Pulled one over on my kid!

Ok, as pathetic as this sounds, I really don't have much of a garden this year. I managed to get in some tomatoes and some peppers, radishes, lettuce, spinach, and onions...and that's it! Oh, and pumpkins that came up volunteer from the ones that didn't get harvested last year.

While I'm not inundated with zucchini, all of my neighbors are, and they are happy to share. They are good neighbors. My girlfriend from Iowa even drove down last weekend bringing me peas, green beans, and lots of zucchini. She's an amazing gal! I love zucchini. The problem is, my eldest HATES it! What to do with all of this zucchini? Time to get creative...and a little mischievous. I remembered this amazing cake that my mother made when I was young. She was always one for hiding vegetables in things. So, I looked up the recipe, and got to work...waiting until my eldest was out of the house. Here's what I made:

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2 c flour
2 c sugar
3/4 c cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 eggs
1 1/2 c vegetable oil
3 cups grated zucchini
3/4 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350* F. Grease a 9X13 baking pan.
Whisk together dry ingredients. Add eggs and oil and mix well. Fold in zucchini and nuts.Pour into prepared pan.
Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean.Cool and frost if desired.
This cake is fudgy and not overly sweet

When it was time to dive into the cake, I gave my eldest a nice sized piece and let her dig in. I waited.

"What do you think of the cake?"

"It's really good."

"So, you would eat it again."

"Sure!"

"So, what if I told you it had lots of zucchini in it?"

(She looks at the cake; looks at me; looks back at the cake...)

"Well, I guess I'll eat zucchini THIS way."

Sweet, sweet, chocolaty victory! (But I will add that my youngest's friend, who was thoroughly enjoying her zucchini cake up until that moment, stopped eating it and wouldn't take another bite.) Ah well! You win some, you lose some!