In the same way that I only got a grill a couple of weeks ago, I just managed to perfect my zucchini bread recipe with the last two fresh zukes in the tristate area.

And in the same way that I always thought I was normal growing up, and then it turned out I totally wasn’t, I first went looking for a zucchini bread recipe in Joy of Cooking. It’s a standard recipe, you know? I was a little disturbed to see it wasn’t in there. I guess it’s a standard only if you grew up in 1970s New Mexico, and you had a garden that disgorged 800 tons of zucchini every fall. In that alternate hippie universe, zucchini bread is just as normal as zucchini chocolate cake, for instance.

The disappointing thing about zucchini bread, as I discovered while tinkering with some recipes I found online, is that one loaf uses up only one medium-size zucchini.

Even this one turned out to be a tiny bit too big, but believe me, I shoved all that shredded zucch into the batter. What was I going to do with the extra?

With the smidge extra zucch, it still bakes up just fine, but isn’t quite as fluffy.

And lord knows it goes down just fine too.

After making several loaves, I think I’ve made some breakthroughs. Two secret ingredients: walnut oil and nutmeg.

The nice thing about walnut oil is that you get a nutty ambience without the nasty texture of baked walnuts. Also, by using oil in the batter, I have no qualms about putting butter on the finished product. (Not that I would anyway, but this way I can eat it for breakfast and feel especially dandy.)

As for nutmeg: I like it. I think too many baked goods rely on cinnamon too heavily, as a little crutch. Nutmeg is just more interesting. I thought I used a tad more nutmeg than called for, but when I actually measured I saw that I used about four times what’s called for in other recipes. (And why don’t recipes ever tell you how much of a whole nutmeg to use, while they’re advising you to grate it fresh? Who in their right mind grates the nutmeg _then_ measures it?)

Try it, you’ll like it. If you can find any zucchini left.

Secret-Ingredient Zucchini Bread

1 large egg
2/3 cup sugar (make a little of it brown sugar, if you like)
1 teaspoon vanilla (or more)
1/3 cup walnut oil
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (about one medium zucchini)
Large pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (about 1/3 of a medium whole nutmeg; use a bit less if you’re using pre-ground spice)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, if that
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a standard loaf pan (5-by-9-inch). In a large bowl, whisk egg, sugar and vanilla together until well blended (but don’t worry about dissolving sugar). Add walnut oil and stir to combine, then add zucchini and stir to coat well. Sprinkle over salt, nutmeg and cinnamon and mix, then add baking soda. Add the flour in three batches–don’t go crazy mixing in the last batch, as the texture of the bread is actually a little fluffier if you don’t overwork it. The batter will be pretty thick. Pour it into the loaf pan and bake for an hour. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then remove and let cool on a rack. Serve with salted butter.