Lemon Zucchini Bread

You know it's been a bad gardening year, when you can only grow one zucchini.  I mean really, ONE zucchini!  Usually at this time of year, I'm scrambling to find ways to use all the squash and zucchini and trying to give it away to anyone who will take it. This recipe for zucchini bread, just might be the best solution to that problem I've found so far.  It's completely different from the traditional recipe, that's heavy on warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.  I like that one too, especially with nuts.  But this is light and lemony and perfect for summer.  I've made it a couple of times and everyone who's tasted it so far, has given it a big thumbs up.  My daughter asked, "What kind of bread was that?!?"  When I told her it was zucchini bread she said, "Well done!".  I think you'll like it too, even if you have to buy some zucchini in the store in order to make it. (I still can't believe I'm buying zucchini..., who would've ever thought?)

Start by mixing the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Break your eggs into another bowl.  Whisk eggs.  

Add liquid ingredients and whisk in sugar.

Zest and juice your lemons,

and add to liquid ingredients.

Wash and grate zucchini.  You can peel the zucchini if you like, but if you leave the peel on, the bread will have the prettiest little green flecks throughout.  Kids might not touch it, if it shows evidence of being made with a green vegetable, but that just means more for you. 

Make a well in the dry ingredients.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry.  Add grated zucchini, stirring gently just until everything is moistened. Be careful not to over mix. 

Spoon batter into greased and floured pans.  I like to use small pans, but you could use two large loaf pans instead.

Bake until golden brown and pick inserted in middle of loaf comes out clean.  Cool for a few minutes, then turn out on rack to cool completely.  

The original recipe, found here, didn't have a glaze.  But a lemon glaze could only make it better, right?  Now it tastes like Lemon Zucchini Cake- yummy!

Lemon Zucchini Bread

4 cups plain flour

4 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

2 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup milk (whole or half and half)

4 T. fresh lemon juice

zest of two lemons

1 1/4 cup sugar

2 cups grated zucchini

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl.  Mix

liquid ingredients in another bowl.  Stir in

sugar to eggs, oil, lemon juice, zest and milk.

Add zucchini.  Make a well in dry ingredients. 

Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix gently.

Spoon batter into greased and floured loaf pans.

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes (small pans) or

1 hour and 10 minutes (large pans).

Cool before glazing.

Lemon Glaze 

Confectioners sugar and lemon juice.

Mix until you have the consistency you like.

Drizzle over tops of bread.

If Ye Are Prepared...

Check out my Preparedness Page (under banner) to see my goals for August and to see what's been accomplished in July.  Summer's a busy, busy time.  

Some Views Just Can't Be Seen From A Car

One thing I've discovered over the past few years is how much I love hiking.  I live in a beautiful part of the country, with lots of great trails.  Spending time in the woods clears my head, helps alleviate stress and gives me lots of opportunities to praise the Creator.  The only problem I've encountered with this hobby, has been finding companions who could go with me.   I've been
determined to overcome this obstacle.

So last year, I pushed myself to step out of my comfort zone and joined a hiking group.  It was hard to do.  But I'm so glad I did it.   After a few hikes, these people weren't strangers to me any longer and I've enjoyed getting to know them.  John and June Vice organize and lead the group and are the nicest folks you can imagine. We hike the first Saturday of each month and have been to some great places.   This past Saturday was one of my favorite hikes so far.  We drove up on the Blue Ridge Parkway to the trailhead on Forest Road 816.  We then hiked a portion of the Ivestor Gap Trail ( at 5845 feet elevation) to Ivestor Gap.  From the beginning of the hike, we had some beautiful views.

Because we were hiking the ridges of the mountains, rather than being in the woods, this was a different type of hike from others we had done.   It was a beautiful day (the first one without rain in a while) and the temperatures were mild.  Even though we were rarely in shade, we enjoyed gentle breezes on occasion, and, except for those two heart pumping, thigh screaming climbs, we were comfortable.  Even those weren't so bad...  

At Ivestor Gap, we stopped for a little breather and snack and to bask in the beauty. 

Then we stepped onto the Art Loeb.

The Art Loeb is not an easy trail.  John had rated this hike strenuous and when you look at the next few pictures you'll see why.  The trail is closed in, rocky and often you're hiking in eroded ditches.  Eyes on the ground is the rule for this terrain, because it's so easy to trip on roots or twist an ankle on the rocks.  Though this makes for some challenging hiking, the reward at the end is worth it.  I like the feeling of empowerment that comes from hiking a tough trail and then standing on the the top of a mountain to claim your reward.

From time to time as we climbed, the foliage would open up and we would have fantastic views.

Our summit experience on Tennet Mountain was at 6,040 feet.  This is where we stopped to have lunch.

As I sat on the rock and ate, I enjoyed this view in front of me,

and when I turned around, this was at my back.

After lunch, we ascended to Black Balsam Knob at 6,230 feet, where we had a 360 degree view.  This was our Julie Andrews moment, when you just want to break out into song, the hills are alive....  It was a little hazy and some clouds were beginning to roll in, but up to this point we had been able to see Cold Mountain, Mt. Pisgah, Shining Rock, Mt. Hardy, and Sam Knob, plus views into Graveyard Fields. 

From the top of Black Balsam Knob, we ,continued to the intersection of the Art Loeb Spur Trail and descended to the parking lot where it all started.  On the way down, this caught my eye and I had to stop and take a picture.  It was  a reminder that there are beautiful things all around us, from every vantage point.  We just have to be on the look out.    Pretty cool, huh?

After 5. 2 miles, we were all a little tired (ok, maybe more than a little) and glad to be back to the cars, but happy, very happy, to have had the experience.  I'm so thankful to live in western NC and to be blessed with opportunities to be outdoors and soak up the beauty.  I'm thankful for John Vice, with his maps and GPS, his enthusiasm and willingness to take us to beautiful places.   He's taken all the worry out of hiking for me, so all I have to do is show up, lace up my boots and hike.

I've been reading the book, "Wonderstruck" by Margaret Feinberg, where she talks about opening our eyes to the wonders of God around us.  Each day, I've been making a special effort to watch for the wonders.  On Saturday as I hiked, I didn't have to look very hard. 

My Sunflower Sunday

I had everything planned.  I would leave at 8:15, which would give me plenty of time to make it to Cherokee for Sacrament meeting.  Afterwards, I would meet with a new primary presidency, a task I always look forward to.  After almost three years serving in the Stake Primary presidency, I've had the opportunity to visit each of the thirteen units in western NC a number of times.  I was confident that I knew how to get to the Cherokee building, so I didn't bother to take an address to plug into my GPS.  I had this under control.  Or so I thought.

It's a beautiful drive through the mountains and I was enjoying the scenery, listening to Michael Wilcox on the way.  He's one of my favorite speakers and it doesn't matter how many times I listen to one of his talks, I still learn something from him.  I must have been deep in thought, because I drove right past my exit and kept on going.  After a little while, I realized things didn't look quite like I remembered they should.  That disconcerting feeling was warning me I was headed the wrong way.  Turns out I had been on this road  before, when I was going to Murphy!   I stopped and tried to find the address to the church on my phone - no luck.  I remembered I hadn't brought my notebook with all the addresses in it with me, so I kept searching, to no avail.   All those cool Apps that I had downloaded on my phone were not helping.  I just needed an address, for crying out loud, and couldn't find it.   Meanwhile, I'm already seriously late for church and I'm getting stressed.  My husband is on assignment in another ward, so I text him to see if he can help me.  Within minutes he's on the phone trying to locate the address.   The clock is ticking, and I really hate to be late, especially when people are counting on me to be somewhere at a certain time, so I can feel my anxiety level rising.  Finally, we have a physical address and I turn around the car and start retracing my route.  But my GPS on my phone and the Garmin won't recognize the address.  So I have a little meltdown on the side of the road.  It wasn't pretty.  Through tears, I text my husband and tell him "I'VE HAD IT.  I'm frustrated and I'm coming home!"   He responds, "Stop, pray and be thankful.  Get out of the car and stretch your legs, and just breathe."  Rolling my eyes and feeling just a little annoyed by his calm demeanor (you know what I mean, don't you?  Nothing is more irritating than a rational person, when you're not!), I took his suggestion.  I readily admit his settling influence is good for me and after thirty two years, he usually knows how to help when I'm losing it.  On the road again, I felt completely lost, questioning myself and every turn I'd made, wondering where I had gone wrong and where I actually was at that moment.   With no map in the car, I realized how dependent I've become on GPS devices. 

That's when I saw them.  In NC, the highway department has a wildflower program and each year the DOT plants thousands of flowers along the interstates.  I always admire them, but I had never seen sunflowers planted before.  The sight was so breathtaking that I audibly gasped and felt myself slowing down the car.  I dearly love sunflowers and to see so many in one place, well, I just had to stop and take it all in. 

Grabbing my camera from the car, in high heels and dress, I ran across the busy road and got right in the middle of those flowers and started snapping pictures.  It probably wasn't a smart thing to do, but I couldn't help myself.

What a tender mercy from the Lord, this gift of sunflowers.  I had been praying for help, but this wasn't the answer I was hoping to receive.   As I headed toward home, I came upon the exit I should have taken and realized I wasn't as lost as I thought I'd been.  I was really pretty close all the time.  So trusting in that old adage, "better late than never",  I took the exit and went to church. Feeling silly and humbled, I tried to clean up my make up smeared eyes, that were looking a little puffy from my crying episode, and went to primary. I had missed Sacrament meeting and I felt badly about that.  But on my way home I realized the Lord had taught me some lessons today anyway, even though they didn't come to me while I was sitting on a cushioned pew.  

I wasn't as prepared as I should have been to make this trip.  I needed to be humbled a little, and I was.  You better believe I won't leave home again with out addresses and directions.  I was disoriented and upset and felt much more lost than I really was.  It was as though the Lord was reminding me that sometimes I can be really hard on myself, when I'm not as far off track as I might think.  I need to offer myself some grace.  I needed to pray and trust in the Lord to help me find my way.  His spirit is the ultimate GPS. That's one of those obvious lessons, that I need over and over again.   Ask, trust, listen, ask, trust, listen.  Being in control is an illusion.  We like to think we are in the driver's seat, but in reality we're just the passenger, along for the ride.   I was reminded how blessed I am to have a husband who came to my rescue (like he always does).  And then there were the sunflowers.  Had I not missed my exit, I wouldn't have seen the flowers.  All of this, not to mention the things I learned from being with the children, were the lessons I needed to learn on this Sabbath day.  Sometimes we think we know what's best, we have our plan, but the Lord has other things in mind for us.  Now, I'm not advocating skipping Sacrament meeting to take nature pictures, but Heavenly Father knows the lessons we need to learn and how we need to learn them.  And sometimes they will come in the most unexpected ways.

Counting the Wonders of God

First Monday counting...
                                    when I share entries from my Gratitude Journal

3101-mornings at Micahs

3102- watermelon

3103- answers to prayers

3104-growing enough food so I can share with others

3105- Facebook conversations that make you feel close-

even though your thousands of miles apart

3106- big, blue blossoms

3107- holding baby Ella

3108- rainbow colored dishcloths

3109- watching Les Miserables with Kenzie

3110- the first garden tomato

3111- smell of freshly cut grass

3112- biting into a "just picked" peach all warm from the sun

3113- cotton ball clouds

3114- sailboats on a lake

3115- the whistling of the pressure canner

3116- jars filled with summer bounty

3117- a visiting teaching lunch with two dear sisters

3118- nonstop conversation- all the way to Columbia and back

3119- a breakfast smoothie with peaches, mango and pineapple

3120- a new secretary to complete our primary presidency

3121-praying with friends

3122- a generous and thoughtful husband

3123- fresh tomato soup

3124- sunflowers

3125- celebrating accomplishments

3126- difficult hikes and mountain views

3127- discussing an inspiring book

3128- aha moments

3129- a husband who can calm me when I'm having a meltdown

3130- blue cheese burgers on the grill

3131- sons standing at the stove eating the fried okra as soon as it comes out of the pan

3132- a long visit with the Booths

3133- listening to the sounds of hummingbirds at the feeder

3134- dinner on the deck

3135- a blizzard in July- of the Lemon Meringue Pie variety

" What are the wonders of God in your own life that you fail to marvel or even sleep 

straight through?  How often do you pass by God's presence and handiwork unaware?"

Margaret Feinberg 

Tuscan Tomato Soup

I know you're probably wondering why I'm posting a recipe for soup in August.  I realize most people are more interested in throwing something on the grill and calling it a done deal and I like cooking outside too, but this recipe is a new one for me and I love it so much I can't wait until cold weather to share it.  And if you like to cook seasonally, like I do, then this is the perfect time to make a fresh tomato soup.  This recipe came from a friend of a friend and truly it's one of the best soups I've ever had. 

This has been a dismal year for gardening in the southeast.  Most everything is suffering from too much rain, but especially the  tomatoes.  The few I've been gathering are small.  I've been waiting for a nice big heirloom to ripen so I can have at least one tomato sandwich.  I think maybe I'll get that this week.  With tomatoes in short supply, I've been thankful for what I've harvested and been trying to make use of them in the very best ways.  This soup makes the cut.

To begin with, I used the ripe tomatoes on the counter, big, little, red, yellow, whatever I had, and blanched them in hot water for a couple of minutes, so I could slip off the peels.  Then I heated some olive oil in a soup pot, and added some rough chopped onions.

Everything will be blended in the end, so you don't have to be too particular when chopping ingredients.  When the onions were soft, not browned, I added the quartered tomatoes,

and chicken broth.  Then I turned the heat to a low simmer and let it cook for thirty minutes.

I let the soup cool slightly and then put it in my blender to get it nice and smooth.

I worked with a little at a time, pouring it into a bowl, before blending the next few cups, always remembering to put a dishcloth over the top of the blender before turning it on.  I've had a mess like you wouldn't believe, blending soups before, and hot soup spraying over your kitchen is not fun!   An immersion blender would be ideal for this, but mine isn't very good and my blender is awesome, so I do it this way.

Here's where things get really exciting.  After blending the tomato mixture, you stir in pesto.  You've made some this summer, right?  If you haven't, and you have some basil, it's really easy.  Here's a good, basic recipe.  Of course you can buy it in the store too.

The last thing you add is a little half and half to give it just a hint  of creaminess.  Oh, and I added a splash of balsamic vinegar too.

This is all there is to it.  I gently reheated the soup (no boiling, because of the half and half), and I was ready to have lunch.  I loved the color that resulted from the different types of tomatoes and the little specks of green from the pesto.   This is really such a delicious soup and the flavor improves over time, so leftovers are desirable!  I'm thinking it might even be nice with a little cucumber chopped and added to it, served cold, gazpacho style.  Then it would be a perfect, summer soup.  But I have no problem eating it hot.  I can always cool off with some ice cream for dessert, right? 

Tuscan Tomato Soup

1 medium chopped onion 

5 cups fresh or canned tomatoes

3 cups chicken broth

1 cup pesto

1 1/2 (or less) cups half and half

1/2 t. salt

Saute onion in olive oil until soft.  Add tomatoes and chicken broth.  Simmer for thirty minutes.  Blend until smooth. Add pesto and cream and reheat at low temperature.  Salt as desired.