(Worlds Largest) Zucchini Bread

This is one of those times where I just have no idea how to start a post. I mean, how do you intro a squash the size of a newborn baby? Really. The harder I've thought and the longer I've stared at my blinking cursor, the more I've realized that there are just no words. Nope. None. Well, except for the 58 it just took me to describe my attitude of speechlessness. Really, take a gander at the giant gourd for yourself.

Am I not right? Is this picture not worth a thousand 58 words? I mean... come on... it's over a foot long!

You're probably wondering where this big boy came from. Which is a fair question. Here's what I gathered... a friend of Bry's grandma has a garden and apparently neglected harvesting her zucchini for a decade, giving it time to grow to this epic size. And then it came home with g'ma. And now it's baked into two scrumptious loaves of bread (well, half of it is anyway-- more on that later).


As I was peeling and grating the gourd, I got to wondering... just how big is the world's largest zucchini? So for those of you who are dying with curiosity, here's your answer: the longest recorded was 69.5 inches, and it weighed 16 lbs. By my calculations, that's over 21 loaves of bread out of one zucchini. You're welcome for sharing that, by the way... I know you'll sleep better at night with that valuable piece of information tucked away in your veggie-lovin' brain.


Moving on... I found this recipe for "Sophie's Zucchini Bread" and thought it looked pretty good. So I got out all my ingredients and started a'siftin and a'mixin...

That is... until I encountered the part that told me to add 1 CUP of vegetable oil. Cringe. One cup? My fact-loving brain couldn't handle it! How many calories would there be in an entire cup of oil?!? I'll give you a hint: it's A LOT. That's right, there are 1,927 calories in a cup of oil, according to this website. Another fun fact, there are only 70 calories in a cup of applesauce. So, I made the 1,857 calorie switch and used a cup of Mott's in place of the oil (but neglected to photograph, so you'll have to take my word for it).


In the end I had two tasty loaves of much healthier zucchini bread. In mismatched pans. No big deal. Such is life when you're cookin in somebody else's kitchen.

(Erin's version of) Sophie's Zucchini Bread  
Makes 2 loaves


3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
3 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup applesauce
3 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, baking powder. In separate bowl, beat eggs. Add sugar, vanilla, and applesauce and mix well. Add zucchini to egg mixture.  Add dry ingredients, mixing well (but careful not to over-mix. Batter should be just beyond moistened). Stir in nuts if desired. Pour into 2 ungreased loaf pans. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.


Oh, and remember how I said it only took half of the squash-of-the-century to make these 2 loaves? I labeled and froze the remaining 3 cups for another recipe in the future. Gotta love a veggie that keeps on feedin'!