As far as quick breads go, this zucchini bread from Bon Appetit is a goodie. The original recipe calls for sweet potato instead of carrot (to pair with the zucchini), but since I had a bunch of the latter on hand, I figured a substitution would work just fine. I was right.

The recipe:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar (I cut this amount in half)
3/4 cup vegetable oil (I backed this off to maybe about 1/3 of a cup and added 4 oz of apple sauce)
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups grated zucchini (I probably added 1 2/3 cups zucchini)
1 1/2 cups grated peeled sweet potato (I subbed carrots here)
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

The result: a sweetly fragrant, uber moist loaf.

First I got the oven preheating to 350 degrees F, then buttered and floured a loaf pan. Next up, the veg: I made quick work of the carrots and zucchinis, running them across the large holes of a box grater. Setting them aside, I sifted together the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and powder in a bowl. In another bowl, I beat together the sugar, oil, apple sauce, eggs and vanilla.

I then mixed in the carrots and zucchini. Once incorporated, I stirred in the dry ingredients and the toasted walnuts. After pouring the batter in the pan, I popped it in the oven for about an hour and 10 minutes, until the chopstick I inserted in the center of the loaf came out clean.

I let the hefty carrot and zucchini bread cool on a rack … though I couldn’t resist cutting into it while it was still piping hot to take a test taste. Yummm. A delicious and healthy breakfast bread or pick-me-up snack for the middle of the afternoon.