Chocolate Zucchini Cake

The other day when I was out watering, my wonderful neighbor brought us some produce from her garden. We got kind of a late start on our vegetable garden because we were out cruising instead of planting. She brought tomatoes, a Japanese cucumber, a yellow summer squash and a zucchini. I usually don't plant zucchini because we always get plenty from all the gardeners who think six zucchini plants should be just about right for a family of four! Anyway, we do like zucchini and eat it in several different ways but this is one of our favorites.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1/2 c margarine

1/2 c oil

1 2/3 c sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 c flour

1/4 c cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c buttermilk

2 c zucchini, shredded

1 (6 oz) bag semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 c chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat margarine, oil and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, mix until well blended. In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Stir in margarine mixture, then add buttermilk and zucchini. Pour batter into a greased and floured

9 x 13 baking pan. Sprinkle nuts and chocolate chips on top. Bake for 55 minutes.

It's very moist and if you grate the zucchini small enough you can't even tell it's in there. Kind of a sneaky way to get some more vegetables in your diet.