ABC...Zucchini!

I'm going on a picnic and I'm taking......zzzzzzzz..... no, not a snooze (although I can remember my dad taking a snooze or two on our picnics), but I am taking something that begins with the letter "z".....

Louise over at Months of Edible Celebrations is hosting the "Picnic Game" and I'm excited to play along!

To play the picnic game, you start with letter A and list what you're bringing that begins with an A, then move on to B, and so on. Each blogger coming to the picnic picks a letter and then gathers everybody's contributions in one place!

Let's begin...
(please visit these lovely blogs--and after virtual eating all that picnic food you can go on a virtual diet with me--there are some great dishes)

A--Almond Joy Pie 

B--Baked Beans
C--Chocolate Picnic Cake
D--Dutch Funnel Cake
E--Easy Blender Chicken Pie
F--Five Bean Salad
G--Granola Bars
H--Herb and Cheese Pasta Salad
I--Incredibly Fruity Raspberry Cakes
J--Jeweled Picnic Bars
K--Kaltschale (cold fruit soup)
L--Long Island Lemonade Cocktail
M--Mushroom Tart
N--Nut Roast
O--Olive Nut Bread
P--Pomegranate Mousse Cake
Q--Quiche
R--Raspberry Chocolate Macaroons
S--Spicy Glazed Shrimp and Veggie Kabobs
T--Turkey and Pear wraps w/Curried Aioli
U--Unoriginal Whole Foods Salad Bar
V--Vegetable Things of Spring Salad..Veal Shank with Risotto..and Viennese Chocolate-Cherry Torte.
W--White Caramel Popcorn
X--X-quisite Layered Fruit Salad
Y--Yellow Squash Casserole
Z.....Zucchini Bread!!

We have an abundance during the summer right? Of Zucchini, I mean. I once heard a Lake Woebegone show and Garrison Keillor talked about how in Lake Woebegone, during the summer, you dare not leave your car unlocked or else you'll be greeted with zucchini on the front seat of your car...left by an anonymous friend. It would show up on your doorstep, in your car, at your work.....

Zucchini here, zucchini there, zucchini everywhere. All left by friends and neighbors who had ALL planted zucchini in their gardens.
And yes....I've planted some. Why? Because it "grows" here in the high desert of Northern Nevada, that's why.
We get tomatoes, we get zucchini, and if we're lucky a radish or two early on.


Zucchini everything (zucchini cake, zucchini relish, zucchini bread ) just seems to scream summer to me...and in the summer, picnicking brings back such fond memories of my youth. Hot days, swimming pools, cold fried chicken, cold baked beans, watermelon and...my mom's zucchini bread. My mom could whip out a loaf of zucchini bread in no time at all....and we were not ones to let a good zucchini go to waste, so we had this quick bread around for most of the summer.


So, brought to you courtesy of me and the letter "z", ( I just finished reading the Complete History of Sesame Street, can you tell?), I give you.... my mom's zucchini bread.


 Zucchini bread


3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking cocoa
3 cups grated zucchini
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)


Combine the first 7 ingredients in a bowl, mix well to coat the zucchini. Add the mixture of sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla (nuts if you want them); mix well. Pour into 2 greased 5x9 inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

The end..... not only of my blog post, but of the picnic game! Because.....zzzzzzzz is the last letter in the alphabet.
Have fun on all your summer picnics this year.
Thanks Louise for hosting such a fun "picnic game" (no ants! or yellowjackets!)

Balsamic Roasted Onion Halves

Balsamic Roasted Onion Halves

It might seem like once again, I am taking the easy way out. I mean, a roasted onion? Seriously? Mark Bittman? Especially after she just received his "How to Cook Everything" in the mail, (You might be saying to yourself.)


"Summer Loving" is this week's theme for "I Heart Cooking Club" -----but it's these little guys that I'm really  "loving" this summer......

They are 2 of my grandbabies, and they are staying at my house this summer, as their parents job hunt (their parents are here too, of course). So, my goal is to be very simple this summer. In my meal planning choices, that is.


The roasted onion is simple yes, but understated. It has a really sweet taste to it... not really oniony, if you get my drift. I know, how can I say that? not really oniony? A half an onion? How can that be?


I guess one must like onions to begin with....because, truthfully, this is a lot of onion to eat, and if you're not an onion liker, you're probably not even going to try this,--but if you are on the fence about onions, I suggest you try this out. It's really a good side dish to most grilled meat, sweet and at the same time savory.

I told the Handyman to pick up some "Walla Walla Sweet Onions" (our first son was born in Walla Walla, WA) but he came home with Vidalia's, which are just as good. Some people probably think they are better, BUT, I have a loyalty to Walla Walla....we lived there for two years when we were first married. It is so much more than a town they mention in Bugs Bunny cartoons.....it's the town they liked so well, they named it twice! (gawd, that's a dorky phrase.... but they say it all the time).


There is a reason that most of the United States doesn't know about "Walla Walla Sweet Onions"---they have a very short shelf life and are only available June thru September. You can find them on the west coast, but I'm not sure about the East or the South. It is a rather "small" production, I guess.
Today, about 40 growers keep the sweet tradition alive on 1,200 acres in the valley. Most plant their seeds in the fall, allowing the onions to hibernate during the winter and then harvesting them the next summer. Because the sweets contain more water than most onions, their shelf life is but three to six weeks. They're available from mid-June to September.

Check out this New York Times article     on Walla Walla Sweets. And look....look at how sweet they are! Substituted for "apples" in the traditional "caramel apple" treat, at a Walla Walla festival. (show-offs). But they really are sweet.  (I have no idea who these kids are... )

Anyway..... my recipe to submit............

Balsamic Roasted Onion Halves

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 onions, pealed and cut in half around the equator (Bittman's exact words)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2-3 fresh sprigs of thyme


Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a small baking or roasting pan with a little olive oil or line it with parchment paper. Put the balsamic vinegar into a large shallow dish and roll the onions around in it coat them all over. Let sit for 30 minutes or so, turning every so often. Put the onions on the prepared pan, cut side down. Roast, undisturbed until they start to turn brown, about 20 minutes. Use a spatula to turn them over, top with the Thyme if you like, then return them to the oven for another 20-25 minutes, depending on how tender you want them.
Serve hot or at room temp.


Speaking of Mark Bittman's Cookbook, "How to Cook everything", when I brought it into the house, my husband, the Handyman said to my son, "Hey, look! Mom's going to get rid of all her other cookbooks. She doesn't need them anymore, now she can cook everything!"
He's so funny....he just makes me laugh all the time.


I was trying out the "Louisiana Hot Dog Topping" from Mary at Deep Dish South too. It was good....not a chili, but a Cajun meat sauce. Head on over there for the recipe.

Book Club

Last week....in the Big Backyard  (click here)

Ahhhhh.....book club!

I actually wanted to show off April's beautiful deck.... but for some reason my picture taking talent was left behind somewhere.

We met to discuss "Orange is the New Black" by Piper Kerman.  It was an evening of great discussion ----only a slight sad moment when we couldn't connect to Skype, with our book club buddy Liesbet, who just moved back to Australia.  She even called "international" to see what the hold up was.  We were all so excited to have an international night.

Next time.....
......this time, we spent "coveting" April's deck.

Notice the "evil" Nooks on the table? 

(in my humble opinion... but...what do I know?)

(I couldn't borrow their book, that's what I  know!)

And notice my "book" on the floor of the deck.  The empty chair is mine.

It was a wonderful evening.

Books, food and friends!

Teaser Tuesday and Singapore Slings

Miz B at Should Be Reading hosts a weekly meme entitled Teaser Tuesday



*Grab your current read.
*Let the book fall open to a random page.
*Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
*You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
*Please avoid spoilers!

Susan: Big Bird....Mr. Hooper's not coming back.
Big Bird: Why not?
Susan (standing now, stroking Big Bird's feathers): Big Bird, when people die, they don't come back.
Big Bird: (sorrowfully) Ever?
Susan: No, never.
Big Bird: Well, why not ?
Luis: Well, Big Bird....they're dead. They can't come back.
    
Street Gang, The Complete History of Sesame Street
by Michael Davis
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Do not drink Singapore Slings.  The name is fancy...and reminiscent of your youth, but...BUT, it's almost straight gin!  Dry Gin, Sloe Gin and cherry flavored brandy.  Half a lemon juice, half a lime juice, a dash of Grenadine.

One time my friend Theda (today is her birthday) and I were cleaning our boyfriend's apartment. (this was in the 1970's, when we didn't realize that they to could clean!). We thought we would taste their liquor cabinet. We tasted a bit of it all....just one swallow would do. To see how it tasted. Bourbon, vodka, tequila....the last we came to was the gin. We took a swig. Straight.



I thought I had swallowed my tongue!! I don't know what Theda thought.  But she's not a gin drinker to this day!
We ended the afternoon, by listening to Barry Manilow records and crying at the song "Looks like we made it" Cuz that's what I thought the Handyman thought of every time he saw his ex-wife....I'm very melodramatic. oh, by the way, that boyfriend whose apartment I was cleaning was the Handyman. THE Handyman....the one who I just celebrated 32 years of wedding bliss with. He had had 4 years with his ex-wife. I guess he wasn't thinking of Barry Manilow....Looks like we made it.


Anyway, that's how the Handyman and his roommate Steve, found Theda and I that afternoon so many years ago...... crying over Barry Manilow and an open liquor cabinet and an unclean apartment!


So, when I tasted the Singapore Sling last night..... well, lets just say, I didn't finish it. It sure looked pretty tho.

My on-line bookclub is reading "Mrs. Somebody Somebody" by Tracy Winn.  My copy came in the mail today!!  Yay.

Musing Mondays and It's Monday--What are you Reading

Monday Musing

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading!
This week’s musing asks:

Name your top 2-3 favorite genres (the ones you read most from).

My favorite genre? I think that's hard to answer.

I guess if I had to chose 2 or 3....

One would be series "cozy" mysteries, the ones with the same character book after book after book. I know, they are short on plot, BUT, I like to  see how the character grows and develops thru-out the series AND I like to get to know their "town" or place (wherever the books takes place).

I always thought it would be fun to take a "bookish" vacation. Some place where one of my favorite characters likes to call home, eat at the same places, visit the same landmarks...stuff like that.


Another favorite of mine are memoirs. I like that reminiscing that authors do. I like "coming of age" books also.


But mostly, I read general fiction, "hot topics for bookclubs" because I'm in 4 different book clubs.


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It's Monday What are you Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at "One Persons Journey Through a World of Books"



What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.


Last week I finished "Living Dead in Dallas" and "Every Secret Thing" and I've gotten thru half of "Street Gang" (it's a bit academic for me---kind of dry. )


So, this week I will be finishing that up, and starting and finishing by Thursday evening, "Orange is the New Black" by Piper Kerman,
as that is our book club book and we meet and discuss in just 3 days!

Short answers today!

Cookbook Countdown--Tequila Sunrise

When I was up at my mom's last fall, she was getting ready for a rummage sale and she had a box of old cookbooks, that she was going to sell. Well, I snatched up that box as quick as I could and smuggled it into the trunk of our car. I had to smuggle because the Handyman would not take lightly my adding a box of cookbooks to my already "over 218" at home. But they were my mom's! How could I part with them? How could my mother part with them for that matter?

I mean look at this: the Official Handbook, Drinks of Hawaii, 100 recipes.

 

It's so reminiscent of growing up in the 60's and 70's. Dinner Clubs, highballs, cat eye glasses and cigarettes with lipstick smears on the butts. My parents didn't smoke, but my mom did wear "cat-eye" glasses--the height of fashion! My dad and she would get dressed up to go out dancing at a supper club or dinner club/lounge. Before leaving the house they might offer their guests a highball before heading out. The ice in the glasses would clink and my brother and I would be in our jammies sitting in the hall mesmerized by all the sophistication.

In reality, my parents probably went out to a club once or twice a year.... we were more the kind of family where my mom made a huge paper bag full of popcorn and then the whole family would pile in the car and go to the drive-in theater.... but, the fancy sophistication of dinner clubs has stuck with me all these years.


Which brings me to this cookbook (or beverage book, if you will) "Drinks of Hawaii".
Notice these illustrations and how social apt they are for circa 1970.

Bottoms Up!

 

So...his wife is not too happy with the attention he's paying the lady with the long hair.

So much so, that she hits him over the head with her handbag!

Check out the long-haired lady's leg tho.....it's way high up on the bar--what in the world was she trying to show off?

Then his wife decides to have some fun too!  If you can't beat 'em?

Just because it's an ode to Don Ho :~)

So, for my own personal cookbook countdown (click here to see how far along I am) I thought I'd make the Handyman and I a drink. A drink bringing to mind the "good old days"... a tequila sunrise!

This is the recipe from the book.....


Tequila Sunrise


1 1/2 oz Jose Cuervo
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz Grenadine
1 oz grapefruit juice
1 oz orange juice
Blend with 1 scoop crushed ice. Serve in a tall chimney glass. Garnish with a sprig of cactus.

and this is a picture of those drinks.......

The Handyman wasn't so sure this was a Tequila Sunrise of his youth. (he's much older--much, much than me... so he could drink in the early '70's. I could too, but it was illegal )

So, he pulls out his handy-dandy "Playboy" Bar Guide and looks up a Tequila Sunrise. And he made us a second drink for the night.
If we were going to vote.....we liked the Playboy version better.


Now...check out these illustrations from the Playboy bar guide......
(Holy Cow!!!)
This "beverage" book is circa 1970 also.


One could do a whole "women in the early 1970's" anthropology class just by these two beverage books.  Interesting....
 

I guess this is a chimney glass, who knows? 

(no one cares at this point---their eyes are elsewhere)

She seems to have imbibed a bit too much too?

The beginning and the end.... cocktail time!

Then I said to the Handyman....you have to go take pictures of your drinks for the blog. He said, "I do?" I said, "yes", so he did.

And here is the Playboy Version of a Tequila Sunrise:


Tequila Sunrise

Fill a tall glass 3/4 full of ice
shot of tequila
orange juice
float Grenadine on top

Tonight we are going to try Singapore Slings! Both versions.

Cheers.

Tuscan Grilled Steak for "I Heart Cooking Clubs"

When a job is once begun
Never stop until it's done
Whether it be great or small
Do it well or not at all.


I'm a horrible procrastinator. HORRIBLE. So, when I finally get to a job, I take the easy way out. Let me just say that when I was in school (college classes only last year), I waited until the night before to do my papers. And the sad thing is that I got A's. Or B's at the very least. (take note that this was English or Lit classes or Humanities, never ever math or science. I couldn't even do math and science in a week's time, but I was great at doing an English paper at the last minute. Or better yet, a speech. I'd take a speech 10 times before writing a paper)


But my point is this: I waited until the last minute and I was still good. I'm not trying to pat myself on the back, because believe me there are many things I am not good at, but most of the time, I can pull it off.


Along with that tho, usually comes a feeling of panic, like I'LL NEVER GET IT DONE! WHY, WHY, WHY? I NEED MORE TIME! My whole family stays out of my way at those times, as they are afraid of incurring my wrath. Which is totally unfair to them, since they don't know I'm just under pressure to get the job done...a job I should have done days ago.


But that passes as I do get it done and then comes a feeling of euphoria (defined here: a feeling of happiness, confidence, or well-being sometimes exaggerated in pathological states as mania. )
and I think pffft..... what was the big deal? I am good at this procrastinating stuff. And then the cycle starts again.


Why do I mention this? Because I've wanted to participate in "I Heart Cooking Clubs" for a while now (I did twice before....about 8 months ago, when they were featuring Nigella.  Now they are on to Mark Bittman), but I'm always a day late. The deadline for this weeks submission is Sunday, but I knew I had a million things to do before now and then....WHEN was I going to cook? WHEN was I going to post?


The Handyman came to my place of work at closing time yesterday. I met him with " WE MUST GO GET PORTERHOUSE STEAKS NOW!"
He was excited. He got to grill.  The theme was, after all, Dining With Dad.  He didn't know he was trying a Mark Bittman recipe.


Truth #1: I used the simplest recipe I could find off the internet. I don't have a Mark Bittman cookbook.

Truth #2: I just ordered Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" (I figured that was safe because I can cook it should cover everything for future IHCC)

Truth #3: This simple (and believe me, it's simple all right) recipe I made of Mark Bittman's was.... OMG, to die for!   The sauce just made the meat taste...so much better.  I have never used a sauce or pan drippings on my meat--gravy, of course, but just a simple sauce? Nope.  But now, when I want to show off for dinner guests?  I'm making this sauce.


It was because I was procrastinating that I chose this simple, simple, simple sauce to put on Porterhouse steaks (which by the way, I had to sell my unborn grandchildren to be able to afford), but once again.... that procrastinating paid off, because this sauce tasted so good. SO GOOD.  I totally fell off my diet to have second helpings of this steak and sauce.  I'll pay next week, but it was worth it.

The pictures are not so good. You can see more of the roasted cauliflower than the sauce on the steaks. See the little drip on the plate? THAT'S IT! That's the sauce. Mmmmmm.....good.
The roasted cauliflower was good too. Seriously good. You can find that recipe over at my friend Karen's blog  Karen Cooks.   Be sure and check it out, because it's really worth it.


( I feel like kind of a cheat.... but... the recipe "is"  Mark Bittman's. I promise not to procrastinate next week)

Mark Bittman's Bistecca Fiorentina (Tuscan Grilled Steak) with Soy Butter.

1 2-pound porterhouse or T-bone steak, about 1 3/4 inch think.
Extra virgin olive oil
4 T. unsalted butter
1 T. soy sauce


1. Start a charcoal or gas grill or preheat the broiler; the fire should be quite hot and the rack 4-5 inches from the heat source. Brush lightly with olive oil and grill the steak for about 6-8 minutes per side for medium rare, turning only once (an instant read thermometer should read about 125 degrees F when inserted into the thickest part); cooking time, of course, will depend on the thickness of the steak and the heat of the fire.


2. While the steak is cooking, add the butter to a small saucepan over the grill or on the stovetop over a medium heat. When the butter just begins to foam, add the soy sauce and remove the pan from heat.


3. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and cut against the grain into 1/3-inch thick slices. Transfer the slices to a platter and drizzle with the butter sauce and serve.

That's it. There ain't no more.

*******************************************************************

Please indulge me as I recall (and post) a story from my past.... I am reminiscing today.... it is my 32nd wedding anniversary.

The year that OJ was running from the police in the white bronco on the LA freeways? That was The Handyman and my anniversary too.


That was the year the Handyman forgot.

I had been calling him all day and saying "I love you" and he had no idea why (in fact once he even said, in a grouchy voice, how much money did you spend?). Please note "the grouchy voice" as it stuck with him most of the day.


When The Handyman got home from work, I was on my way to take the boys to swim team practice, and he walked in in a very bad mood. He began to yell at Luke (who was 15 at the time) (okay...that REALLY dates me) for not mowing the grass like he was supposed to.


Luke said, "I forgot---no one wrote it down for me"


The Handyman said, "You're old enough to remember stuff without it being written down" (imagine a loud angry father voice)


and it went on....


I grabbed my purse, and my children to my breast (it's just fun to write breast, because really, they were teenagers and tweens, they didn't want to be anywhere near my breast) and we stomped out of the house as I said, 'HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!'   (his grouchiness was really annoying me)


As we were pulling out of the drive-way, The Handyman came running out the door laughing....and Luke rolled down the window and shouted, "Dad you are OLD ENOUGH to remember these things without them being written down!"


When we got back from swim team practice an hour later, The Handyman had mowed the grass for Luke. And then took us "all" out for dinner at a pub where we watched OJ and his friend being chased down the LA freeways.


Every year since that one Luke has reminded his father of our anniversary. And asks if his grass needs to be mowed.

Library Loot, my TBR Pile and what's outside my kitchen window

If you want to see what's Outside My Kitchen window take a peak here at my Big Backyard Blog.

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva from a Striped Armchair, and Marg at the Adventures of an Intrepid Reader, that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!




This is how my TBR pile rolls....

....the library calls and tells me that I have an overdue book and I can't renew it because it is on a waiting list. Can I please bring it in?
(I'm on the library board, so it's kind of embarrassing)


So I say, Of course I can bring it in. After I read it! So, it moves to the top of my TBR list.

It is, Lisa Scottoline's "Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog". (my original due date was April 9th--I just kept "re" checking it out).

My daughter in law, who arrived at my house on 3rd of June, late afternoon, just in time for her younger sisters high school graduation, and left my house for a cousin's wedding in Minnesota on June 8th, happened to read this book, which was sitting in among other library books that are also over due (although none so overdue as this one). She enjoyed the book very much. She enjoys all Scottoline's books. But Sadie is 25 and this book, this " Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog," is written by a 50ish Scottoline whom I can so relate to.

I'm LOVING this book. It's a book of essays from her column, or inspired by her column, in the Philadelphia Inquirer, "Chick Wit". I can identify with so many things she is talking about, such as squeezing myself into Spanx and noticing things have been pushed up and moved around to where it's just not natural and The first clue that she had forgotten her bra was the running. ( Seriously, running without a bra is dangerous. I can attest to that, having almost knocked myself out one time. )


But my favorite so far...I'm only on page 44....is that "A movie theater is the Switzerland of the diet world" and "all movie candy has one portion size: 2 hours".


I love the movies. I love going to the movies. I love having popcorn and raisinettes at the movies, or milkduds (sometimes Good and Plentys or Red Vines), and now I am so glad to know that "A movie theater is the Switzerland of the diet world". (sigh)


I love Lisa Scottoline.


So, for my Library Loot this week, I'm going to go with "Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog". I "re" looted.


Okay, I did check out two more this week.

One is "Saints Preserve us" Everything you need to know about every Saint you'll ever need, by Sean Kelly and Rosemary Rogers. ( I saw it on CBS's Sunday Morning, and it looked interesting )






and the other one is "One Mississippi" by Mark Childress.
because it is compared to Pat Conroy's writing as well as a couple other great southern writers.
 

and that is my Library Loot for this week.  And just for the fun of it, check out this blog I found..  Debbie's Garden  (no, not me), she has a post called "what's in your cookbook".  Love the post and I love her blog too.