Another Day with the Crazy Baker

One zucchini can go a long way! I still had one plump zucchini from the garden. Since everyone around my house seems a bit done with sauted zucchini as a side for dinner, I turned into a crazy baker lady today.

I think I shredded five or 6 cups of zucchini. So, with the oven set to 350 degrees, I just kept turning out the recipes until the zucchini was all gone. I ended up making a total of three recipes. I started with Zucchini Brownies, then Zucchini Muffins, and to finish, Zucchini Cake with Orange Glaze. My kitchen looks like a bakery.

I plan on popping most of this in the freezer. Some day when I’m feeling lazy, I can take out a treat for the family. I just hope there is room in the freezer, come to think of it… The last time I opened the door a bag of green peppers (also from the garden) fell into my hands.

As always, Happy Baking!

Catching Hair Before it Goes Down the Drain

household

Drain hair catchers are important in keeping hair from clogging the pipes in the bathtub. But not all are of the same quality or work in the same manner. I have recently replaced our old plastic drain hair catcher with a newer version and what a difference it makes!

The old version was made of plastic and had grippers on it with the idea of catching the hair before going down the pipes. The problem with this style (for our household) was that it did not stay in place all of the time. Also, another factor was that it just looked gross. Imagine (if you dare) looking down to see a wad of hair collected at the drain. To top this off, if there was a big enough wad of hair in the catcher (meaning no one was brave enough to empty it) , water would start to build up in the tub, as the hair blocked the way for the water to go down. The whole thing, disgusting!

But if one goes without a catcher of some sort, there is the price to pay of fishing something down the pipe to extrude the hair blockage. Again, a big gross! But no need to panic! There is a better option out there and I have recently added it to my tub.

So this version of the drain hair catcher, the TubShroom, works so much better. It actuallly fits down into the drain and collects the hair down there without anyone being able to see any hair balls. It collects in a circle around a mesh tube so that water still can go through. The top looks like any normal bathtub metal stopper only with holes in it for water can go down. This catcher will allow water to build up a bit in tub if one doesn’t collect the hair when needed. So one still has to empty the thing, but it is not as disgusting as it comes off in a perfect little circle.

Alternate image 1 for TubShroom Drain Hair Catcher in Chrome/Clear — TubShroom

Alternate image 6 for TubShroom Drain Hair Catcher in Chrome/Clear — TubShroom with hair caught on it

So, if finding oneself up to the ankles in water, I recommend giving the TubShroom a try. This is one of my favorite household products of late. As always, Happy Cleaning!

(Images of drain hair catchers are from bedbathandbeyond.com)

Propagated Lavender Takes Off

gardening

Ah the joys of gardening! Its the little successes that make it all so worthwhile. Back in June, I propagated lavender from lavender I had in my garden. (There’s a post on this in the gardening section.) Now it is early September and there is evidence of success. A lavender bud has formed on one of the propagated plants. Oh joy!

With the recent success of my blue potato bush and now the lavender, I could really get into propagating plants. I have a vision for where these new plants will be going in my garden. Believe me, I have a lot of space to fill. I plan to have a border of lavender and potato bushes. However, with the propagated plants, it will take a bit longer for them to reach a decent size. Yes, I would get faster results by purchasing more mature plants at the nursery, however, I kind of like this whole propagating thing.

As always, HAPPY Gardening!

Making Fried Donuts

Cooking

My son wanted to bake some ‘Donut Shop’ donuts. Since the croissants from the cookbook Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery and Cafe by JoAnne Chang turned out so well, we decided to use a recipe in the same cookbook to make the donuts. We were not disappointed.

As with the croissants, the donuts did take a bit of time. The time was mostly spent waiting for the dough to rise. The actual making of the donuts was simple enough. We made the dough using our stand mixer and popped it in the fridge overnight to do it’s thing. Before going to bed we set the alarm for 5 am. Oh yah…that went over well. So up I popped and down the hall I went to get my son out of bed. It took a few attempts. In the kitchen, we rolled out the dough and stamped out the doughnuts with a large biscuit cutter. It is important to note that the dough should be rolled on the thicker side of half an inch. Better to make these a bit thicker than thinner as they need to be nice and puffy in order to fill them easily. After stamping out the doughnuts, they were left to rise on a floured cookie sheet covered with plastic wrap for two hours. It is important to flour the cookie sheet well or the doughnuts will stick. Then it was back to bed for a couple of hours while the doughnuts were rising.

After another knock or two on my son’s door, we were back in the kitchen and ready to fry our donuts. But wait! Frying takes more oil than I realized! I was off to the store for more oil while my son made the custard filling. We chose to make the same custard filling from my blog post on Polish donuts instead of the vanilla filling the recipe called for. When I returned, we got to work on frying the donuts, two at a time. When they were cool we rolled them in confectioners sugar and not the regular sugar that the recipe called for. Then my son poked holes in the donuts with a skewer and filled them with the custard he made earlier. Voila!

My family sat down for fresh donuts with much anticipation. We all enjoyed them very much. The remaining donuts were for dessert. Hee Hee!

Recipe can be found in the cookbook: Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery and Cafe by JoAnne Chang

Note: To “refresh” the donuts, I popped them into the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Only do this for un-filled donuts. We filled the donuts as we were going to eating them.

As always, Happy Baking!

Ah, the Difference a Day Makes!

gardening

As I was busy baking this morning, I got a little late start on my watering. But I got out there, with hose in hand, ready to give the plants I have been propagating a bath, when low and behold, there is color amongst the green. Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Oh my gosh! I am now jumping for joy, full of excitement. The blue potato bush, that I propagated back in June, has a flower! A beautiful, perfect, little flower. Not only does it have a flower, but another bud as well. I am so excited! So much so that I made my daughter come outside so I could show her.

The funny thing is, is that when I watered the plant yesterday, there was no flower. I did not even notice a bud. Maybe I missed the bud, but there was not a flower. Ah, the difference a day makes in the garden. It is the little successes that make all the difference. I hope that my green thumb continues with this one. I have now become attached.

To see my original post on my blue potato bush, see my post titled Propagating Plants. This blog was posted on June 4th. So, about two months was all it took to get to this flowering point. However, not all propagated plants survive, as can be seen in my post titled Propagating Plants – An Update, from July 26. Now that I’ve had success with this propagation, I may try another one to replace the one I lost in July.

As always, Happy Gardening!

My Take on…Dinner Chez Moi

Book Reviews, Cooking

After having read both of Elizabeth Bard’s memoirs, I decided to give her cookbook a try. Mixed in with the recipes are little paragraphs of tips or “secrets” as the author calls them. I found those fun to read and read them straight away, as I was skimming the recipes. I decided to make a full meal including desert from Dinner Chez Moi.

I enlisted my daughter to help me prepare the meal. We made the Lentil and Sausage Stew (Lentilles aux saucisses fumees), even though it is summer here in California and rather warm. The author assured us that, ” This is a favorite dish in our house year-round-warm and comforting as a big bear hug. Friends and family request it each time they visit, even if it’s 100 degrees in the shade!”. Well, ok. If it is recommened in any temperature then let’s go for it! And go for it we did. Next on the menu were the Ham and Rosemary Cheese Puffs (Gougeres au fromage, romarin, et jambon cru). To top off the meal, we made the Butter Cookies with Orange-Flower Essence (Sables aux fleur d-oranger).

We made the butter cookies first. They take an hour in the fridge to chill and then fifteen minutes to bake. They were light and very flavorful. The orange rind and orange-flower water gave the perfect amount of flavor. Sometimes, flavors are not so distinct. Also, I found this to be a nice treat with very few carbohydrates per cookie. The sugar was a mere 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon. Nice!

Next, we made the stew. I have a go-to lentil soup recipe, however, this one might have surpassed it. It was easy to make and loaded with fresh vegetables. It took an hour to simmer, which is normal for recipes with lentils. I really liked the added touch of wine and sausage. Yum!

While the stew was simmering, we made the Cheese Puffs. I did not find the ham at the store, so we left it out. I figured since there was already sausage in the stew we did not really need more meat with the meal anyway. I used fresh rosemary from our garden. They smelled delicious. Again, this was an easy recipe to whip together. I found that they did not need the full time in cooking. As with all new recipes, be sure to watch the bake time so as not to over bake these puffs. As with the cookies, I found this recipe low in carbohydrates. Nice!

My take on Dinner Chez Moi by Elizabeth Bard is that I think it is a keeper. Three out of three recipes tried were winners. The bonus “50 French Secrets” are interesting and worth the read. The only question is, “What will I make next?”. As always, Happy Cooking!

My Take on… Picnic in Provence

Book Reviews

In a recent post, I gave my take on Lunch in Paris, a memoir with recipes by Elizabeth Bard. Having enjoyed her first book, I decided to follow her journey to the French countryside of Provence. Picnic in Provence is full of more of Bard’s recipes, this time with a flair for the French countryside.

In Picnic in Provence, the now pregnant Elizabeth and her husband set off on an adventure to Provence to visit the home town of Rene Char, a poet that her husband finds of interest. To their surprise and great luck, the home that Char used to inhabit is now available for purchase. Falling in love with Provence, the couple decide to leave Paris for the countryside. They learn to live at a slower pace and decide to become entrepreneurs as well. What town could not use an ice cream shop?

After reading Picnic in Provence, I am ready to pack a bag for France. After all, I am fond of lavender, French cooking, and ice cream. Picnic in Provence did not dissapoint. It was a perfect follow-up to Lunch in Paris. I highly recommend making some croissants and sitting down with a copy of Bard’s latest memoir. Au Revoir!

Skateboarding at the Olympics!

life

So I did a little research on my skateboard trucks. There was the name Chris Joslin on them. Well, I had to find out what kind of dude this guy was. Afterall, his name is on my board.

I found out Chris Joslin lives in SoCal. Hey, so do I! He is of course a skateboarder. Hey, so am I! He is a really good skateboarder as a matter of fact. I watched some videos of him. So good in fact that he has brands like Independent putting his name on their trucks. Oh, and he is due to be in the Olympics as well. Skateboarding in the Olympics! Well…the Olympics that were supposed to happen until the CoronaVirus hit and put a hold on things. I wonder…since the Olympics will be postponed…would there be enough time for me to train? I can, after all, skate my driveway and street. Ok, my kick turns could use a little work but hey… Just kidding. I can not do any tricks. But since becoming a skate Betty, watching the videos of Chris Joslin makes me appreciate what talent and skill skateboarding takes. I am glad skateboarding finally made it to the Olympics. I will tune in to cheer on Team USA when the time comes.

I also saw in the recent National Geographic Magazine an article about skateboarding. Very interesting. More girls are getting into skateboarding these days. I guess I am on trend. Well, these kids make skateboarding look so easy, but believe me, it takes a lot of practice, skill, drive, and most likely bandages to get good enough to make it to the Olympics. After getting my board, I know it is not as easy as it looks. Sometimes the easiest way to appreciate something is to try it for yourself.

As always, Happy Skating!

Adding a Smile to My Day

life

My husband recently requested that the family clean out the garage. The kids, now out of school, still had a lot of items they had outgrown or had not used in years. How many beach balls do we really need?

So last weekend I got the kids together and we went through the stash. I am happy to say that we did a great job in clearing out the space. The kids wanted to donate the items that were still worthy of being used. Ok. I’m on board. Bag it up and we will donate it.

One item I thought the little neighbor girl might like. A hopper ball. The air-filled ball with a handle that is sat and bounced on. She happily took it. I was glad to see it have a good home. My son LOVED it and hopefully she will too.

The other big item that I thought hard to just bag up and donate was a baseball pitching rebounder net. The frame is quite large so it would be hard to haul around. Today, I decided to put it out in front with a ‘free’ sign on it. Maybe someone would take it. I proceeded to work out back pulling weeds. Then I saw two teenage boys go by. I heard voices and knew that they were out front contemplating the net. A bit later, I looked up and saw the boys heading back the way they came. This time, they were carrying the net. Horray! I was happy, they were happy, all is well.

I went on with my day, went in to clean up, and much later looked out the window at the front porch. What’s this? Spelled out on the porch in bark from our yard was “Thanks” with a piece of fruit for an added touch. I knew right away that it must have been the boys who took the net. It brought a smile to my face and happiness to my day. They found a way to say thanks and I thought it was sweet, something I was not expecting at all. It goes to show that a little kindness goes a long way.

Summer Calls for Strawberry Shortcake

Book Reviews, Cooking

I like eating fresh fruit in the summer. Wanting dessert last night, I decided to make strawberry shortcake. A great way to top off a summer meal.

I again turned to the cookbook, Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery and Cafe by JoAnne Chang to get my recipe. Chang’s strawberry shortcake recipe was easily whipped-up in the stand mixer. The biscuits were made and topped with the no-fuss, no-cook strawberry sauce that included balsamic vinegar in the list of ingredients. I chose to top the shortcakes with a chickpea based whipped topping (see previous blog post for recipe) instead of Chang’s whipped cream, so I can not comment on the topping.

So what did I think of Chang’s Strawberry Shortcake recipe? Yum! Another success story from the cookbook Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery and Cafe. The biscuits were crisp on the outside, light on the inside, and packed with flavor. The strawberry topping was easy to make and tasty as well. Put together, a delicious summer dessert that I will be making again. This recipe, unlike her fabulous croissant recipe, does not take all that long to make.

Chang’s cookbook is easily becoming one of my favorite cookbooks for baking. It seems as though everything made from this cookbook turns out delicious. As always, Happy Baking!

Another Day with Julie

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