Olive Oil Zucchini Bread

Still no name for this email yet...

The first newsletter! Or second, depending on how you look at it. It’s like how some buildings call the ground floor Floor 1, while other buildings reserve that name for the floor above the ground floor. If you want to read the introduction newsletter and learn more about what to expect and why I’m doing this , you can do that here.

Wow, so this is it, we’re all here together on a new platform now. I can already feel a newfound sense of freedom now that it’s just us. We don’t have to worry about writing in weird SEO bloggy voice. We don’t have to worry about randos on Instagram (who don’t even follow the account!) yelling or making weird comments. It’s just the girls.

Do you want to start with recommendations or updates? Okay let’s do recommendations.

EGO Recommends…

🎥 Movie
Luther: The Fallen Sun

Idris Elba reprises his *titular* in the Luther BBC series, a brilliant but ethically dubious detective, in this movie streaming on Netflix. I’ve never watched the TV series, but after stumbling upon this in my recommended feed and gobbling up the whole thing (I rarely watch movies at home — no attention span) I really want to. Warning: it’s dark and certainly more Black Mirror and less NCIS.

👩‍🔬 Skincare
Farmacy Deep Sweep Pore Cleaning Toner

Entering my beauty influence era! Listen, I do not take care of my skin as well as I should. No one has ever, ever asked me for a skincare routine. I just do what The Strategist tells me to. And when they recommended this toner, noting its ability to reduce the appearance of pores and blackheads, as well as its effectiveness on combination skin (me) I put my phone down and walked straight to Sephora to buy a bottle. (I view my pores as my no. 1 skin nemesis and inner saboteur.) I sort of dribble it directly on my face post-wash and pat it in with my hand — this is definitely not how you’re supposed to do it. And … it does what it says! Smaller pores, less noticeable blackheads, and unlike other drying toners, it won’t turn your skin into the Bolivian salt flats. :)

📚 Book
Verity by Coleen Hoover

Let’s just get this out of the way: this is the first book I’ve read front to back in like 4 years, so just take everything here with a grain of salt. One goal I had for this year was staring at book pages more and my phone screen less, especially before bed. Curse you blue light!! I had actually gotten this book for my mom for Christmas at the recommendation of some friends — but they neglected to tell me its full of *several* explicit, pornographic depictions of sex! Still, it’s a thrilling, dark story about a struggling novelist, Lowen, who is hired to “co-write” the remaining books in the hit series of famous author Verity Crawford after an accident puts Crawford in a coma. When Lowen begins working in Crawford’s office, she discovers bone-chilling secrets about Verity and begins to think she’s entered a very dangerous home. I’m probably the last in a long line of people telling you to read a Colleen Hoover book, but here we are. I’m a notoriously slow reader and also easily distracted but I wrapped this one up in about a week with minimal reaching for my phone in between pages.

🍝🍸 Restaurant
Cozy Royale, East Williamsburg, Brooklyn

I was seriously enticed to finally come here by the happy hour deal of a smashburger AND fries for $10. I had long wanted to visit, and I had heard it was run by the team behind the butcher shop The Meat Hook in the same neighborhood, so I knew the meat would be, hello! The vibes are great. The smashburger was simple, salty, drippy, onion-y … no-frills but with a gorgina.com mustard sauce. Next time, I would order two (big appetite) and it would STILL be a better deal than most burgers and fries in this town!

Updates

Which Measuring Spoon Set Is the Best? I tested 12 of them to find out!
As you may know, I write for Serious Eats, reviewing kitchen products, which is such a dream because they really know their food stuff over there and I usually get to keep the one that wins! I was shocked to find out that so many measuring spoons are just, like, wrong — sometimes off by more than 1 gram, which, when you’re baking, precision matters. We also rated each based on how easily they scooped out of spice jars (some round spoons don’t fit into spice jars, but almost all rectangular ones do) how well they released sticky substances, plus how durable and easy-to-clean they were. Find out which set won here. And you can read all of my articles here!

Oatmeal cream pies/oatmeal sandwich cookies are now up on easygayoven.com!
You can get the full recipe and notes here as well as in last weeks newsletter. This week’s recipe will also appear on the site next week.

This Week’s Recipe

Does anyone ever set out to make zucchini bread? Like listening to a craving, choosing a recipe, and adding it to your grocery list? Or does it serve the same function as banana bread — as in, getting rid of a fruit or vegetable by concealing it slyly with butter and sugar and calling the resulting cake “bread.” Or does your homesteader neighbor threaten you with a gardening trowel until you take 10 pounds of squash off their hands because “wow, was it a good crop this year”? Personally, I have never planned ahead to made zucchini bread just because — and I would say the same thing about banana bread! In fact, one reason I started developing this recipe is because I simply already had zucchini I didn’t know what to do with. Are you different? Let me know in the comments.

Well this zucchini bread is going to make you and I both plan-ahead zucchini bread makers. It has a whopping 2 cups of shredded zucchini (no need to blot or squeeze out water here because who has the time). This loaf is made with olive-oil which means it won’t dry out as fast as quick breads made with butter, and while most of the taste cooks off, it certainly imparts more flavor than a neutral oil. Greek yogurt makes this cake bread so moist that it practically falls apart (it doesn’t actually fall apart though the structural integrity is sound.) Make it with or without chocolate chips; that is a personal decision that you should make with your pastor, doctor, and accountant.

One note about zucchini: They’re all different sizes, which is why I’ve given you 3 different measurements. One in cups, one in grams, and one that just says “1 medium zucchini” — which depending on how many zucchinis you’ve seen could mean anything. Definitely take the time to measure out the shreds with a scale or with a 1-cup measure.

Olive Oil Zucchini Bread

Makes one 9x5-inch loaf (about 10-12 slices)

Ingredients 

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (293 grams)

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• ½ cup granulated sugar (110 grams)

• ¾ cup light brown sugar (150 grams)

• 2 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 lightly-packed cups grated zucchini (about 270 grams, from 1 medium-size zucchini)

• 3/4 cup olive oil (177 milliliters)

• 1/3 cup full-fat Greek yogurt (188 grams)

• About 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9x5-inch loaf tin by greasing with butter or baking spray. Line it with parchment paper so there’s an overhang on the long sides. This makes it easier to lift out of the tin.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. To a small mixing bowl, add the sugars, olive oil, cinnamon, nutmeg, yogurt, eggs and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Fold the shredded zucchini into the wet ingredients. 

4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and, using a flexible rubber spatula, fold the them together. Continue mixing, ensuring you’re scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl, until the last streaks of flour disappear. (If you’re adding chocolate chips or other mix-ins, add them while you can still see some flour in the batter.) 

5. Pour the batter into the prepared tin. With a butter knife, draw a line, lengthwise, down the middle of the batter. This encourages the bread to crack down the center as it bakes and rises.

6. Bake on the middle rack for about 65-70 minutes or until the top is deep golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. The internal temperature of the loaf should be between 200-210°F. 

7. Let the loaf cool in its tin for 5 minutes, then lift it out using the parchment and transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.