Necessity is the mother of invention, as evidenced every fall when I end up with armloads of zucchini (not because I can grow the stuff, but because it's so cheap at the market!). In an attempt to use up my stash, I thought I’d make a carrot - zucchini cake, and added a dollop of tomato paste (ever hear of Tomato Soup Cake?) to add moisture and a vitamin boost. The result was a deliciously moist cake that’s perfect topped with lemony cream cheese frosting. No one will ever guess these low fat, cakey bars have 3 veggies in them!

3 Tbsp. butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
Pinch allspice
1 small zucchini, unpeeled and grated
1 carrot, peeled and grated
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/4 cup light cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp. lemon juice or water
1 1/2 cups icing sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and allspice.

Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture along with the grated zucchini, carrot, tomato paste, raisins and walnuts, and stir by hand just until combined. Spread the batter in an 8”x8” pan that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden and springy to the touch. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.

To make the cream cheese frosting, beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Add the lemon juice and icing sugar and beat until smooth. Add a little extra sugar or lemon juice if you need it to achieve a spreadable consistency. Wait until the squares cool to frost it.

Makes 12 bars.

Per bar: 233 calories, 5.9 g total fat (2.6 g saturated fat, 2.2 g monounsaturated fat, 0.6 g polyunsaturated fat), 2.7 g protein, 43.8 g carbohydrate, 28.8 mg cholesterol, 1.4 g fiber. 22% calories from fat.