Baking with Libbie

Tonight we baked Chocolate Chip Zucchini bread, recipe by Paula Deen at end of post. We have zucchini coming out of our ears. My family doesn't love it the way I do so I have had to get creative. Our neighbor has had a bountiful crop of both tomatoes and zucchini this year and we have been blessed with fresh veggies galore all summer. Anytime I bring out the apron, my minion affixes herself to my thigh until I tell her she can help. She pretends she is a professional chef on her very own cooking show. I let her pour and mix and stir as much as she can. It's great PT for those little wrists and forearms. So we baked. We're Seaside bound next week and I thought I could freeze a loaf of our bread to take with us... They will probably hate it but were going to give it a try. It sounds wonderful!




She is singing the tune Gangnam Style only using the lyrics,,, Baking Libbie Style



We put her apron on after she ruined the shirt... It's how we roll.

Recipe:
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon orange zest
Whipped cream, for serving
Zucchini ribbons, for serving

Directions
Preheat oven at 350 degrees F. Grease (2) 9 by 5-inch loaf pans.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, spices and baking soda.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, and continue beating until well blended. Stir in oil, vanilla, zucchini, pecans, chocolate chips, and orange zest. Stir in sifted ingredients. Pour into prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove loaves from pans and cool. Chill before slicing. Serve with whipped cream and ribbons of zucchini.
I love this quote I came across today.
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. ~ Steve Jobs

Juicing and The Littles

My children happen to be the pickiest eaters on earth. Libbie didn't start out that way, but Hoot brain washed her and now she hates any thing that even resembles nutritious. I must admit they have been little troopers with our food experimenting we've been up to, but I know we can do better.  I've been researching juicers for about a year now and playing with the idea of purchasing one. I'll probably be just like the other wannabe juicers that went out and purchased one...only to watch it collect dust in the pantry, but for now were giving it a go. I've got all the tricky juice/smoothy recipes and tomorrow were headed to the farmers market for a little field trip...  Tonight for dinner I served carrot, apple and orange juice. I made the mistake of adding water because I thought it seemed too sweet. I should have left Mother Nature alone she knows what she's doing... It was a little weak and not nearly as sweet as just the pure juice. The kids reluctantly drank it, but made really ugly faces as they choked it down. Lambert liked the juice the friendly folks at William Sonoma served, but he thinks they tricked us.  It was so sweet and yummy. I think everything in WS is better than reality. It smells wonderful, looks wonderful. It appeals to all my senses. I leave there wanting to be a better homemaker. Back to my point...I'll know next time not to add the water and I think we'll be fine.  I snapped this picture of The Doll tonight. She is getting too big too fast. Those deep black eyes are so mysterious.

It's been raining here a lot... I'm hoping tomorrow it's dry so we can head to our happy place when daddy gets home from work. (The Beach!) The sky has been absolutely gorgeous all week. The clouds are beautiful when it's not raining and the lighting shows have been amazing at night. i'm hoping to get some great pics of Hoot and Lambert wade fishing. We fished last weekend and Hoot caught 4 fish all by himself. He was so proud. I think we have a little angler on our hands. He's begging to go back and he wants a yacht. We live near the water and we like to eat at a little whole in the wall cafe. It's on the water and next door there is a yacht dealership. There is a yacht that Hoot likes named The Gemini. It's been for sale for about a year. Every time we go by the cafe, Hoot asks if were ready to buy the Gemini. Last time we went there was a little 17 foot Boston Whaler fishing boat docked nearby. Lambert told Hoot we might be able to afford a boat like the Whaler and Hoot said, "are you kidding me, why bother?" He lives in the same fantasy land as his mother. It's The Truman curse. Go big or don't go!

I 'd love to hear your experiences with juicing and ways to make your kiddos love it!

Favorite Finds At Trader Joes

After my shopping adventure in Health Food Wonderland (Whole Foods) last week, Lambert's curiosity was peaked so he decided to check out the whooplah for himself. He won't admit it, but he was impressed. He even took me by William Sonoma so I could make a list of small appliances that would make our natural organic food taste even better. (we left empty handed, but he has a mental list). We also made a stop by Trader Joes. It's not exactly what I thought it would be, but I did find a cart full of goodness to bring home with us! Two favorites that will definitely be on our grocery list for next time (who am I kidding, I never have a list). Trader Joe's Butter Waffle Cookies.... OH MY!! They are a must for ice cream sandwiches. I picked up some Haagen-Dazs Pistachio ice cream and we made our own gourmet ice cream cookie sandwiches. They were Lambert Little approved which means they were over the top fantastic because the Littles are tough customers! We also picked up Trader Joe Brand Creamed Honey.... I felt like I was in Amish Country or Whataburger because they both serve the yummiest honey butter biscuits on the planet. I think the owners of Whataburger mush be Amish or they stole the recipe from an Amish family. Lookout Whataburger owners if you stole from the Amish, Levi and his mafia crew are looking for you. (this show is totally fake and not a good representation of the Amish people.)However, I loved watching it. I think it was the Cadillac CTS parked in the old barn that hooked me! If I lived in Amish Country I would definitely want my CTS parked in my barn! Or my Oddessy.





Can you see the honey butter lathered on that GLUTEN FREE Udis' bread?? I probably ruined the healthiness of the bread with all the honey and butter slathered on it! (it's what I do)


these are a must try folks!