Zucchini Bread with Pineapple

Swimming in zucchini yet? Thanks to Bambi, who nibbled off all my squash flowers, I don't have any squash to speak of, but my wonderful aunt hooked me up with a small portion of her zucchini bounty - which was in itself enough to feed a small village.

I took one of the largest zucchinis, split it in half, scooped out the seeds and shredded it up to make this gorgeous little bread with crushed pineapple mixed in for extra moistness and sweetness. Oddly, I don't like chocolate chips in quick breads. I'll take a brownie or a just a chunk of dark chocolate with almonds any hour of the day, but I like my zucchini bread straight up with chunks of toasted walnuts mixed in. That being said, if you like chocolate chips, go ahead and add a handful. I won't say boo about it.

A few tips:

• I like to grease my pans with butter because I think it gives a better crust than using oil or (dare I say it) Pam. 
• Squeeze some of the water out of the zucchini, or else your bread will be too moist. You don't have to get the vise grip out of the garage, though - just put it in a colander and press it firmly to squeeze out some moisture. 
• Drain the pineapple well, and if you aren't sure what to do with the juice, pineapple juice and vanilla ice cream is heavenly together.
• Feel free to replace up to half of the oil with applesauce. It will change the texture of your bread, but it's a legitimate substitute. However, I would never recommend subbing out ALL the oil. 
• Feel free to replace up to half of the AP flour with whole wheat flour. 
• I'm a person who likes to cut down on sugar in recipes, but I wouldn't recommend it here. 1 and 3/4 cups as noted is just about perfect.  

Zucchini Bread with Pineapple

3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 eggs
1 and 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 to 3 cups coarsely grated zucchini (about 1 large zucchini, seeded)
1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare two buttered 5” x 9” loaf pans. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

In a separate bowl, whisk eggs well. Add the sugar and whisk until creamy. Add the oil and vanilla; continue whisking mixture until thick. Stir in zucchini and pineapple.

A third at a time, add dry ingredients into wet and gently stir (by hand) after each addition. Add walnuts and blend gently.

Divide the batter equally between the two loaf pans. Bake for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in to the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks to cool thoroughly.