Blueberry Zucchini Bread and Peeks from a Weekend at the Jersey Shore

I spent the past weekent at the Jersey shore with family which included many hours on the beach and a lovely evening celebrating our engagement. Not surprisingly, the food was outstanding and I came away with a handful of new recipes to try at my house. Here is my new favorite summer bread recipe and a few highlights from the weekend.

Zucchini Blueberry Bread
Adapted by my mom from my Grandmom Palanjian's recipe

1 c all purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c sugar
1/4 t baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
3 t cinnamon
1 t salt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c canola oil
1/2 c apple sauce
2 c zucchini, grated and well drained
2 c blueberries


1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Stir the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. Stir the wet ingredients together, then mix gradually into the dry, stirring to combine. Stir in the zucchini and bluberries.
3. Pour the batter into a lightly greased loaf pan and bake for an hour or until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove from pan and let cool completely on a rack. Slice and serve (we like it for breakfast with cream cheese or butter).

Sticky Buns from Mallon's have long been a breakfast tradition in our part of the Jersey shore, so we had to buy a box—especially after we drove by the bakery on our way into town and got a heady dose of the cinnamon scent.

My Uncle Ralph was in charge of the cooking for our engagement party, which meant a steady stream of amazing food. There were crabs (a bushel full!), linguine with homemade marinara sauce, mussels, chicken cutlets (my absolute favorite), fresh Italian bread and salad for good measure.

And, drumroll please, my mom made the Most Amazing Strawberry Shortcake Ever. This is actually what she made for dessert for my first birthday party (awe), so the cake is her mother's pound cake recipe and the layers include a strawberry rhubarb jam, fresh strawberries and fresh whipped cream. Honestly, I didn't like I liked strawberry shortcake because of the shortcake bit, but change it out for pound cake and I'm so totally in!