Rather than a long blog about getting ready for the Fall, I thought I would include a recipe that the kids love and one that is great for this time of year.

In fact I’m just about to head out the door so that I can make this recipe with my son’s grade 5 class after they harvest from their school garden.  

I found that this past summer was pretty cool compared with the last few years, and where in the past I was roasting up bright red tomatoes for sauce, this year I’m trying to figure out what to do with all of my green tomatoes. I know the forecast is supposed to be warm for the next few days, so I’ll hold off on the green tomato chow for now, and pick what I do have- zucchini.

This year all of my greens did well- beans, lettuce, peas, zucchini and squash. So I am now loading up the freezer with school snacks and one of the top hits are these zucchini muffins.  which are always a hit with my kids and their friends.

Wet Ingredients:
– 2 cups sugar
– 2 eggs
– 2 teaspoons vanilla
– 2 cups grated fresh zucchini
– 1 cup oil

Dry Ingredients:
– 2 cups all-purpose flour
– 1 cup whole wheat flour
– 1 teaspoon baking soda
– 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
– 2 teaspoons cinnamon
– 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
– 1/2 teaspoon ginger
– 1/4 teaspoon allspice
– 1 cup walnuts (optional – best not to use if they are for school snacks)
– 1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

You don’t need a mixer for this recipe.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the grated zucchini and then the oil. In a separate bowl, mix together the flours, baking soda, baking powder and spices. Stir these dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture. Stir in walnuts, raisins or cranberries if using.

Add muffin cups to your muffin pan. Use a spoon or ice cream scoop to distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups, filling the cups ¾ full.

Bake on the middle rack until muffins are golden brown, and the top of the muffins bounce back when you press on them, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Test with a long toothpick or a thin bamboo skewer to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.

Remove muffins from the tin let cool another 20 minutes. Note, if you are including dried fruit, you will likely have more batter than is needed for 14 muffins. I got about 16 muffins from this batch.
Yield: Makes 14-16 muffins.

Deirdre Evans is owner of Urban Veggies, and founder www.urbangardener.ca. She is a garden coach and mother to two young boys. Deirdre helps people grow fresher, healthier, tastier food in urban garden boxes here in HRM.