Earlier this year I received an email from an adoring fan asking where she could find my favorite zucchini bread recipe on A Dash of Sass.  I went to the recipe index with the intention of sending her to the appropriate link only to discover (gasp!) … I’ve never posted my favorite zucchini bread recipe!  Oh, the horror!  How can this be!  A zucchini-lovin’ fool like myself must have a favorite, stand-by recipe to share with my readers, right?  Fear not dear friends, I do have a favorite recipe … I’ve just been too consumed with scarfing down this season favorite that I never got around to posting it for your gazing eyes.

Who remembers the Zucchini Walnut Muffins that used to grace the plexiglass bakery cases of that infamous coffee chain whose name rhymes with Arbucks?  I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t have a rather large crush on those muffins back in the day.  They don’t carry them anymore, but they still haunt my dreams.  Spicy yet light, tinged with flecks of zucchini and topped with loads of crunchy walnuts.  This recipe is my slightly healthier, recreation of those hauntingly good muffins.

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The most challenging aspect of assembling a mini-burger is the bun.  Everything else can just be cut down to size.  Make your patties smaller.  Cut your cheese in smaller slices.  Trim your lettuce and tomatoes.  But what to do for a bun?  Cutting a regular-sized bun into quarters would just look silly.  Dinner rolls might work but they would still be a bit too big.  Well, I suppose there is no excuse like adorable mini-burgers to get you making your own hamburger buns!

I adapted a recipe for whole wheat hamburger buns to make perfectly sized mini-buns.  These little buns were perfect for mini versions of my favorite turkey burger and mini-cheeseburgers.  The buns have a strong nutty flavor from the whole wheat and while the crust became crisp the inside remained moist and dense.  At last, mini-burger perfection can be obtained!

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Food memories play such a unique role in our eating experiences and food personalities. The first time I was introduced to Irish soda bread was through my great aunt. She took me to a bakery in New Jersey where you walk through the inner workings of the bakery and grab hot, fresh loaves directly off the bakery racks, fill up a paper bag with fresh bread, take it to the counter where they slice it to your preferred thickness and individually bag the loaves. I had never been to a bakery like this and I was fairly certain it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. (And since I’ve never been back, it has managed to retain its whimsical, does-it-actually-exist quality.)  The magical racks of so many different types of fresh bread were intoxicating. My aunt insisted on filling my bag with a variety of bakery goods, including Irish soda bread.

I began nibbling on the loaf during the bus ride back to New York and I couldn’t stop!  It was dense, lightly sweet from the currants, and tangy from the caraway. In short, completely addicting. Somehow I managed to save enough to share with my roommate at the time who had never tried it before either.  We both were hooked!  After demolishing the one loaf, we were on a mission to find this illusive Irish soda bread from New Jersey again.  Luckily, being in New York, we really only had to open our eyes … since it is sold in regular grocery stores all around the city.  And, as we came to find, was the standard sandwich bread at a touristy ice cream parlor only a few blocks from our apartment.

When we needed a break or just a moment to digest our thoughts, Em and I would venture over to this touristy spot and indulge in an order of Irish soda bread.  It was served slightly toasted with butter and was probably way too expensive, but we were too young to care.  It was a remarkably simple comfort but at the time it was exactly what we needed.  These days I still find myself drawn to Irish soda bread when I’m in need of something comforting.  It always reminds me of good family, good friends, and good conversation.

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