Zucchini Crisp

My word! This is so good! E keeps asking me for it. He told me that I need to cut up and freeze the rest of the zucchinis so we could have this all winter long. I guess I better get busy!

1 large zucchini (about 1 1/2-2 lbs.), peeled, seeded and cut into chunks (like apples slices)

6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (a little more or less to you liking)

Crumb topping:

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup flour (I use whole wheat)
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
6 tablespoons butter, (can be pretty cold from the fridge), cubed - if you use unsalted butter, add 1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped

In a large saucepan, combine the zucchini, lemon juice, and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8x8 inch baking dish lightly with cooking spray. Set aside.

While the zucchini is cooking, make the crumb topping. Combine the flour, brown sugar, oats, and nuts. Cut in butter--works best using your hands. Keep combining by rubbing it all together until you have a crumbly texture. Set aside. (The crumb topping can be made ahead and chilled or frozen for later use.)

Remove the zucchini from the heat and stir in sugar and spices. Pour the zucchini mixture into the baking dish. Top with the crumb mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes until topping is golden brown.

It tastes just like apple crisp! Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream for an even tastier treat. I usually eat leftovers for breakfast. :)

This picture is actually of the crisp using a pie crust for a bottom. I didn't make this, my mother-in-law did. You can use a pie crust if you like, just bake it for a few minutes before adding the zucchini and crisp topping. I forgot to take a picture of my crisp. Next time I make one I'll update the photo.

Enjoy!

Farmer's Market Treats

Last Saturday was our first day at our new venue. We moved to the back parking lot instead of the park. There's so much more traffic now. It only made sense to move back there. We've been wanting to for a long time but the last market master didn't want us to for some reason. We now have a new market master and he was all for it. I had a table full of delicious goodies including our Indian Fry Bread which always sells out and Praline Brookies.

I made these cake pops to sell. The tasted wonderful, but the chocolate coating started melting because it was so hot. Everyone that saw them was impressed, but I only sold 3, go figure! The recipe is very simple (Thanks Bakerella!) Just bake a cake (any flavor). Using a 13x9 sheet pan is easiest. After it has totally cooled, shred cake into a big bowl. You can use a food processor if you like. Stir in 2 cups of cake icing (any flavor) and mix well. I had to use my hands. form into balls and place on a wax paper-covered sheet pan and pop into the refrigerator until set or freezer. Once everything is nice and firm, take out balls and push sticks in them. Dip them in melted candy coating (any flavor) and let dry standing up. I turned an egg carton upside down, punched holes in it and dried the cake pops on that. Worked wonderfully.

These are Sugar and Spice Donuts I made. I threw away the recipe because I decided I wasn't going to make them again. They were okay, but I have a killer Apple Cider Donut recipe that's much better. These were actually really good the next day after I heated them in the microwave for 30 seconds. I might try another donut recipe or I'll make some scones for this weekend. I have a couple of scone recipes I'm dying to try along with one that was a really good seller last year.

Dried Cherry Coffee Cake

This was okay, but I think next time I won't use dried fruit. Fresh or canned fruit would be way better. Maybe this weekend I'll work on a rhubarb coffee cake, even though my rhubarb is the green kind and not the red kind.

Dried Cherry Coffee Cake

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup dried cherries, chopped
2 tsp cinnamon

Batter:
1/2 cup butter, soft
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups sour cream

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cherries, and cinnamon; set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until crumbly. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture and sour cream to the butter mixture, beating just until combined.

Spread half the batter evenly into a sprayed 13x9" baking pan. Sprinkle with half of the reserved sugar and cherry mixture. Repeat layers; cut through batter with a knife to swirl.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 28-33 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack. Cut and serve.

Coffee Lovers' Coffee Cake II

This is a recipe I got from Taste of Home. I accidentally changed it because I didn't pay attention to what I was doing and added too much butter. Nonetheless it was awesome. I think I'll keep the butter amount because I can't imagine eating it with any less.

Coffee Lovers' Coffee Cake II

adapted from Taste of Home

1/3 cup granulated sugar

4-1/2 tsp instant coffee granules

1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Batter:

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup sour cream

2 Tbsp walnuts, chopped

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, coffee granules and cinnamon; set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until crumbly. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; add to butter mixture along with sour cream. Beat just until combined.

Spread half the batter evenly in a sprayed 9-inch square baking pan; sprinkle with half the reserved coffee mixture. Repeat layers; cut through batter with a knife to swirl. Sprinkle with nuts.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 28-33 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack. Serve warm.

These are the ones on the left.

Lemon Crunch Pie

This pie was quite tasty. I love lemon pies, but only if they are tangy. I certainly made this one tangy. E took a slice before I was able to get a pic of it whole. The man just couldn't wait any longer. Enjoy.

Lemon Crunch Pie
adapted from Calico Cooks! cookbook

1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
zest and juice of 2 lemons
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 cup boiling water
2 egg whites
1 baked (9-inch) pie shell
3/4 cup flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup butter, softened

1. Combine 1 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt in a micro-wave safe bowl. Stir in the lemon peel, lemon juice, and egg yolk. Add the boiling water and mix well with a wooden spoon.

2. Microwave on High for 2 minutes; stir. Microwave on Medium for 1 minute; stir. Microwave on Medium for up to 5 minutes or until thickened and clear, stirring at 1-minute intervals.

3. Beat the egg whites in a mixer bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold the hot lemon mixture very gradually into the egg whites. Spoon into the pie shell.

4. Mix the flour, 2 Tbsp sugar, and baking powder in a bowl. Cut in the butter until crumbly. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over pie. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Black and White Brownies

I didn't particularly care for these brownies only because I can't stand white chocolate. E asked me why I made them if I didn't like white chocolate. Well, I figured other people like it so maybe I'll try this recipe out to see if it would be good enough to sell. E liked it, so I'll probably tinker with it some and make it again to sell. I followed this recipe almost exactly, but next time I'll make my own brownie base. This recipe uses box brownie mix.

Black and White Brownies

1 19- to 21-oz pkg fudge brownie mix, including ingredients needed to make brownies according to box directions
1 10-to 12-oz pkg white baking pieces
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 Tbsp hot water
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cups pecans, chopped

1. Grease the bottom of a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions. Stir in half of the white baking pieces, all of the semisweet chocolate chips, and the 1/2 cup pecans. Spread the batter in the prepared baking pan.

2. Bake in a 350 degrees F oven about 25-30 minutes or until center is set. Sprinkle with the remaining white baking pieces; bake for 1 minute more. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

3. For frosting, in a small bowl combine melted butter and hot water; stir in powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Beat by hand until smooth. I found that there wasn't enough liquid so I added a splash of milk until I was able to mix it smooth. Spoon over top of brownies. Sprinkle with the 3/4 cup pecans (I didn't). Cool about 1 1/2 hours or until frosting is set. Cut into bars. Makes about 36 brownies.

These were way too sweet for me. The white chocolate just made it that much worse. Again, E liked them. I left a couple at home for him to eat and gave the rest away. I think I'll try a recipe with out the white chocolate and with my brownie recipe. I have some ideas of what to do.

It's going to be hot this weekend (90 degrees!!!) so I'll be doing a lot of garden stuff. I worked some in the greenhouse yesterday evening and planted a lot of things. I'll start planting green beans tomorrow in the garden and maybe potatoes and corn. I think it'll be warm enough now to put some tomato plants in the ground, but I won't be putting too many in. The ones I started from seed are still too small (I was late getting them started) so E went and bought a few plants. I have some milk jugs that I'll use if the temps drop too low at night, but I don't think we'll have many more of those days.

I made a killer lemon pie last night which, hopefully, I'll post Monday. I usually like to follow a recipe exactly before I make any changes, but I didn't like the amount of lemon called for (I love tangy lemon things) so I added more and omitted one item. It turned out fabulous. E was chomping at the bit this morning to dig into it, so I didn't get a pic of it whole; there is one piece taken out.

Carrot Cake

I have been terrible about keeping up with this blog this month. I just completely forget about it! I'll try to be better. I promise. For Easter, I made this yummy carrot cake. I got the recipe from http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/. It is good, trust me. I made a regular one and E took it to work where everyone gobbled it up. I then decided to make a lower-fat version for us. It tasted fabulous, but I made one mistake. I substituted all of the oil with applesauce. I should've used SOME oil, maybe 1/4 cup. If you make this low-fat, please, please, please use some oil. The texture was a little rubbery-ish. Very edible, but just didn't like the texture.


Cake:

2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (I use canola)
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups grated carrots

Icing:

1 stick butter, softened
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese
1 pound (16 oz) powdered sugar
1 cups pecans, finely chopped
2 tsp vanilla

Cake:
Mix together the sugar, oil, and eggs in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda and powder, and cinnamon. Add to egg mixture, stirring until combined. Stir in carrots. Pour into a greased and floured pan (I used two rounds). Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 - 50 minutes, depending on which pan you use, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pans, then remove to a wire rack. Cool completely.

Icing:
In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and vanilla and blend; mix in nuts. Frost cooled carrot cake.

Enjoy.


I have several recipes to post, hopefully, in the next few coming days.

Coffee Lovers' Coffee Cake

Finally!!! A day late and a dollar short. Actually, more like a week late and well, I'd hate to think how much short. :)

Here is the oh-so-wonderful coffee cake I've told you about. D-LISH! YUM! Yumm-o anyone?? I finally remembered to take a picture of them. I've been so busy with work and work and work and, need I go on? I've been baking brookies like crazy and trying out some new recipes. When I'm not baking I'm either at my full time job, messing with the dumb turkeys (stupid turkeys!!), or working outside.

I have FINALLY quit working at Fabio's. No more for me!! Yay! I did, however, tell them that I'll help out every now and then. I sure hope the won't need my help. Also, since it's Spring, I've been doing a lot of things outside. I've gotten all of my Spring veggies planted and started seeds for most of my Summer and Fall veggies and herbs. So can't wait!! E mowed the grass for the first time this year over the weekend. Sigh. I love the smell of fresh cut grass.

The weather has been beautiful, minus the rain on Friday and Saturday. The temps have been in the 60s to 70. I actually wore shorts Sunday! If I think about it, and I emphasize on "if", I'll take a pic of the green-ness (is that even a word??) of the farm. It's too late to get a pic of my plum tree flowering because all of the flowers have already fallen. The stinky pear tree is flowering, though, and the redbuds are starting. Anyway. Here is the recipe I've been promising:

Coffee Lovers' Coffee Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 rounded tsp instant coffee granules
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar (I prefer dark)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces*
8 oz sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1. Combine the flour and coffee granules in a large bowl. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt; stir well. Cut in butter w/a pastry blender until crumbly. *I soften the butter just a little bit and use my hands to blend it in. Press half of the crumb mixture into a lightly greased 9" square or 13x9" baking pan; set aside.

2. Combine sour cream and baking soda, stirring well. Add remaining crumb mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Add egg, stirring gently to combine. Pour sour cream mixture over crumb crust in pan. Sprinkle with pecans.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 - 50 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.

Enjoy!

ROCKY ROAD OATMEAL DROPS

1 Tbsp instant coffee crystals
1 Tbsp warm water
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet choc chips
1 1/2 cups pecans, toasted and chopped
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

1. Lightly grease a cookie sheet; set aside. In a small bowl combine coffee crystals and warm water, stirring until coffee is dissolved. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugars, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and coffee until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. Stir in rolled oats, chocolate chips, pecans, and marshmallows.

3. Drop dough using an ice cream scoop 2 inches apart onto the cookie sheet. Bake in a 350 degrees F oven about 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack.

These were really good. If you want to taste more of the coffee, you can double the amount you put in.

Yay for Me!

Saturday evening E and I went to the coffee shop to talk to the owner. She was really excited about getting my goodies in her restaurant! Yay!! She also wants me to sell my jams since there is a gift shop. I took her samples of some jams and Peanut Butter Brookies. She and everyone else absolutely loved them. She wanted me to start bringing her things right away. Yesterday I spent the afternoon baking and canning. Here is a pic of the Peanut Butter Brookies and Gingerbread Biscotti that I am taking down there this evening. The biscotti will go great with their Gingerbread Lattes. I don't drink coffee and even that sounds good!
I'll think of a couple more things to come up with and take them down there later in the week. The partner even asked if I could do cakes and pies. I told her I'd have no problem with that, but I'd have to figure the cost out. Some cakes and pies might be too expensive. I explained to her that I only use quality ingredients, so that can make the prices go up some. I'll have to experiment some this week. In the mean time, E and I need to do some serious exercising!!

On another note, Wayne (E's step-father) was having a heart attack Saturday. I say "having" because it was caught before it turned into a full-blown heart attack. He looked pretty bad when the rescue squad took him out. He's doing much better now and may be able to come home today. I hope he takes it easy from here on out and I hope the start eating healthier. I don't think I should be using them as my guinea pigs anymore!

Busy Weekend!

I've been a busy bee this weekend. I've been doing a lot of baking and seed starting. Right now I have a couple varieties of lettuce, spinach, leeks, and arugula waiting to sprout. Maybe by this weekend they will have. I'll be seeding some more lettuce tonight and maybe some flowers.

Last night I baked a 1/2 sheet of lemon bars. Here they are, ready to go to the restaurant today.

E took some samples that I baked this weekend to the coffee shop. He's going back today to take some business cards. I hope to hear back from them soon. I'm thinking I should probably bake a few cakes, cookies, and pies to take to them to sample. That way they'll know what all I can bake.

I took some samples to work and everybody loved them. People kept thanking me for bringing them yummy treats. Sigh. I love to make people's taste buds happy! E took a sample tray to his supervisor and she said that she will volunteer to be my official taste tester. :)

Here is a pic of my Brookies and a recipe I created, Cherry Coconut Bars. Those bars were delicious. I'm entering them into the Pillsbury Bake-Off. I doubt I'll have a chance, but you never know. I'm going to toil around with some other recipes to see what I can come up with.

I decided that I wanted to start baking my own bread. I'm a little nervous using yeast, so I decided to just start out using the bread machine. Here is a loaf of white bread. The house smelled so good as it was baking. Oh, and it tasted good, too. If I have time this weekend, I'll try to do some regular bread baking. I think I'll have to go buy some more bread pans first, though.

Saturday morning I wanted to make E a nice V-Day breakfast. Along with eggs and bacon, I made these Cranberry-Orange Biscuits from BH&G. I'll try to remember to post the recipe tomorrow. These were delicious! I've never made a biscuit by scratch before (can you say Bisquick?) so this was a treat. It's so much better than the baking mixes so I think I'll start making all biscuits by scratch from here on out. I may mess around with something tonight, or just take the night off. I haven't decided yet.

Miss B

Cranberry Bars

I wanted to actually bake a Raspberry, Walnut, & Chocolate Bar, but soon realized I had no raspberry preserves nor walnuts. Therefore, I had to compromise. I didn't think my Spiced Blueberry Jam or the Banana-Mango Jam would work to good with this. Since I already had the crust in the oven I had to come up with something. So....I pulled out a can of whole cranberry sauce and some pecans. This bar scared me when I first took it out of the oven because I didn't think it was done, even though the top was nicely browned. Everything still seemed so soft. After it completely cooled, it all fell into place. This actually turned out to be a good bar and a somewhat healthy one at that (unless you want to take into consideration all of the sugar!) Here is the recipe and some not-to-pretty pics. Sorry. I really, really need to get a good camera.

Cranberry Bars

Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar (I used white, but you could very well use brown)

1 can whole cranberry sauce

Topping:
1/4 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Mix 1 1/2 cups flour, butter, and 1/3 cup of brown sugar with electric mixer at low speed; mixture will be crumbly. Press onto bottom of ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

2. Bake at 350 degrees F for 18 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool for 10 minutes. Spread cranberry sauce over crust.

3. Mix 1/4 cup flour, 1 cup brown sugar, eggs, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Spread batter over cranberry layer. Sprinkle with pecans and chocolate chips.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely. Cut into bars.

Healthy Banana Bread and Graham Cracker Bars

We had an absolutely beautiful weekend, but I really didn't get to enjoy much of it. Saturday we spent the ENTIRE day in the turkey houses. I had to take two showers! UGH! I ended up having to take two showers yesterday, too. My skin is soooo dry now. I read in one of my magazines that olive oil is a great natural moisturizer, so I decided to try it. So far so good. My skin looks and feels great. I'm going to try using it for a deep conditioner tonight.

Mom came over yesterday to drop me off some eggs. THANK YOU!!! I've been baking so much lately and experimenting. This really helps cut the costs down. I looked at the fruit bowl and noticed the bananas were getting a little brown so I decided to make banana bread. I searched through my (probably millions) recipes and found a Weight Watchers recipe that sounded good. I didn't have all of the ingredients so I had to improvise. It's a not-too-sweet banana bread that soft and healthy. E said he likes it because it isn't too sweet. He said things that are really sweet make him thirsty. Here's the recipe my way and a couple of pics of the finished product:


Healthy Banana-Oatmeal Bread
adapted from Weight Watchers

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unpacked brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
3 tsp melted butter
2 large eggs, beaten
4 medium bananas, ripe
1 cup uncooked old fashioned oatmeal

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients. Add oil and eggs; mix thoroughly.

2. In a smaller bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher or fork. Add bananas and oatmeal to batter.

3. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray. Pour batter into pan and bake until top of loaf is form to the touch and a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes in pan. Flip out and cool on a wire rack for another 10 minutes. Slice and enjoy.

I found this recipe for Graham Cracker Bars in Better Homes & Gardens. It looked good so I really wanted to try it. I followed the recipe exactly and wouldn't want to change it. It was heavenly! The only complaint I have is that the graham crackers will be soft the next day. It should've been obvious to me since that happens when something soft (the filling) is stored with something crispy (the crackers). They were still delicious this morning, just didn't have that nice crisp to it. Here's the recipe:

Graham Cracker Bars

as seen in Better Homes & Gardens

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

12 graham cracker rectangles

1 Tbsp butter, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 to 3 tsp milk

Directions:

1. For filling, in a medium saucepan combine 3/4 cup butter, granulated sugar, 1/4 cup milk, and egg. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a full boil. Remove from heat. Stir in pecans and crumbs. Cool 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, place 6 of the graham crackers, side by side, on foil-lined baking sheet to make rectangle about 10 x 7 inches in size. Spoon filling in small mounds onto graham crackers. Carefully spread to an even layer being careful not to move crackers. Place remaining crackers on to to match up with bottom crackers. Lightly cover bars with plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator at least 4 hours or until filling is firm. Cut into bars.

3. In small bowl beat 1 tablespoon butter with whisk or electric mixer until smooth. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar and enough milk to make a thick drizzling consistency. Drizzle over bars. Let stand until set. Makes 24 bars.

I took a break after I finished up and then headed on over next door to bake some brookies for the restaurant. I'm getting ready to run those by now. E took the Graham Cracker Bars with him to work this morning, so I'll found out what they think about them later.

Update

Everybody loved them. It sounds like these are going to be a keeper.