Good Things Happen When You Aren’t Afraid to Fail

My friend Karen wrote a beautiful piece on her blog today about gumbo. It’s not really about the gumbo but mostly about trying and not being afraid to fail. The fact that she’s even writing is so awe inspiring to me. Karen is an amazing woman and we used to be neighbors. She moved far, far away and then moved back closer and we actually reconnected when we both signed up for this crazy blog workshop. We both had this calling on our hearts. We both knew we were supposed to be writing. We were both terrified. I’m so glad she forged on because the world is better with her words.

You know what else makes the world better? Zucchini bread. (Did you see how smooth that transition went?) Fall is the time when my heart starts yearning for cozy things. My mind begins to wander towards baked goods and comfort. My mom made the best zucchini bread and I do believe I’m going to bake up a couple loaves this weekend. Here’s the recipe I’ll use:

Elaine’s Zucchini Bread

• 3 eggs – beaten
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups zucchini, peeled and grated
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon

You will start by beating the eggs. Beat them, and then beat them one more time. Whisk in the oil and vanilla. Then fold in the sugar and zucchini.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the cinnamon last.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring just until mixed. Don’t over think this or over stir this. Too much of either will make your bread less enjoyable.

Pour the batter into two small, greased bread pans or one large, greased bread pan. Bake in an oven that has been preheated to 325 ° for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle of the bread comes out clean. Your oven make bake hotter or cooler than mine so that timing may be off a bit. Just watch it and smell it.

Let it cool for an hour or so before cutting into it. I recommend slicing it and spreading a little butter on it, but that’s just how I was raised. You are free to enjoy your zucchini bread however you wish. But not with margarine or fake spray butter. That’s wrong.

But mostly, just bake it and enjoy it. So many people are afraid to bake. This is an easy entry into baking. And as you can learn from my friend Karen, good things happen when you aren’t afraid to fail. Like gumbo. Or zucchini bread. Or life.