100 Days of Pinterest: Lemon Zucchini Bread

Well, the day has come. I have reached 100 Days of Pinterest! It's been a long, inspiring journey. I went from dwelling on how unlucky I was, to marveling at how talented I am. I think anyone who has been handed a diagnosis such as multiple sclerosis can relate to those feelings of pity, anger, and depression. I needed an escape from those emotions and this 100 Days of Pinterest challenge helped me to get away from those feelings. Of course, I still have my days when I feel like total hell. That's to be expected. However, I have stopped obsessing over a disease that I can't fix. I have redirected my energy to a better place, and that has been such an amazing result.

When I created this challenge I had no idea that I was a foodie or even had the ability to do half of the projects I attempted. Yes, I failed at making caramels the first two times. However, I didn't give up and I was successful the third time around. I discovered my passion for creating things that were better for my family than the processed foods that are so convenient. I have also met some really great people in the blogging community along the way. It's been a process that has benefited my overall well-being and I am thankful that I took the challenge on. I was hesitant at first, but once I got going I couldn't stop being inspired.

That being said, let's get on to the recipe that was my favorite from the past week. Since it's garden harvest time, I stuck with something that can be made with those zucchinis that are ready to be picked or found at your local farmer's market. This Lemon Zucchini Bread is amazing. It's also a healthy alternative to last week's Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread (<----SO GOOD! Click there, you know you want the recipe).  It has fresh lemon and lemon zest inside that make it a perfect summer treat. I made a loaf for a family get-together and it didn't last long.

Here's the recipe.

Lemon Zucchini Bread With Lemon Glaze
Originally posted on NancyCreative.com

Makes one 9×5″ loaf

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• Juice of 1 lemon (or 2 Tablespoons lemon juice)
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup grated zucchini (you don’t need to peel the zucchini before grating it)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×5″ loaf pan; set aside.
In large bowl, blend flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In medium bowl, beat 2 eggs well, then add canola oil and sugar, and blend well. Then add the buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest and blend everything well. Fold in zucchini and stir until evenly distributed in mixture.
Add this mixture to the dry ingredients in the large bowl and blend everything together, but don’t overmix.
Pour batter into prepared 9×5″ loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (if your oven tends to run hot, check the loaf after 40 minutes; also, if you make this in an 8×4″ loaf pan, your baking time may be a little longer…about 5 to 10 minutes more). Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and cool completely. While loaf is cooling, you can make the glaze…
LEMON GLAZE

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon (or 2 Tablespoons lemon juice)

In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice until well blended. Spoon glaze over cooled loaf. Let glaze set, then serve.
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That's it. Since I took this to a family get together and didn't feel like making two loaves, I sliced the bread as normal and then halved each piece and put them on a serving platter. That way, instead of eight slices of bread, I had sixteen half slices. Worked perfectly. There is an excessive amount of lemon glaze, so put as much glaze as you want on the loaf. You may have some left over, or you may go glaze crazy and pour the whole amount on the loaf. It's all you, do your glaze thing!

I've now made a Double Chocolate and a Lemon Zucchini bread. I wonder what other flavors of zucchini bread I can find? Do you have any ideas? I would love to hear them. You can send me an email with your recipe to: womaninthemancave@yahoo.com or you can post them here. Either way, I'd love to give them a try. I'm on the lookout for a great regular zucchini bread recipe and I hope you can help me out!

As always . . .

take care!
NB

100 Days of Pinterest: Day 64 - Copycat KFC Coleslaw and Orange Julius Recipes

Hello again. I hope you all are enjoying your summer. The temperatures in Ohio have finally started to hit that summer time high. It makes it difficult to have my oven on for long periods of time, but I still try to bake in the evening.

Since summer is upon us, I've been working on making things that don't involve long oven times. I have even attempted to make some soft caramels. This was a challenge. I ended up making them three times, because I failed the first two times. I have learned that I need a lot of practice with candy making. I used the Good Housekeeping Beer Caramels pin I found for the recipe. The first attempt was runny, because I obviously didn't get them to that 'soft ball' stage correctly. Instead of throwing the batch out, I put it in a mason jar and stuck it in the fridge to be used for ice cream topping. It is actually really good. The second batch was ridiculous. It was at that "almost soft ball" stage and I ended up just tossing it out. I don't like to waste things, but I don't like to hold on to things that irritate me either. I tried one more time, because I'm one of those people who likes to drive themselves nuts by doing it over and over until I get it right or somewhat right. The third and final attempt came out better, but they weren't soft and chewy. They were a little harder, but chewy once you got them warmed up. Sort of like those Riesen candies. Good enough for me. My husband enjoyed them and he took them to work to torture other people with. They liked them too. If only they knew they were supposed to be soft caramels. Oh well!

Since grilling out is not an option during the summer I also made some Copycat KFC Coleslaw to go along with our burgers and hot dogs. When I was pregnant for my younger son, I ate a lot of KFC coleslaw. So, I'm a KFC coleslaw connoisseur of sorts. When I was making this, I kept thinking "this better be good", because I had already had my share of fails with the caramels. I used my Ninja Ultima to get the head of cabbage to the right coleslawy (no, that's not a word...but I'm using it) perfection. I had to put three separate portions through, because I couldn't fit the whole cabbage in at once. It did the trick perfectly though. I got the right consistency. If you don't want to hassle with the cabbage chopping process, you can certainly buy the bag of coleslaw cabbage that is already prepared at the store in the bagged salad section. It would work just as well, but you may want to chop it up a bit more. 

The slaw dressing recipe from the Pin came from Everyday Mom's Meals. It's super simple, but worth the effort. Here's the recipe:

KFC Coleslaw  From Everyday Mom's Meals
1 head cabbage, finely diced
1/4 c. finely diced carrots
2 TBS minced onion
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. milk
1/2 c. mayo
1/4 c. buttermilk
1 1/2 TBS white vinegar
2 1/2 TBS lemon juice

In a large bowl combine cabbage, carrots and minced onion. To prepare dressing, combine sugar, salt, pepper, milk, mayo, buttermilk, vinegar and lemon juice. Whisk until combined. Pour over cabbage mixture.  Mix well. Cover and refrigerate until serving, or overnight. Before serving, garnish with parsley if desired.
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I let the coleslaw sit overnight and when I went to test it the next day it was a little dryer than I'd like. So, I whipped up another batch of the dressing and poured it on. Worked like a charm! Good stuff!

I know buttermilk is not a common item in regular people's refrigerators. If you buy some for this recipe, you can always make buttermilk pancakes with the leftovers or you can try some Oven Baked Buttermilk Chicken Strips. I'm making these tonight, so I can't tell you if they are good yet, but I'm sure they will be yummy. I mean, it's chicken for pete's sake! When is chicken not good?

Since it's hot outside, I also whipped up some Orange Julius drinks in my Ninja blender.  I had one from Burger King the other day (except they call it an Orange Freeze). Since then, I've been hooked. I know the sugar levels in these are high. So, I've been limiting my intake. I am not a big soda drinker. Water is my thing, but it's nice to splurge on these little gems every once in a while. This recipe is super easy to make and a lot cheaper than buying them at the fast food joints. Here's the recipe I used. I'm sure there are better ones out there. If you know of one, please pass it along to me.

 

Orange Julius

Author: Desiree at The 36th Avenue

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 6 Oz Frozen orange juice concentrate
• 2 Cups of Milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• ¼th Cup Sugar (more if needed for sweetness)
• 6 to 9 Ice Cubes

Instructions

1. In a blender, combine all of the ingredients. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and enjoy!

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Simple enough, right? I ended up adding a little more sugar, because the orange juice concentrate was super bitter. I'm not one to add loads of sugar to things, but this sucker needed sweetening. I would really like to find a better recipe. So, pass them along if you have them.

I hope you continue to enjoy your week and as always find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. I'd love to get to know you better and share some recipe ideas.

Take care.

NB