bowl, add the sugar, vanilla, and eggs together. Mix until they are pale yellow and sandy creamy. Stir in the zucchini and melted butter gently, until a nice green buttery batter is made. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt on top and stir.


To the top of the batter, pour in the flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Fold the dry ingredients into the batter until it smells wonderful and no flour bits remain. Try not to overmix the batter.


Fill up each muffin cup up until the brim. You will probably have used up 90% of the batter (it's alot of flour and batter).
Bake for 25-30 mins, or until they turn a little golden brown and a tooth pick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, and remove and let cool for another 30.

These muffins were a little dense, but still tender and the taste was pretty awesome. It had just the right amount of spice, and I love the green speckles throughout. Definitely a keeper, and a nice travel treat... in case you have a road trip to the beach like I do :)

And according to the Facebook poll I had... Zucchini Bread beats Banana Bread by a large margin. Feel free to discuss. Catch ya later Buddies :)

Comments

LizNoVeggieGirl said…
Considering I'm an old soul, I actually act older than my years.


Mmm, classic treat!! Love zucchini-based baked goods.
Snooky doodle said…
these muffins look delicious! I ve never tried zucchini bread but this year I really want to try it. So this recipe is a keeper. those green flecks look so nice :)
Ivy said…
Those muffins look ever so wonderful! Very tempting…
Clumbsy Cookie said…
Well you know I prefer banana, but will not say no to zucchini either! And you're so right about how certain things take you right back to childhood and barbies (ok maybe you won't be taken back to barbies...) About the age thing, I'm planning to be a child for ever, I have a high peter pan complex going on!
Steph said…
You will never be boring!!!

I actually had a horrible experience w/ zucchini muffins the last time I made them. I think it was the weird mix of spices... I actually wasn't sure what it was exactly I was tasting. I love the perfectly domed top!
Boy, you really had me going there. You were talking Zuc Suit and I was thinking Zoot Suit. I've got a great write up on Zoot Suits that I'll post one of these days. Just want to get the right picture for it. But...your zucchini muffins are fantastic. I really will try them. Love zuc's. Have a lovely weekend my friend. I'll be in Dallas for a week with my daughter, will talk to you when I get back. Big hugs. :)
Lore said…
Woohoo bring on the zucchini craze! I would love these muffins now as much as I would've loved them as a 10 year old ;)
Pam said…
Oh how I love a zucchini muffin - they look great.
Chou said…
Zucchini bread is such a great throw back to childhood! Thanks for the mental reminder to dust off some of my mom's recipes.
Gloria Baker said…
Well Adam Im older than you but is not matter to me you are a lovely friend to me and I have a lot of friends older than me, is OK, how I said Is not matter to me".
I love yoour zucchini bread look fantastic, now tell me, how are you making so lovely pictures???? I love your pictures!! xoxoxo Gloria
So glad to see some peeling in those muffins! ;D After all, that's where all the vitamins are, right??? Lol!

I'm not so sure the butter folks should rely on my to stay in business. I rarely ever make a frosting recipe with the full amount of butter. In that lemon blueberry cake, I reduced it. And I always reduce it in SMBC recipes! Haha :)
Chibog in Chief said…
i would slap a guy who would make a mistake in telling my age LOL

hehehe anyways i think what matters is how we could be both young at heart and have wisdom when it's needed :-)

your zucchini muffins sounds delicious! cant wait to try them!
Megan said…
I'm turning 50 in a couple months and feel the same as when I wsa 25 except a few more aches and repair jobs on the body.
I've been thinking about zuc bread to take camping with me next week. Zuc is wway better then banana in my opinion!
Megan said…
I'm turning 50 in a couple months and feel the same as when I wsa 25 except a few more aches and repair jobs on the body.
I've been thinking about zuc bread to take camping with me next week. Zuc is wway better then banana in my opinion!
Astra Libris said…
Mmmm, my grandmother used to bake zucchini bread all the time, so it was a favorite childhood treat of mine too!

And YEA Transformers and Red Hot Chili Peppers! :-)

Your muffins look amazing! Considering that I love love zucchini bread, it's quite odd that I have yet to sample a zucchini muffin... Thank you for prescribing the perfect zucchini muffin solution, Dr Adam! ;-)
Astra Libris said…
P.S. From one brunch fan to another, you're definitely welcome in our corner of the Georgia Southland anytime as well! :-)
Anna said…
I totally agree about sense memories - for me, it's anything from my gran's handwritten recipe books; if my mum's feeling tired or rundown, I turn to those to make her feel well-cared-for, heh.

Is it weird I've never even had courgette/zucchini bread? Now I feel like a failure XD. I can't comment on the Facebook poll cause I loathe bananas -loathe them!- so I'm both biased and uninformed. Looks like I need muffins to correct this horrible oversight...
Aggie said…
That's a great looking muffin!
amandalouden said…
Those look GREAT. I have a ton of squash, looking for the right recipe.
Unknown said…
i don't know that i could choose banana or zucchini bread--mom made both so it's a tough call. there's a zucchini recipe on steamy kitchen with cardamom and coffee I tried last summer that was absolutely incredible :)
miss v said…
genius! seriously! somehow i never thought about making zucchini bread into muffins.... so awesome.

it doesn't remind me of childhood :( - my folks didn't make it - but i agree that just because you age physically doesn't mean all the fun has vacate. i'm a strong believer that life is meant to be fun - what's the point of being serious all the time?
Selba said…
Uh oh... how come suddenly I feel like 50 years older than my real age? LOL

The muffins look so yummy... not familiar zucchini muffins though ;)
Maria said…
Age doesn't bug me, it's just a number:) The bread looks great. Our friends just gave us some zucchini so I need to get baking:)
Emily said…
Adam! I love zucchini bread! The muffins look PERFECT. I liked this post a lot.
Lacey said…
You know, I always hate when people think they have to "act their age". What defines an age? Not a number. I'm almost 20 but often I feel like a 5 year old. Yesterday when I was baking with my bf I felt like an 80 yr old ('course, that may have something to do with the fact that we were both imitating grouchy old people's voices and bent over half way carrying dishes around the kitchen) Well I could ramble forever about the whole 'age' thing but I won't.

Awesome post. I never liked zucchini sweets much, even though they look awesome. Carrot cake and banana breads are more my thing, but props to ya! :D
Kerstin said…
I agree, it's all about balance!

Love your muffins - they look perfect and addicting!