I feel like a giant nerd when I say how much I’ve been loving the mornings lately, but I’ve always known I was the early-to-bed, early-to-rise type. It’s gotten slightly more extreme over the last couple of years or so. I woke up and got out of bed around 6:30 or 7, voluntarily all summer, for literally no reason at all. Last spring, we moved 20 minutes closer to my work, lessening my commute by quite a bit. Normal people would set their alarms for 20 minutes later to get up for work in the morning. Me on the other hand, my alarm is still set for 5:01 every single morning, just as it was before. Again, for literally no reason at all. Or so I thought.
This morning, I was lying down on the couch, petting Omar and talking to him. I was telling him how much I was going to miss him today, and how I would be back around 4:15; I wasn’t making any stops on the way home like I did yesterday. And then, it hit me. I like to wake up early so I can have quality time with my dog. While my husband slumbers away until his later-in-the-morning alarm, me and Omar play fetch, hang out on the couch, and make my lunch side-by-side. He hangs out with me in the bathroom when I shower and blow dry my hair. He even tries to sleep directly under my feet when I workout in the living room. I love my weirdly early mornings because I love my dog.
So, there’s literally no connection to this story and to the zucchini bread recipe I’m about to leave you with, but I made this last night and ate some with my coffee as I hung out with my dog this morning. Just make it. And tomorrow, set your alarm just a few minutes early to spend some quality time with your dog.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate dutch process cocoa
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups packed shredded zucchini
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips divided
Instructions
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350°Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, add the eggs, melted butter, oil, vanilla extract, and brown sugar. Stir until smooth. You might have a few small brown sugar clumps and that is fine.
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Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stir in the shredded zucchini until just combined. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the chocolate chips.
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Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips over the top of the bread. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out mostly clean.
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Remove the pan from the oven and set on a wire cooling rack. Let the bread cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the bread and carefully remove from the pan. Let the bread cool on the wire cooling rack until slightly warm. Cut into slices and serve.