Zucchini Spice Coffee Cake and yesterday's run! Also Two Contests!

I got up at 4am to make this for breakfast for my family yesterday morning. I went out on a 15 mile run down a canyon 45 minutes away. So I set out all the ingredients the night before and whisked all the dry ingredients in a bowl. I left the butter out so it was room temperature too. It was real fast to mix this up and get it into the oven. It was nice to use up some of the zucchini that friends and family are giving me. I hate to turn it down! I used one of those big killer ones for this cake. You know the one, it looks like it's going to take over the kitchen counter and there is no room to hide it in the fridge, but you're afraid to throw it out!? Here's a tip I found for the big ones. Cut it in half and use a spoon and scrape out the seeds, then grate it up. You'll never know it was from a killer zucchini! You can even use it in a casserole.

Oh, if you're wondering how the run went, we started running in the dark, it was drizzling, then it turned into a downpour. At that point we were halfway down the canyon, so not much point of turning back. I know, you think I'm crazy! (I was running with a friend too!) Well, it turns out we weren't the only crazies out there! Another gal caught up with us and ran the last 6 miles with us. We passed some guys that were running up hill in the rain! I asked my friends if they knew what was worse than running downhill in the rain, and they said "NOTHING WAS WORSE!" I said yes there is, running uphill in the rain! When we drove back up to get the other car the rain had stopped and there were lots of people running down the canyon. It's the canyon where our marathon is next month. I was glad to have the run over, and at least it wasn't hot out.


Zucchini Spice Coffee Cake

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups quick oatmeal
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups grated zucchini (I left the peel on for color)
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

Topping

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, room temperature

Heat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with Pam.

In a mixing bowl whisk the dry ingredients. With a hand mixer mix in the zucchine, eggs, vanilla, butter and yogurt until just mixed. Pour into baking dish.

In a small bowl mix the flour, sugar, oats and cinnamon with a whisk. Mash in the butter with a fork until chunky. Sprinkle over batter.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm or cold.

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