You know how everyone talks about that nesting phase in the third trimester of pregnancy? You suddenly feel the need to clean every baseboard, vacuum every kitchen drawer, pair every lone sock in your laundry room with that imminent feeling that you might not be able to attend to things properly for awhile. Consider this my third trimester of summer. With the first day of school around the corner, Matt has to deal with me obsessing over every crevice of my fridge, with my sudden need to take everything out of my pantry and put it back in alphabetical order, and aggressively re-fold everything in our linen closet. All my mom friends know exactly what I’m talking about. The mental load is about to get heavy, and I’m battening down the hatches! See you in November.

One of my necessary nesting to-do’s is back-to-school baking. School lunch-friendly snacks (because we all are dreading the lunch-making, let’s be honest) and after school snacks that don’t make me feel like a negligent mother. That means homemade cookies, and muffins with spinach secretly mixed in. I added this one to our repertoire this year, and it seems to be a hit, especially since it gives me something to do with our abundance of zucchini at this time of year. Win-win.

This recipe was created in partnership with Grey Arrow Farm, which is the next best thing to growing a zucchini in my own garden. Head on over to Grey Arrow Farm’s website for more gorgeous food and farm inspiration, and get on their newsletter list so you can sign up for their Veggie Box next year…it sells out every year!

Recipe

Cheddar Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 ¼ cups old cheddar cheese, shredded
⅓ cup avocado oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 ¼ cup whole milk
2 eggs
1 cup zucchini, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and 2 cups of the cheddar.
Measure the oil in a large measuring cup. Add the garlic and whisk together. Add the milk and eggs and whisk to combine.
Add the wet to dry ingredients. Stir until the flour is incorporated and then fold in the zucchini until just combined. Try not to overmix!
Pour the batter into the loaf pan and sprinkle the remaining ¼ of cheddar on the top. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the loaf is golden and the centre of the loaf puffs back up after it is pressed slightly.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, and then use a knife along the edges of the pan to make sure the loaf hasn’t stuck.
Slice and serve warm, or store any leftovers in a sealed container for up to 5 days.