Monday, August 23, 2010

Oodles of Zucchini

It is feeling more like Fall here these days. It's only supposed to get to 16 degrees. So I decided we would do some baking today.
My friend runs a gardening program http://www.chep.org/cg/index.html and gave me a great deal on some fresh veggies. The zucchini are pretty big so I thought I'd make some muffins and bread from them. I also tried making fried green tomatoes (from my own tomato plants!!!) and zucchini last night for supper. The tomatoes turned out soggy but I thought the zucchini were pretty good. The kids disagreed.
A friend of mine made some super yummy chocolate zucchini bread the other night and I made that on Saturday.
Then today with my kids "helping" me in the kitchen we made this:

ZUCCHINI BREAD

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 1/4 cups white sugar
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups grated zucchini
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

  1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
  2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
  3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
  4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.
I was out of eggs so used applesauce instead and didn't add nuts because my daughter is still too young. I added some poudre douce spice with the cinnamon. I also used less sugar, about 1 3/4 cups instead of the 2 1/4 cups it called for.
I tend to do this a lot - substituting and almost always use less sugar than the recipe calls for. It usually works out- sometimes not, but I'm learning what works. We made one loaf and then used the rest of the batter for muffins.

Tonight I'm going to try pasta with zucchini ribbons and salmon. Hoping the kids will eat that as readily as the muffins.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

new normal

Grieving is hard. Missing someone is awful. Expecting them to be there and then realizing they are not can make you physically ill.

But do you know what is worse? When life starts to feel normal without that person around.

I am starting to not look for my dad when I go to my mom's house. I don't expect to see him in his chair when I walk through the door. I am starting to forget his laugh and his voice. I don't expect to hear him answer the phone. I don't pick up the phone to ask him a question. I don't worry about the coming winter and all of the icy sidewalks and stairs that he could slip on.
When I dream of him, I know that he is gone and wake up sad instead of hopeful. Because I want to just keep dreaming.
I no longer think of things to bake to take over to him. I can't ask him what my mom would like for her birthday.

I know this is normal and probably good...? But it feels much much worse.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

it waits for no one

Time is going by way too fast for me these days.
My little boy just turned 4 and my daughter has started to walk!

I am back at work and the kids will start their new daycare tomorrow.

I am trying to enjoy my children, not get too stressed out about things that won't matter tomorrow and just be a mommy.

I remember how fast my son's first year went and when my daughter was born I told myself to enjoy every minute because I knew it would fly. It went even faster than the first one.
I want it to stand still - just for a moment...

Babies Don’t Keep
By Ruth Hulbert Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due,
Lullabye, rockaby, lullabye loo.
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo,
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo,
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs;
Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

August 3

Today would have been my dad's 58th birthday.

Happy 2nd Birthday in Heaven dad.
I love you and miss you.