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The Good Hearted Woman

Home Cooking & Cozy Living

  • SOURDOUGH RECIPES & RESOURCES

Zucchini-Banana Bread: The Best of Both Worlds!

September 16 By Renée 5 Comments

Is it Zucchiana Bread? Banini Bread? Whatever you want to call it, this amazingly moist Zucchini-Banana Bread is the best of both worlds!

Zucchini-Banana Quick Bread Recipe | The Good Hearted Woman

It seems like every mother’s child and shirt-tail cousin remembers their favorite “best ever” quick bread, and the person who made it for them too. For me, it will always and forever be my mother’s banana bread – fresh out of the oven or cold from the fridge – it didn’t matter.

Mom’s banana bread was always, every time, Perfect. The only way to make it any better was to slather a thin layer of fresh butter over the top of a thick slice and eat it slowly, savoring every bite like it was my last.

Try as I might, I’ve never been able to replicate mom’s banana bread. Something’s always missing. Maybe it’s the smell of our turquoise kitchen, or the slick yellow and chrome kitchen table I sat at to eat. Maybe it’s just my mom in her brown flour-covered apron.

Whatever it is, her recipe is likely long lost, along with her fading memory, so unless I stumble on it tucked between the pages of one of her many hoarded cookbooks, it may well be gone forever. But I keep trying.

POST UPDATE 5/2/2018: I did it! You can find Mom’s Banana Bread recipe here.

Zucchini-Banana Quick Bread Recipe | The Good Hearted Woman

However, my latest attempt took a turn away from straight banana bread. For this, I merged my banana and zucchini bread recipes into what turned out to be an amazingly tasty loaf.

After making a number of batches, I attribute this bread’s soft texture and rich flavor to the fact that, for the first time in years, instead of subbing in yogurt as I usually do, I went with full-fat ingredients.

If you are trying to cut fat, you can always sub it back in, but keep in mind that the relatively small amount of fat used is balanced by the fact that most of the moisture (and a lot of the sugar) in this bread comes from fruit and vegetable sources.

Zucchini-Banana Quick Bread Recipe | The Good Hearted Woman | The Good Hearted Woman

TIP: I like to sprinkle some raw sugar on the loaves just before I pop them in the oven. It gives the tops a thin glazed texture, and I think it makes the bite feel more interesting on the tongue. (For reference, the small loaf above on the right was sprinkled, and the loaf on the left was not.) Enjoy!

Zucchini-Banana Bread Recipe - Is it Zucchiana Bread? Banini Bread? Whatever you want to call it, this amazingly moist Zucchini - Banana Bread is the best of both worlds! | The Good Hearted Woman
5 from 1 vote

Zucchini Banana Bread

This amazingly moist Zucchini-Banana Bread is the best of both worlds!
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time50 mins
Total Time1 hr 5 mins
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Comfort Food
Keyword: quick bread
Servings: 32 slices
Calories: 138kcal
Author: Renée | The Good Hearted Woman

Equipment

  • 2 Standard Loaf Pans

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 cups grated zucchini
  • 3 ripe medium bananas mashed (or two large)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/4 cup raw sugar optional
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325°F.
  • Grease and flour two 8x4 bread loaf pans (or just spray them with nonstick cooking spray).*
  • In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixture, beat eggs until they are light yellow and frothy.
    Add sour cream, oil, white and brown sugars, grated zucchini, bananas, and vanilla.
  • Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly to combine.
    Do not over mix.
  • Fold in walnuts.
  • Divide batter evenly between loaf pans.
  • Sprinkle loaves with raw sugar. (optional)
  • Bake in preheated oven for about 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Allow to cool in the loaf pans for 15 minutes on a wire rack before removing.
    Allow to cool completely.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 138kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 138mg | Potassium: 99mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 67IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!
This Zucchini-Banana Bread recipe will make: 

  • 2 standard loaves [as in recipe directions]
  • 1 standard loaf + 2 small loaves
  • 5 small loaves 
  • 24 standard muffins
  • 1 standard loaf + 12 standard muffins
  • 12 jumbo muffins

… or any combination that makes you happy. You get the idea. 

Just be sure to adjust cooking times to compensate for different-sized pans.

Zucchini-Banana Quick Bread Recipe | The Good Hearted Woman

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THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter
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Zucchini-Banana Bread Recipe - Is it Zucchiana Bread? Banini Bread? Whatever you want to call it, this amazingly moist Zucchini - Banana Bread is the best of both worlds! | The Good Hearted Woman   Zucchini-Banana Bread Recipe - Is it Zucchiana Bread? Banini Bread? Whatever you want to call it, this amazingly moist Zucchini - Banana Bread is the best of both worlds! | The Good Hearted WomanWavy Line

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

Filed Under: Bread, Recipes, Sweets, Vegetarian Tagged With: baking, bananas, quick bread, zucchini

Sweet Potatoes & Marscarpone with Fresh Rosemary Brown Butter

September 8 By Renée 8 Comments

This started out as a post about stuffed squash blossoms, but this Sweet Potatoes & Marscarpone with Fresh Rosemary Brown Butter is so amazing that it earned a post of its very own. 

Our zucchini plant is going gangbusters, as zucks tend to do this time of year: one last push before the cold moves in to make way for winter squashes. Last week, I decided I wanted to make some stuffed squash blossoms, so I set to work to think up a little something different to filled them with.

Grilled Squash Blossoms with Sweet Potato, Marscarpone, and browned butter stuffing | The Good Hearted Woman

Before I got to cooking though, I wanted to get a few pictures of those beautiful blossoms. So I set up on the back deck (where I shoot all my images, as you have probably figured out by now).

Enter Tarzan.

Grilled Squash Blossoms with Sweet Potato, Marscarpone, and browned butter stuffing | The Good Hearted Woman

Tarzan started out life as a barn kitty, and spent the first few months of his life swinging from horse tails and blanket racks down in our barn, which is how he got his name. When he got big enough to escape the barn, the first thing he did was run up to the house and find a comfy spot in the sun to lounge.

A lot of things have changed in the last decade, but Tarzan isn’t one of them.

He saw the sun warming the bench where my squash blossoms were laying, and hopped right up.

SB GHW 2

There was no way I could get him to move. I kept picking him up and putting him down on the deck, and he kept hopping right back up and getting comfy before I had a chance to turn on the camera. I finally just gave up and started taking cat pictures.

SB GHW 3

“I’ve got this, Mom. No one’s gonna mess with your flowers on my watch.”

Anyway, back to those squash blossoms – or rather the filling for the squash blossoms. Sometimes, when you throw things together in the kitchen, it works out pretty well. Sometimes it doesn’t. This time, it didn’t turn out well…

This time, it turned out Awesome!

Grilled Squash Blossoms with Sweet Potato, Marscarpone, and browned butter stuffing | The Good Hearted Woman

So awesome, in fact, that I decided to give it a post of its very own.

I cannot tell you how much I love these sweet potatoes. The nutty, fragrant rosemary brown butter is a perfect complement to the sweet potatoes, and the marscarpone gives it a velvety smooth, rich texture. As we licked the last bits out of the bowl with our fingers at the end of our meal, Mr. B and I already had a long list of things I could create using it as a base: sweet potato pie (of course), and cookies, ice cream, fudge – who knows what else. I know food bloggers are always raving about how delicious their own creations are, but honestly, this stuff is good. Really good.

Grilled Squash Blossoms with Sweet Potato, Marscarpone, and browned butter stuffing | The Good Hearted Woman

Sweet Potatoes with Mascarpone & Rosemary Brown Butter

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. orange-fleshed sweet potatoes peeled and cut into ½ cubes
  • 1/4 cup mascarpone
  • 1/2 t. Kosher Salt or more, to taste
  • 4 oz. Salted Butter
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary each about 4" long

Instructions

  • Place prepared sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan and add enough water to cover them, plus an extra inch.
  • Bring the water to a boil and cook the cubed sweet potatoes for about 15 minutes, or until they are very tender.
  • Drain the sweet potatoes, and place them back in the pot.
  • Add mascarpone, salt, and 2 tablespoons of the prepared Rosemary Brown Butter.
  • Using an immersion blender, puree ingredients until everything is smooth and creamy, with no lumps remaining. (You can do this step in a food processor if you don’t have an immersion blender.)

To prepare Rosemary Brown Butter:

  • In a small skillet over medium-high heat, heat butter and rosemary until the butter melts and begins to foam. Continue cooking, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter turns a golden brown and gives off a nutty aroma. Be careful not to burn the butter.
  • Remove from the heat immediately and allow to cool slightly.
  • Remove rosemary sprigs from butter.

Notes

Depending on the size of the blossoms you use, you may end up with extra filling. You will survive.
To serve this as a simple, delicious side dish, simply double the recipe.
Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

Click through for some of the best filled-and-grilled squash blossoms ever!

Grilled Squash Blossoms with Sweet Potato, Marscarpone, and browned butter stuffing | The Good Hearted Woman

Filed Under: 30-Minute Meals, Gluten-free, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetarian Tagged With: grilling, seasonal, Seasonal Eating, squash, sweet potatoes, zucchini

Korean-style Pan-Fried Fish {Saengsun Jun} with Fresh Zucchini & Avocado Slaw

August 11 By Renée 7 Comments

Korean-style pan-fried fish – Saengsun Jun (or “flour and egg battered fish”) – is an easy and versatile preparation, and results in a delicate egg-wrapped filet that goes with almost any side dish.

Egg-Fried Fish with Fresh Tomato & Zucchini Slaw {Recipe}

Here, I’ve accompanied it with one of my favorite summer treats: a thick slice of garden-fresh tomato and a simple zucchini slaw.

Egg-Fried Fish with Fresh Tomato & Zucchini Slaw {Recipe} | The Good Hearted Woman

Egg-Fried Fish with Fresh Zucchini & Avocado Slaw

Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Total Time20 mins
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course: Main Dish
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

  • 1 pound firm mild fish fillets {Mahi Mahi, Halibut, and Tilapia are all good choices}
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning or more
  • Oil for frying See Note

Zucchini Slaw

  • 1 1/12 cups coarsely grated zucchini
  • 1/2 medium avocado chopped
  • 1/3 cup chopped sweet onion
  • 1/3 cup Cilantro-lime Dressing

Extras:

  • 1 large tomato sliced ½" thick
  • Avocado slices

Instructions

Pan-fried Fish:

  • Rinse the fish filets and pat dry. Set aside.
  • Mix flour and Old Bay seasoning (or a little salt, pepper and paprika work) in a pie plate or resealable bag. Set aside.
  • Whisk eggs with a fork until well beaten and put in a pie plate or flat-bottomed bowl. Set aside.
  • Heat large skillet over medium heat. Add enough cooking oil to generously coat the bottom of the pan. Test oil by adding a droplet of water to the skillet. If it sizzles, it is hot enough. Do not let it get too hot!
  • Toss fish in flour mixture to coat lightly. Tap off any access flour.
  • Dip coated fish in the beaten eggs, and then immediately put them into the hot skillet. Do not crowd. Fry on each side 1-3 minutes, depending upon the thickness of your fish.
  • Top with a thick slice of fresh tomato and a generous serving of Zucchini Slaw.

Zuchinni Slaw:

  • After you grate the zucchini, squeeze it out to remove some of the liquid.
  • Toss together grated zucchini, avocado, onion and Cilantro-Lime Dressing. Serve immediately.
Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

It’s important to maintain the correct temperature for frying fish – 350° – 375° F. If the temperature of oil in the pan drops down below 350°, the fish will begin to absorb the cooking oil, resulting in greasy, soggy fish. If it rises above 375°, the fish will cook too quickly on the outside, and not get done in the middle. When fried at the correct temperature, the fish will come out golden brown, having absorbed very little oil.

Egg-Fried Fish with Fresh Tomato & Zucchini Slaw {Recipe} | The Good Hearted Woman

Filed Under: 30-Minute Meals, Dairy-free, Main Dishes, Pescatarian, Recipes Tagged With: avocado, eggs, fish, zucchini

Garlic Roasted Baby Squashes

June 16 By Renée 10 Comments

These Garlic Roasted Baby Squashes are so easy to prepare, and deliciously tender and sweet. Grab some up while they’re in season! 

Garlic Roasted Baby Squashes | The Good Hearted Woman

This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

Costco has bags of darling little baby squashes right now, and I just couldn’t resist grabbing up a bag!

Baby Squashes in a bowl

These roasted baby squashes are so easy to prepare, and the end result is deliciously tender and sweet, making them a great side for just about anything. (Check our Side Dish Recipes page for more great ideas!) 

This roasting method will work just as well with larger summer squashes – you just need to cut them up into bite-sized pieces.

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Garlic Roasted Baby Squashes

This simple, easy preparation preserves and enhances the delic
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time25 mins
Total Time30 mins
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: summer, zucchini
Servings: 6
Calories: 88kcal
Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Equipment

  • Heavy Baking Sheet

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs baby summer squashes or the equivalent
  • 3-4 Tbs olive oil
  • 2 large cloves garlic sliced very thin
  • small handful fresh oregano stems removed (or 2 tsp dried)
  • Salt and pepper
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°. Cover a heavy metal baking pan with parchment paper.
  • Cut the stems off of the squashes and put them into a medium bowl. Sprinkle in olive oil, garlic slices, salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
    Baby Squashes in a bowl
  • Spread in a single layer on prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
    Toss gently, and then bake an additional 10 minutes, or until squashes are fork-tender.
    blank

Nutrition

Calories: 88kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 12mg | Potassium: 395mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 302IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

Garlic Roasted Baby Squashes on baking tray

Grammar Lesson of the Day: “Squash” or “Squashes”?

Like “fish” or “fishes,” using the word “squash” versus “squashes” is dependent upon whether you are speaking about one variety/species or more than one.  If you are speaking or writing about one or more than one of the same species (e.g., a bowl full of zucchini) you use the word “squash.” However, if you are speaking or writing about more than one species (different types of squash) then you use the word “squashes.”

You’re welcome.

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THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter
of The Good Hearted Woman. 🌻 Be sure to PIN this post!

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

Filed Under: 30-Minute Meals, Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: garlic, summer squash, vegetables, zucchini

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