Sweet Potato and Zucchini Bread

Yes, you guessed it- My oven finally works!!! After much aggravation and frustration trying get it up and running, it was finally fixed last week. I had huge baking extravaganza planned for the weekend but with temperatures over 115'F, I wasn't really into using my oven too much. I did manage to bake this lovely bread, with the leftover zucchini I had in a fridge and was somewhat surprised at how well it turned out. The recipe called for zucchini and sweet potato, which I would never thought of combining but what a delicious mix! This recipe was adapted from Bon Appetit magazine, November of 1992 issue. I did modify recipe a little... I used 1/2 cup brown sugar and 3/4 cup of granulated sugar instead of 2 cups of granulated sugar, recipe called for. I felt that it was plenty sweet but you can adjust it for your own taste. I also used 1/2 cup of vegetable oil and 1/4 cup of yogurt in lieu of 3/4 cup of oil asked for in the original recipe. I served it with homemade Apple Butter (recipe follows)

SWEET POTATO & ZUCCHINI BREAD



* 2 cups all purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups sugar( I used 1/2 cup brown & 3/4 cup of granulated sugar instead)
* 3/4 cup vegetable oil ( I used 1/2 cup vegetable oil and 1/4 of plain yogurt)
* 3 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
* 1 1/2 cups grated peeled sweet potato
* 1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Sift first 5 ingredients into medium bowl. Beat sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla to blend in large bowl. Mix in zucchini and sweet potato. Add dry ingredients and walnuts and stir well.

Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool bread in pan on rack 15 minutes. Cut around bread to loosen. Turn out onto rack and cool completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Wrap in foil and let stand at room temperature.)

SPICED APPLE BUTTER



4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
1 cup apple cider
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp each ground cloves and allspice

Combine apples and cider in a very large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and boil gently for 20 minutes or until mixture is reduced by half.
Stir in sugar, spices and lemon juice. Return to a boil, reduce heat, and boil gently for about 25 minutes or until mixture is very thick. There should still be some tender apple chunks remaining. Remove from heat. You can puree if you'd like a smooth butter