Cheddar Garlic Zucchini Bread and Kale Pesto Hummus

Happy Sunday afternoon, readers! I'm sure you, like me, are disappointed that we're already on our last day of the weekend. Unfortunately, my aunt had a family emergency and was unable to visit me this weekend. I'm extremely disappointed but also understanding. I decided instead of sitting at home twiddling my thumbs and feeling sorry for myself, I would distract myself by baking.

Cheddar Garlic Zucchini Bread

3 C flour
4 Tsp baking powder
1 Tsp salt
1/2 Tsp baking soda
1/2 Tsp garlic powder
1 C shredded zucchini
3/4 C shredded cheddar and pepper jack cheeses
1/4 C finely chopped green onion
2 Tbsp dried dill
2 eggs
1 C buttermilk (or 1 C skim milk mixed with 3 Tsp apple cider vinegar)
4 Tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, sift together flower, baking powder, salt, baking soda and garlic powder. Mix in the zucchini, cheddar, green onion and dill.

In a separate bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk and butter.

Mix wet mixture into dry mixture and pour into greased 9X5 loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean. Allow to cool in the loaf pan for 30 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap cooled loaf in foil to preserve freshness.

This bread will make your house smell heavenly while it's baking. It also smells like a certain popular seafood chain's famous biscuits - yeah you know the ones! It's so delicious and flavorful it doesn't even require butter, although this morning I used a slice to soak up some red chile sauce from my breakfast and it was a perfect combo.

Kale Pesto Hummus

2 C chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 C tahini sauce
2 garlic cloves
1/4 C olive oil
Up to 1/4 C water
1/2 C Green Monster Pesto Sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
Pinch red pepper flake

In the bowl of your food processor, combine all ingredients and pulse periodically adding water until correct consistency. I know that's literally not helpful, it's like something your grandmother tells you when you ask for her recipes. "Add enough ____ until it looks right." Uh...thanks grandma. However, I assume you've all seen hummus at some point in your life so just make it look like that.

Enjoy this delicious hummus on tortilla chips, celery, baby carrots, sandwiches, you know, the typical stuff. Word to the wise: the hummus is garlicy so maybe don't eat it before a hot date or during a hot date.

As a vegetarian one of the questions I get asked most frequently is "but how do you get protein, though?" And the answer to that question is lots and lots of beans and things made with beans. I think every vegetarian should have a good hummus recipe on hand! I've used the base recipe and added whole sundried tomatoes, chipotle peppers and fresh cilantro, kalamata olives; the possibilities are virtually endless!