Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

This weekend marked the end of an era. It was the weekend I hung up my whisk professionally, as I've been working plenty as an Occupational Therapist and am pretty tired of 6 days a week. All work and no play is a quick route to purchasing a house, but it makes for a mighty cantankerous Kala. It was bittersweet ( pun intended of course) to leave the  little corner I've baked so many a cake and cornbread for the last 6 years, but it was time. My wrists were starting to hurt and my passion beginning to dwindle. Someday, I envision myself in my own little bakery. I'll make coffee cakes and pies of my own accord, listen to whatever music I damn well please instead of the endless Mariachi hour on satellite radio, and telling someone firmly " No, I will not make you a vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, soy-free, nut-free cake, because that sounds nasty. I think you really want watermelon, please move along." And it will make me oh so very happy, inside and out. But in the meantime I will regain baking as my favorite hobby, and it didn't take long at all to find some inspiration in my own kitchen, as I was making zucchini muffins this Sunday and they just seemed a bit drab. So I added a bit of this and that, and came up with some super delish new muffins.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

- 1 1/2 cups flour

-1 t. cinnamon

-1/2 t. baking soda

-1/4 t. baking powder

-1/4 t. salt

-1/4 t. nutmeg

-1 cup sugar

-1 cup shredded zucchini, unpeeled

-1/4 cup canola oil

-2 eggs

-1/4 cup cocoa powder

-1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions: line muffin tins with liners and spray lightly. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. in a medium bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder and soda, nutmeg, and salt. In another bowl combine sugar, zucchini, oil and eggs, whisking to combine. Fold wet mixture into dry and fold to combine. Add chocolate chips at end then spoon into muffin tins. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in comes out clean.

These are the perfect solution to a sweet tooth for a mid-afternoon snack. I had one with breakfast this morning and it was awesome with a steaming cup of coffee. And let's face it, we all need more recipes for the scores of zucchini that are showing up on our doorsteps.