I’m not going to tell you about how easy these brownies are to make.  I won’t bore you with the fact that they are sweetened naturally, use an olive oil base and are made with whole wheat flour.  Going on about the healthfulness of these brownies, the ease of assembly and the practical bonus of using up excessive amounts of zucchini distracts from the main selling point about these brownies:  They are insanely delicious!

A multi-tasking brownie that cranks the chocolate meter up to a level 10, these Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownies pack a serious punch.  These two-faced little devils are intensely fudgy when served chilled from the fridge yet cakey, moist and gooey when served warmed.  A chocoholic’s dream, these brownies satisfy even the pickiest sweet tooth while secretly throwing in a healthy dose of veggies!

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Raise your hand if you think you are getting enough veggies and whole grains in your diet?  Anybody?  Seeing no hands, I’m going to assume that we could all use more veggies and whole grains in our diet.  Doesn’t that seem to be the mantra of the health food movement lately?  Eat more vegetables.  Eat more whole grains.  This super simple, delicious soup is the perfect answer to that seemingly hefty requirement.

Advertising this soup as the Healthiest Thing You Will Eat This Week does it a disservice.  It also happens to be creamy, chewy, filling and perfectly delicious.  It’s the kind of soup you would order at a restaurant, fall in love with immediately, tell all your friends about and then drive twenty-minutes out of your way to pick up on the way home for dinner one night.  It’s that good.

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Folks, I owe you an apology.  An apology for leaving you hanging for the past few months, for leaving you stranded during the biggest cooking season of the year (gulp), for leaving you wondering what was to become of A Dash of Sass.  I don’t have a good excuse, but a simple explanation: Life! I know I’ve mentioned it before, but being a Grown Up is way harder than it looks!  The balancing act of keeping your head above water at an intense job that mandates long, stressful hours, keeping a kitchen stocked with fresh, healthy ingredients (and doing enough menu planning to actually cook all those fresh ingredients!), staying in touch with friends and family strewn across the country, getting enough sleep and exercise … well, geeze, sometimes it feels like treading water is the best you can do!

I have no idea what happened to the last four months, just vague memories of brief moments of clarity.  So what does one eat while trying to keep pace with this hectic life without resorting to yucky, processed nastiness frequently referred to as fast “food”?  Quinoa.  Lots and lots of quinoa.  Meet my new favorite all-purpose grain.  It cooks up in no time at all, takes on the flavors of whatever else you are cooking with, is high in protein and a perfect way to get plenty of whole grains!

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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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Ever try something that is so perfectly ready for adaptation that you instantly begin dreaming of ways to make it better?  A chocolate chip cookie leads you to a dark chocolate cherry cookie.  Or a piece of pumpkin pie leads you to spiced sweet potato pie.  Well, that was my experience with zucchini boats.  So versatile.  So healthy.  So easy.  So many possibilities!

Zucchini makes a perfect vessel for a variety of fillings.  The insides of the zucchini are easy to scoop out, leaving a sturdy shell that is just asking to be heaped full of delicious goodness.  Choose from an Italian filling with tomato sauce, peppers and topped with mozzarella cheese or a Southwestern filling with black beans, green chilies and topped with cheddar cheese (and sour cream!).  With all these flavor combos, you will never again be screaming “What can I do with all this zucchini?!?!”

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