Zucchini Bread

Before Cameron left for his visit with my parents I enlisted his help to make some zucchini bread.  With all our garden has been producing I wanted to put some to use.  I'd already made a stir fry using some with other vegetables from the garden and chicken. That was a huge hit with everyone. Still I got a very skeptical look when I assured him he'd like the bread too.

I can't say I blame him, I had the same response as a kid when my mom first announced she was making bread with zucchinis.  "Yuck, that sounds awful", I  think was closer to my response  : )
And it did.  My introduction to zucchini came when the garden we had provided us with monster size zucchinis that were tough and for the most part bland.

So I pulled out mom's trusty recipe:

Zucchini Bread

Mix together:
3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 tsp. vanilla
Seperately mix:
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Mix all ingredients together and baked in two greased bread pans at
325 degrees for 1 hour or until done.


So how did this go over with my chief food critic?  We finished 2 loaves in 2 days and he
was the main consumer!!!

The whole family have become converts to the idea that zucchini bread is indeed quite delicious.

Happy 4th of July

For all in the U.S. a very happy fourth of July.  It's going to be a hot one for us so swimming is
definately included in our plans.

We already had a fireworks display last night when the local baseball stadiums game finished and they had their early 4th show.  Tonight the city will have theirs over the lake and since our home has a good view of this we'll just do our usual and pull out lawn chairs to watch!  It's nice not to have to fight traffic or deal with crowds and still be able to enjoy. 

Hope you all have a great day.

Delicious

Quite a while back I was looking for a recipe for turkey burgers or for using ground turkey.  I had bought some and my first attemps with it garnered less than stellar results and the lack of enthusiasm in my family for the finished results, and my own disappointment with the dry, bland mixture caused the search to begin.  I've tried several recipes and found a few that were better, but it wasn't until I made these that we all were all truly pleased and surprised with the results.

In my search I came across the Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burger on Oprah.com.  She raved about the flavor, so I printed the recipe and had it sitting in a cook book for almost two years before trying it.
Or at least my version of this recipe.  Why the long time span?  Well there are a couple ingredients I don't usually have in my spice cupboard (chipolte tobasco and Major Greys Chutney), and so it took the right timing and my remembering to pick up these two ingredients to have available before I made this.

Here is the original recipe:

Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burger

Now, using ingredients I had I deviated slightly, but with results that were very favorable.

Psuedo Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burger

1/2 med. onion diced
1/4 cup finely diced celery
1 cup grated zuchini
1/8 cup olive oil
4 pounds ground turkey
2 Tbls. kosher salt
1 Tbls. ground black pepper
2 tsp. chipolte Tabasco
1 Lemons juice
1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely diced carrots
1/4 cup Major Grey's chutney

I just mixed all the ingredients together well.  Formed burgers and cooked in a light coating of olive oil.   This could also be formed into meatloaf pans and baked. Haven't tried yet so don't have temp or time for this.

We've had these as burgers or just as the meat patty with side dishes and each time they have been a HUGE hit. Even Cameron and Lauren who really don't like vegetables love these and don't notice there are vegetables in them.

Maybe one day I'll try the original and be able to compare!!  Oh, and the original ingredients that were missing that took me so long to try this - well, chipolte tobasco and Major Greys Chutney are now a permanent addition to my spice collection.

Traveling Kids

Amber and Eddie were off this past week to visit some friends of Eddies in the Vancouver, Washington area.  I've been able to follow their adventure, and snag some shots from their facebook postings.  Seems they're having a great time.  It's pretty up there in that part of the country.

Cameron left this morning to stay a couple of weeks at my parents.  He'll be helping my dad with some projects and then at their churches Vacation Bible School.  Cameron's good with the sound board so they've enlisted his help.

He loves to spend time with his grandparents and has been packed for over a week.  Plus this morning when I got up at 5:30 am, I found this kid I have to nag out of bed each morning already up, dressed and ready to go!!

Saying farewell

Not the best shot of Roger and Karla - oops : (

My brother and sister-in-law were able to provide a ride as they headed up to pick up their son who has spent the last month visiting.  We were grateful for that.

Dried Herbs

I mentioned in my garden update the other day all the herbs that were going strong in our garden, yard and greenhouse.  Two days ago I cut some of the sage back in the hydroponics system we have in the green house.

Then laid the leaves out in my dehydrator and set it on the 95 degree herb setting. And just let it run until all the moisture was out of the leaves.  It's amazing the shrinkage in the before and after shots.

I then used a grinder I have specifically for spices to grind it up and there we have it, all ready for use in cooking!

Will repeat the process with more sage and other spices to restocked my cupboards as I use a lot of spices in my cooking and love to add as much variety as I can for testing various recipes or adding extra flavor to traditional meals.  Keeps life spicey.

Aptitude

Have you ever been busy with an activity when someone asks how you do that?  You are then aware that what you've been mindlessly doing is for someone else a skill or talent that is a challenge or an ability they completely lack.

A short while ago I was busy typing away on my computer and looking at some notes I had next to me as I entered the data.  I was unaware my kids had been watching me until they said "how do you do that?"  I responded  "do what?".  They couldn't figure out how I could just type without looking at my fingers or what was coming up on the screen.  I  then found myself explaining how I had learned to type by not being able to watch my fingers but only looking at my notes or the script on a page.

I then launched into an explanation that was probably far more info than they wanted to know about what sort of machines I had first learned to type on and the history of the varying changes in technology from the dinosaurs that I had first acquired my "skills" with to where we are today. 

Can't believe I learned on this!

The first typewriter I learned on was an old manual machine they had in the summer school course I took the summer before I started Jr High.  I played piano at the time so I had more strength and dexterity in my fingers and took to the activity pretty quickly.  Even on that old tank I was able to type close to 70 words per minute.

I  then moved to my mom's electric Smith-Corona typewriter and actually had to lighten up and slow down because the keys were so sensitive I'd wind up unintentionally repeating letters as I typed.

I then took a course in wordprocessing and later the big move to a home computer. Kevin and I bought an Apple IIGS, which was a huge leap for us at the time yet by todays standards it was junk.

For it's time was such an advancement

It's funny while my kids think this is amazing, I watch them with their total lack of concern or fear of technology in trying new skills on their computers or IPads as they scroll through pages, have such agility in expanding and reducing images to add details to drawings or schematics they are working on. And activities that are a part of their everyday world that were unthinkable in my early years of education as the technology did not exist.  Each generation has their own aptitude for activities and the tools available to them.

It is fun sometimes to take a minute and remember what you do know how to do and the learning process it took to arrive at the skill that is now such second nature.  It also made me appreciate the HUGE changes I enjoy today in technology.  Can only imagine what my kids will experience in their lifetimes.

Liquid Gold

Time to talk about a stinky subject.  It's gardeners liquid gold, but oh the smell!!! I'm referring of course to fish emulsion.  I spent some time adding this delightful substance to my garden yesterday so this is still fresh in my mind and nose : )

It is literally emusified fish and the smell reflects that.  For anyone who has used the stuff you know it's the kind of odor that if you get a good whiff instantly triggers your gag reflex.  Yet my plants LOVE this and they happily repay me by growing bigger, healthier and producing more. 

So I mixed up several batches and hand watered the garden with my watering can. Once each plant got it's gift I watered it in to get it down to root level and for me to dilute the smell of living by some stagnant sea inlet.  Fortunatly you only need to do this once a month to see results and as stated before the results are worth the effort.

We've begun to enjoy some of our gardens produce.  Swiss rainbow chard, bell peppers, tomatoes, jalapenos, yellow squash and loads of zuchini.  The okra is about ready to pick and in a short while the sweet corn.  Our sunflower heads will be ready for cutting and drying soon. The butternut squash and melons have begun to form and in a few weeks should be ready.  Have had loads of thyme, parsley, sage, basil, chocolate mint and lemon basil to add as spices and dry for later use.

I've started a lot more seed in the shade structure attached to the green house for salads as it's too hot in the garden right now and would bolt before we got anything from the plants.  This has been a great learning experience for the girls and when we eat any vegetables they immediately ask if it's "ours".