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Chocolate Almond Zucchini Bread
This recipe is taken from page 41, of the “Best of the Best from Wisconsin Cookbook”. If you’re looking for an excellent series of cookbooks as you move around the country, the “Best of the Best” series is the way to go.
3 eggs
2 c sugar
1 c oil
2 oz melted chocolate
1 tsp vanilla
2 c zucchini, shredded
3 c flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 c toasted almonds
Ingredient notes: I use almond extract, and whole wheat flour. When I don’t have almonds on hand, I use pecans and place on top)
Beat eggs until lemon colored. Add sugar and oil. Mix. Add chocolate, extract, and zucchini. Mix. Add dry ingredients; mix. Mix in almonds. Bake 350* in 2 greased or Pam-sprayed loaf pans for 50 min.
Note: I have also baked in a bundt pan. When using loaf pans, I sprinkle nuts on top with a few chocolate chips.
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Blueberry Pound Cake
1 c butter, softened
2 c sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 c fresh or frozen blueberries, tossed in additional 1 c flour.
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time an beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla. Sift 2 c flour, salt, and baking powder together. Add sifted ingredients to creamed mixture and beat. Fold blueberry/flour mixture into batter. Pour into tube or bundt pan which has been buttered and coated with sugar.
Bake 325* for 1 hr and 15 min.
Notes:
This recipe is from my friend Sonia. She and I used to pray together every Sunday night. Thanks to her for copying this recipe for me as part of my wedding gift.
I used cinnamon sugar, my friend Wendy plans on using purple sugar.
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Traditions
It’s Friday. It’s July. And I haven’t posted a Marriage & Family Monday post on a Monday in I don’t know when. In my Draft folder, I have 5 drafts. Five! I don’t know when I’m going to get around to completing them and posting. So I’m taking the rest of this post to talk about traditions.
One of our family mantras is “have an adventure, make a memory.” Part of what makes life so memorable is visiting the same places over and over, doing the same things, eating the same foods, and creating happy times in that place.
This past weekend was the Fourth of July weekend. “My gentle readers,” please take a minute to comment on this post and share with all of us what traditions you have for the Fourth of July. Do it for people who are looking to build a family legacy of happy memories. My first post on the Fourth summarizes a conglomeration of traditions and experiences from the last 13 years of marriage. Building your own traditions for your family when you and your spouse come from different areas of the country can take time.
This year, we took a last minute trip to Memphis for the Fourth of July. Hallelujah! It was “the way it was supposed to be.” Hot. Sweating in 95 degree sun at Mud Island. Frozen drinks that thaw in minutes (instead of hours). Weird running bugs and enormous swallowtail butterflies. Grilling with a new Rub (The internal temp of the grill before it was turned on was 125+). Corn. Running through the sprinkler and chasing each other with the hose. Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream (better than ever). Germantown Fireworks (Running commentary by Rachel). 101.3 degrees. Crunchy Grass. Sparklers. Now that’s a real Fourth. No campfires. No blankets for warmth.
When my girls look back on the Fourth of July, I want them to remember sparklers, home made ice cream, and fireworks with the family. I want them to think about our nation’s history — why July 4 is different from June 4. I want them to have traditions and rituals that can be expected during birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July, and Back to School. Building the same foods and activities into a special day makes a tradition, builds a memory, and creates exciting anticipation for next year.
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Great Husbands, Great Ideas
Great Husbands. Great Ideas.
No, I’m not being sarcastic. At least not now.
Several months ago, we started planning the 5th birthday party for the twins. Rob had the idea of doing a “Garden” Themed birthday party. I had heard of another neighbor doing this party, and thought it would be an ok idea. But as Rob elaborated on his plans, I began to stiffen, balk, and inwardly rebel. I did not want to follow his plan. I was thinking, “oh, great…”
You see, I was afraid. I was afraid of how it would turn out, of what the children would think, of how we’d manage the grandiose idea, and of what the neighbors would think. However, I’ve walked with the Lord long enough to know that when a wife submits to her husband both are blessed.
My idea of a party was to provide continuous entertainment with all the guests bringing toys or other presents. Rob’s idea seemed completely revolutionary. We talked through both our ideas, and came up with a plan.
The day of the party, 12 children poured into our backyard. The decorations were a few balloons and a banner leftover from another party. We started off with face painting.
Each child decorated a pot and planted their own snapdragon flower to take home and “baby.” We had bought most of the pots on clearance at the end of last season and saved some containers from others. The leftover plants were planted in our front flower bed after the party.
The girls and I made a poster board sized flower for “pin the butterfly on the flower” game.
The girls and I transformed a yellow bundt cake into a caterpillar. It was very simple and fun to do.
I served bug shaped macaroni and cheese and pink lemonade. At the end everyone took a turn squishing their feet in the mud. We’d planned on planting the seeds, but it had rained. Squishing in mud was much more fun.
We had other games planned but we ran out of time. Once again Rob and I collaborated and I listened and every child was totally thrilled. It was probably the best party we’ve ever done.
We plan on sharing the produce of the garden with those who came to our party come harvest time! Thanks, Nina, for being the party photographer!
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Progress
I just checked in on myself. I was wondering how I was doing with my New Year’s resolutions which I wrote in a post Dec 30. 2009.
So far, I can see that about 50% of the goals have been met. Another 25% have been re-prioritized. Some will never happen. Some will just be put on hold for later, like next year. Some have fallen under “corporate restructuring” and thus have been eliminated.
An example of restructuring: I wanted a new kitchen floor and new living room furniture. Yet I wanted to pay off a loan as well. We chose to pay off the loan with this year’s tax refund and postpone the home improvement expenses till next year’s refund.
I know I haven’t posted much since Spring began to show itself. I have 3 April posts which ended up as “drafts”. Perhaps my goal for June is to revise and post these drafts.
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Rachael Ray’s “Grilled Steak Sandwich…I Mean, Salad — No! Sandwich!”
taken from the cookbook 365: NO Repeats, page 261. I looked for this recipe on line and did not find it.
8 oz day old chewy farm-style bread, cubed
5 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (eyeball it)
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp EVOO (olive oil)
2Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves, from 2 sprigs
Coarse black pepper
1.5-2 lb skirt steaks
4 small vine ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
8 oz fresh or smoked monzarella, cubed
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, torn or shredded
Coarse Salt
Directions:
Preheat a grill pan or outdoor grill to high.
*Place bread in medium mixing bowl and cover with water. Soak the bread for 3-5 minutes.
In a shallow dish, combine about 3 tbsp of the balsalmic vinegar with about 2 tbsp of the EVOO, the rosemary and a liberal amount of black pepper. Add the steaks to the dish and coat thoroughly, then marinate for 5-10 minutes.
After the bread has soaked, working in small batches, remove it in handfuls from the water and wring it out without mashing or tearing it. You do not want wet bread, so wring it out carefully and place in salad bowl. Add tomatoes, onions, monzarella, and basil. Toss a few times, then dress with remaining 2 TBSp balsamic vinegar, 1/4c EVOO (3-4 times around the bowl) and salt & pepper. Adjust the seasonings and let the salad sit for the flavors to come together.
Season with steak with salt and grill the meat for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove and let it rest for 5 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute.
Slice the meat very thin on a sharp angle against the grain. Divide the bread salad among 4 serving plates and top with a few slices of the Balsamic Steak.
Makes 4 Generous Servings
*Those of you who like to do recipes exactly as printed in the book will say I didn’t make this recipe at all when you see what I did to it. I decided to make this recipe at the last minute so I had to make modifications / Substitutions. I did not wet and dry the bread. I used 8 slices of Brownberry brand Country White bread from my freezer, cubed. I didn’t have red onion — I used the green and yellow that I had on hand. I didn’t have fresh basil — I used alot of dried basil (3 times around the bowl) and 1 cup shredded iceberg. I used shredded monzarella. I already had in my deep freezer some Round steak thinly bias cut against the grain. I defrosted and marinated this meat.
We all absolutely loved this recipe, even in its modified form. I look forward to making this recipe according to directions.
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Having Children
Deciding to have a child or children is a sacred decision. (at first, I had a typo which said “scared” decision. And the decision should somewhat scare you.) Our society provides many options on the continuum of having children. I’ll briefly discuss a few of the ways we try to control the process of having children.
Natural method: without going into alot of details, the natural method would be what the Israelites used. The man and woman come together only at certain points in the woman’s cycle thereby naturally increasing or decreasing fertility. This method works if you want to have several children and if you are predictable in your cycle.
Medication: Modern medicine has provided pills for everything from headaches to… well you know… Women can choose to take birth control pills, morning-after pills, and even fertility enhancing drugs. Once pregnant, a woman now may take medication that can start or stop labor, control nausea, etc.
Surgery: IVF, D&C, and tubal ligation are just a few of the ways we try to control reproduction.
Some of these reproductive technologies are great. Some of them are not. Some of them are in line with the Bible, and clearly some of them fly in the face of everything that is right. I don’t have time to regurgitate what others have written and researched. If you’re looking for a thought-provoking discussion on bioethics and other women’s health issues, I’ll refer you to Sarah Flashing. I wish I could take the time today to compose a compelling piece on this very complicated topic. I’m sure I’ll return to this topic eventually.
In the mean time, Here are some self-evaluation questions:
1. Do you see children as a blessing from the Lord? or are they inconvenient?
2. Do you trust God with the timing of having children? Or do you want to schedule your family growth?
3.What are your biggest fears concerning children?
Questions not to ask:
1. Am I ready for children? I’ll answer that one: NO you are not. Parenting is a sacred adventure for which we are never completely ready. We may believe we have arrived on a higher plane of spirituality and thus are ready for children, but find out once they are born there is an entire “closet of skeletons” to deal with– your own sinful depravity runs deeper than you know. We are sinful people giving birth to sinners and God uses the process of parenting to refine our character like a silversmith refines precious metal. Read Sacred Parenting for more on this line of thought.
2. What if I have twins? I’ll answer that one: You’ll be extremely busy. If you’re already busy, then you’ll re-align your priorities and learn to delegate. While the incidence of twins is on the rise, several factors contribute to having twins. Maternal age (extremes on both ends). Number of pregnancies (completed or not). Family history. Medical intervention. All of these play into the gamble of having or not having twins. But the real reason people have twins is that God is the author of life, and sometimes he gives a double blessing. God wants us to fully rely on him no matter how many children we have at one time. Don’t avoid having a baby just because you’re afraid of having twins. Go back to the questions above, and think about your fears. Then commit the whole matter to God through prayer.
3. Can I afford children? Don’t ask this. You can’t afford it. You’ll have to make sacrifices. Whether it’s staying home, not going to the theater, cancelling cable, refusing to get a manicure/pedicure at the spa, choosing to eat at home, going to the library instead of buying or renting, emailing long lost friends for a free vacation at their house, growing your own food, or biking instead of driving, you will have to make sacrifices–Lots of them–Daily,Weekly, for the rest of your life. God will challenge us to sacrifice everything near and dear to us in order to deepen our relationship with Him.
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It’s been how long?
It’s been 2 weeks, and I need to blog. At this minute I have nothing to say. Except 2 things.
1. If you “were” registered on this blog, unless you are Isaac or Dawn, You are NOT registered now. Rob deleted everyone, somewhat accidentally. It was a failed communique on my part. So , sorry, please re-register.
2. We are possibly transferring servers / webhosters. This is why I am reluctant to blog. We need to transfer the blog to the new host and for whatever reason, we’re having some technical difficulties. Maybe I will just blog in spite of this and hope that none of my recent posts get lost in the transfer.
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Pea Cheese Salad
Pea Cheese salad, from Better Homes and Garden cookbook *, page345.
10 oz pkg frozen peas
1 c cubed cheddar cheese
2 hard cooked eggs, chopped
¼ c celery chopped
1-2 tsp chopped onion
2 tbsp diced pimento or sweet red pepper
1/3 c mayo
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Optional garnish: lettuce leaves, 6 medium tomato “bowls”
Cook frozen peas according to pkg directions. If desired cook in chicken broth for enhanced flavor. Thoroughly drain and cool.
In large bowl, combine peas, cheese cubes, hard-cooked eggs, celery, onion, and pimiento or sweet red pepper. Stir in mayo, salt and pepper, toss to mix. Cover and chill 4-24 hrs. Stir well. If desired serve in tomato bowls on top of lettuce leaves.
*I have no idea what year this book is. The copyright page fell out! The “red and white checked” cookbook is my go-to cookbook for delicious, easy, standard recipes.
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Where is my cart and where is my horse?
A man makes his plans but the Lord orders his steps
Go to now you who say, we’ll go here and there and make a profit.
Some of my readers know I am considering re-entering the work force. At this writing I do not feel I should give any more details than that. but let me tell you, I’m having a hard time with the whole horse/cart thing.
The saying goes, “Don’t get the cart before the horse.” It’s difficult for me to remain in the waiting loop with regard to this potential job, especially since it initially seems that the Lord is thrusting me into this position. I’ve lost sleep over this — anticipating my first day on the job and all the wonderful phone calls I’ll be making, how each day will unfold, how everything and everyone will grow and change. I feel I am ready yet simultaneously I know I will never be ready to accept a job of this magnitude. I am like a horse — with no cart attached — raring to go full bore to the finish line. I am Seabiscuit, electric with anticipation of the race. Yet, I know I cannot win this race alone. I need to be less like Seabiscuit and more like Black Beauty, the cab horse. I need to submit to the driver, and have a cab, coach or cart attached. Otherwise, I’ll have no business. I need to have the right driver or I’ll be crushed near to death from the load that I’ll carry.
So, I’m spending this night in prayer. I used to wonder how in the world Jesus could pray all night, or why he would want to. I’m catching a glimpse of possible reasons. I have my plans but I want to leave those in the Hand of God for His divine purpose to order and establish.
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