Zucchini Bread

The summer sunshine and warm weather bring a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables this time of year.  When I was growing up, my mother would make several batches of zucchini bread each summer, utilizing the vegetables from my grandmother's garden. When I got married I continued the tradition of making this sweet summer treat for my own family. There are a lot of versions of zucchini bread  around, but this recipe that was given to us by a family friend, is the one that my husband and kids seem to like the best.  It freezes well, so you can make it often while zucchini is plentiful and have it available throughout the year. This may not be the healthiest way to eat your veggies, but it is certainly delicious... whether served with a warm cup of tea for breakfast or with a tall glass of milk for dessert!

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder                                                              
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
4 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup of oil 
2 tsp vanilla
1  4 oz can crushed pineapple, well drained
2 cups of shredded zucchini

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° 
Grease and flour 2 loaf pans OR 1 bundt pan
Thoroughly squeeze and drain shredded zucchini, and then dry with paper towels
Shift the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and baking soda together into a large bowl
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, sugars, vanilla and oil together, then combine with the dry ingredients, blending well.
Add in the pineapple and zucchini till well blended
Pour into prepared pans and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Enjoy 

Linking with:
Hope in Every Season
Best DIY Projects and Recipe Party
Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop
Tabler Party Of Two 

 

Grilled Zucchini and Squash

When my parents recently came to visit, they brought a large supply of zucchini and summer squash from their garden, which was nice since our zucchini hadn't ripened yet, and we hadn't planted yellow squash this year.

We decided to marinate and then grill some of the squash. I ended up slicing 2 yellow squash and 1 zucchini for this recipe. For the marinade, I used a recipe that a friend of ours gave to us.

Ingredients

4 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Juice of 2 freshly squeezed lemons

4 cloves of garlic minced

4 tsp fresh thyme leaves (I used a combination of regular thyme and lemon thyme that I had growing in 

   our garden).

2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

Summer squash and/or zucchini

 Directions

 Slice the squash approximately 1/4 inch thick and lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper.

 Whisk the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and thyme together in a large bowl.

Add the sliced vegetables to a large plastic bag or place in a large bowl.

Cover with the marinade and allow it to marinate at room temperature for at least 3 hours, or refrigerate overnight.

Grill the vegetables on a barbeque over medium heat until tender, approximately 5 to 10 minutes, turning as needed.

This dish can be served warm or at room temperature. I must admit it was great with dinner the night we made it, but I refrigerated the leftovers and ate those at room temperature for lunch the next day, and liked them even more.

~Enjoy~

Stroll Through Our Vegetable Garden

We have had a lot of rain here recently, but I was finally able to capture some photos from our gardens. Would you like to take a stroll through our garden as the birds serenade us this morning? First, let me give you a quick reminder of how this year's garden started. Remember all the seedlings my husband planted and we so gingerly cared for....

Well, they were transplanted to the garden in May after the threat of frost. We didn't have much luck with eggplant last year, and someone suggested that we try planting those in buckets this year rather than directly in the garden soil. We don't know if that will make a difference, but we were willing to give it a try. Dave also made 2 triangular trellises out of wire fencing that he bought at a home improvement store. They work great as supports for the cucumber vines, and as a DIY project they were much less expensive than similar items we had seen in garden catalogs. We put down some black sheeting to help minimize the weeds. Last year we had used a greyish colored one, but we didn't find it to be very effective as the weeds actually grew under the sheeting.  Therefore, we opted for the darker sheets of weed block this year.

In addition to the eggplant and cucumbers, we planted 3 varieties of tomatoes, as well as butternut squash, 2 kinds of lettuce, zucchini, beans, peppers, onions and melons. Every inch of the garden was utilized! One of the raised beds at the entrance of the garden is home to 2 kinds of oregano, 2 kinds of chives, thyme and lemon thyme, which all grow back every year. In addition, we added flat leaf and curly parsley, cilantro, and dill. In the raised bed on the other side of the gate, we planted rosemary and basil...lots of basil because we love making pesto with the recipe I shared with you last year.

 So are you ready to take a stroll through the garden and see how it is doing today?

Outside of the garden gate on the left, which you can not see in this photo, we have raspberries, blackberries, and some wild berries growing. On the right hand side of the gate we have 2 blueberry shrubs which are still yielding some fruit.

The basil has really taken off so it looks like we will be making lots of pesto, and I have begun looking for some new recipes to try as well.

I've been pinching the tops of the plants when they are getting ready to flower, as that helps the plants grow bushier rather than stalky. I stored the clippings in jars of water until I was ready to cook with them, and look what happened...they grew roots. Well I couldn't let perfectly good plants go to waste, so what's a girl to do? I replanted them in the garden of course! At this rate we will have an endless supply of basil this year, but I am not complaining. By the way, it smells amazing as you enter the garden! Aromatherapy for the gardener's soul.

Some of the tomato plants are now as tall as me, and although none have ripened yet, there are many green tomatoes growing throughout the garden.

Look at how the cucumbers are progressing.....

The butternut squash are blooming and growing like like crazy.

The beans, zucchini and lettuce are doing great...

We've already harvested some lettuce and it looks like we'll soon be having some luscious fresh salads full of other veggies as well!

Thanks for stopping by and taking the tour of our vegetable garden on this gorgeous summer day. On the next round of our garden tour I'll share some photos of the flowers that are blooming around the yard. Until then, remember to take some time to create wonderful seasonal memories with those you care about.
Linking with:
The Enchanting Rose