Eric & I recently celebrated 35 years together and our upcoming 30-year marriage with an adventure trip. We hit the Pacific Northwest for some hiking, biking, & kayaking while we glamped, camped & lodged. It was an incredibly, wonderful experience. We were part of a fantastic group of ten people plus two of REIs finest guides, Biscuit & Jules. The best part of the trip for Eric was the overnight camping trip on Stuart Island. The best part of the trip for me was kayaking amidst a variety of sea life, including seals, harbor porpoises & orcas. (Seeing wild orcas in their natural environment was the purpose of the trip for me and our awesome guides delivered that experience in spades!) With 5 days on the San Juan Islands and an additional 3 days in Seattle, there were plenty of gastronomic delights to be had along with the magnificent scenery and exciting activities. Since we are still in the throes of summer squash season, the first recipe from the trip that I’m sharing is Mary Ann Bruno’s Zucchini Bread.

An early morning view of the back deck of the lodge at Lakedale Resort from our glampsite.

Along with many other roles at Lakedale Resort in Friday Harbor, WA, Mary Ann is the Director of Edibles. Our group glamped & lodged at Lakedale, giving us the opportunity to sample Mary Ann’s wonderful homemade foods in the lodge & in the on-site general store. A former teacher of Life Skills to special needs students, Mary Ann has turned her passion for cooking & baking (learned from her fabulous cook of a mother and her fine-dining chef of a husband) into a second career. Being an avid baker myself, I quickly grabbed a piece of Mary Ann’s zucchini bread our first morning at breakfast in the lodge, when our entire group started raving about it. It was fabulous! After our guides pointed Mary Ann out to me, I approached her, asking if I could have her recipe. She was happy to share it and thrilled that we all loved it. Mary Ann’s secret ingredient in the quick bread is coconut oil, which gives it a rich, slightly tropical flavor. I replaced the vegetable oil in Mary Ann’s original version of recipe with an equal amount of applesauce. Mashed bananas can also be used to replace the oil, as Mary Ann sometimes does.

Mary Ann’s Zucchini Bread

• 1 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 8 ounces zucchini (about 1 1/2 cups), shredded
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup applesauce, mashed ripe bananas, or vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 eggs

 Shred the zucchini in a food processor. Transfer it to the large bowl of an electric mixer and add the sugar, applesauce, (or vegetable oil or mashed bananas) coconut oil and lemon juice. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until they are well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and combine until it is well mixed. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake it for 1 hour to 1 1/4 hours.

Combine the ingredients.

Pour the batter into a greased and floured pan.

The quick bread is done when a toothpick insert in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cover the pan with foil if the top of the bread is getting overly browned before the center is cooked.

The bread is done when it is a golden brown color and no longer wet in the center.

Cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before turning it out of the pan onto the wire rack to cool completely. Wrap the bread in plastic wrap or aluminum foil after it is completely cooled for storage.

The coconut oil gives this quick bread a delicious, unique flavor.