Mrs. Leonello's Zucchinni Bread

Many times, growing up in my neighborhood, gardens were overflowing with excess tomatoes, Zucchinni and cucumbers and our neighbors would give away the excess. Mrs. Leonello used to live next door to us and hand out Zucchinni loaves during the summertime.
Mrs. Giacolone, a few doors down, would make her italian cookies for Christmas and hand out to selected neighbors. They were so beautiful, that I was afraid to eat them. (I will post recipes later when I have some time.)

My maternal grandfather gave my mom a fig tree one summer to plant in her back yard and showed us how to bend the tree and bury it for the winter months. One summer, when he was out of work, he shot pigeons in the back yard, roasted them and ate them. (Mom and I thought it was disgusting and would not eat). He also kept his wine pressing boots nears the bathtub. He would give me shots of scotch whiskey when Dad wasn't looking and hand out $100 bills to his grandchildren. He handbuilt a cellar and kept his garden vegtables and sometimes live chickens down there. He always smelled funny to me, and to this day, I can't stand the taste of whiskey. I remember telling him that it tasted like dirty socks and he laughed gleefully. He would holler at me "Gostanza" and I'd say "Go where?!". I was only 5 and thought he was a crazy old man. The grandmother that I was named after had silver hair standing on end, she would beam down at me, speak a language that I did not understand, and I would beg my parents to take me home.

Now I'm finding out that roasted pigeon and pigeon soup is a delicacy in Egypt and served in the finest Europeon restaurants. All grandpa ever used for his garden was a hoe and a watering can. He had pear trees, romaine lettuce, figs, beefsteak tomatoes, peas, squash , hot peppers, and cucumbers. He was so proud of his garden and hand built cellar. Now these old ways are coming back, and I wish I could have learned more from him.

Mrs. Leonello's Zuccinni Bread:

1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1-3 medium to large sized cut-up Zuccinni
1/2 cup walnuts

Pulse ingredients together in a food processor. Pour into a greased bread pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.