Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Grandma, is that for me?

I decided that I wanted to make a loaf of zucchini bread to have with my coffee in the morning.. so after I went swimming on Monday, and after I went to the garden center to buy a new flower, I drove through the countryside to stop at Burn's Produce Stand to get a zucchini and whatever else struck my fancy.  I got a bouquet of these flowers, 2 apples and 9 ears of corn, picked that very morning.  When I got home I realized that I forgot to get the one thing I went there for.. the zuke.  Sheesh.  
But these sunflowers have been bringing me joy every day! 
Story time.  SO.. I showed you the ripple afghan that I was working on.. and my youngest grandson kept looking at it and saying.. is that for me?  Well.. when he was born I asked my DIL if she'd like me to make a blanket for him and she said, no, she had plenty of blankets.  Well, he has mentioned that his brother had one and he'd like one.  SO.. I went "shopping" in my office (hoarding room) and found enough CottonTots yarn to start on a blanket for Caleb!  The other blanket was at a standstill until I receive a shipment of some other colors from KnitPicks, anyway.   
I'm doing a regular "neat ripple".  Lucy also has the pattern for the neat ripple on her blog - Attic24
Now a mini rant.  This is a wonderful yarn for baby and child projects.. and Bernat has seen fit to CANCEL SELLING THIS YARN!  Why is it that yarn companies have such a short attention span?  ::sigh::  Now I have to find a new "go to" cotton for kids projects.  Any suggestions? 
Luckily, I had an older zucchini here, so I was able to make my bread yesterday.  It fell a bit, but it's delicious!  
I added a cup of pecans that I broke into big pieces with my hands.  I cut this while too warm, but I had to test it out to see if it turned out, didn't I?  :-)  
Oh.. and my stop at the nursery was to get a "hardy hibiscus" - I saw one on my blog friend Teresa's blog CreativeMeAndLife.  Now this flower is part of our garden family.  The color name is "Granache".  I want to get a "Tie Dye" colored one like Teresa's.  
I'm off to go swimming today, maybe I'd better stop again at Burns Produce stand and actually get a new zucchini?  ((hugs)), Teresa :-)   Here's my favorite recipe:

TERESA'S VERY BEST ZUCCHINI BREAD

1 Egg
1/2 C oil
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C white sugar
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking powder
1 tsp Mapeline
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 C flour
1 C grated zucchini
1 C chopped nuts (optional)

Mix all together, put in buttered or non-stick spayed loaf pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.  Easy to double this recipe.  NOTE:  The Mapeline gives an extra depth to the flavor of this, but it does not make it taste like maple.

20 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you're making a blanket for Caleb but especially because he wants one, I think that's really sweet for a little boy :) Our nephews would be like "erm nope! Not interested unless it's a toy" haha

    I had to look up what a zucchini was, turns out they are courgettes! Yum yum :) Your bread looks yummy, I laughed when you said you forgot the one thing you went for. That is SO me, just completely distracted by other lovely things :D

    xxx

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  2. I love zucchini bread, glad you were able to make it after all. I don't use much cotton but I liked Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton pretty well when I've used it for a few projects. I am sure Caleb will love having his own little blanket. :)

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  3. I love zucchini bread and used to make it all the time when I had a good veg garden.
    Cute Caleb will love his blanket ☺

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  4. Those sunflowers look just perfect!

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  5. I have to laugh, I have these 2 little sunflowers (volunteers) that are behind my peony bushes. I guess they came from the chipmunks spreading around the sunflower seeds from the feeder, lol. I have to admit, your pick was so eye-popping and simply gorgeous. I don't see why anyone wouldn't just love sunflowers, they are so pleasant to look at. Then I made z bread a couple weeks ago and pulled the last loaf out of the freezer. I had 4 loaves total, one went next door. The 4th went into the freezer, but heavens to Betsy I can't remember what happened to the 2nd and 3rd loaves....well, I do recall one loaf just might have been slowly eaten by yours truly. I don't think I ate the 3rd loaf, hummmm.......You are a soft touch Grandma, I don't blame you one bit for making that grandson his own blanket. Have fun.
    (((HUGS))) Susanne :)

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  6. LOVE those sunflowers and your new hardy hibiscus too! That is SO sweet of you to make your grandson an afghan; I know he'll love it! Zucchini bread sounds good...hopefully my wonderful neighbor will soon gift me with another one! Do you think I could substitute regular maple syrup for the mapleline or would it be better to leave it out?
    Blessings,
    Aimee

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  7. I hadn't heard of zucchini bread before, I think I will give it a try!
    And I haven't, in all these many Yeats of crocheting made a ripple pattern either, although it is on my to do list.

    Loving those flowers!

    Helenxx

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  8. Beautiful flowers, Teresa!!! And I love the the new ripple you started for Caleb...so sorry about Cottontots :( Carolyn flies away on Saturday, and does not want to move up here. Our other sister invited her to go on a cruise to Hawaii in October! I am still trying to play catch-up over here, and have not done any stitching :( Your Z-bread looks yummy:) Hope to see you soon!
    Gracie xx

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  9. Hi Teresa,Ditto on the yarn!!!That has often happened to me too!!!Love the zucchini bread and I am going to tag this recipe to try out later in my new kitchen!!!Have a great day!!!
    Love
    AMarie

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  10. Beautiful sunflowers, and such a lovely cheerful blanket....how sweet that your grandson wanted you to make it specially for him :) Would love a slice of that zucchini bread now with a cup of tea! I have been known to cut a cake a bit early too, before it has cooled right down...and I've also gone out to get something from the shops and come back without it, but with a lot of other items :)
    Enjoy your week, Teresa!
    Helen x

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  11. I LOVE zucchini bread (when I'm allowing myself to eat sugars). I've saved your recipe and will use it later this year. We have company coming for the holidays and they will eat something like that. Thanks for sharing! Yummmmmm!

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  12. I have never made zucchini bread so I'm glad you included your recipe. I'm going to add a zucchini to my grocery list. Now about that Cottontots, I KNOW! I was really disappointed to hear they were discontinuing it too. I did find a good replacement that feels the same. It's called Nature's Choice Organic Cotton by Lion Brand. Of course, it's more expensive, but it feels and looks the same as Cottontots to me. Love those sunflowers!

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  13. The sunflowers are gorgeous. Nothing blooming here right now. Too hot and humid and many of my plants died while I was away. That hibiscus looks huge! So pretty. I made a vegan raisin and walnut bread this week. Enjoyed it with coffee every morning and shared some with my boss who thought it was so good he ate the whole loaf in one sitting (a mini-loaf, of course). :) Have a great day. Tammy

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  14. What a beautiful blanket you are making for your dear grandson Teresa, it's great that he asked for it himself, he must love what you make. Mmm that bread looks great and I know just what you mean about forgetting the one thing you went out shopping for. I try to take a list but then I even manage to lose that....LOLOL! Jane x

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  15. I'm not familiar with Mapeline, what is it exactly and do you find it in your local grocery? The bread looks so delicious. I love the hisbiscus. I bought two to plant, but we have such heat down here (106) I'm putting it off. Plus we are overrun with rabbits this year and I had one sitting on the patio and they stripped the leaves off of it twice. So waiting for cooler weather and have to buy some chicken wire to go around it!

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  16. Love, love, love the sunflowers! I had a bouquet like them at the lake and they lasted about 10 days and then...droop. Literally overnight they fell over.
    Your blanket for Caleb is perfect for a little boy. I'm disappointed that Cotton-tots is going away too, but I also love Hobby Lobby's brand of cotton. I could always ship some of that to you since you don't have a HL.
    Mmmm. Zucchini bread. I made some last week and put one loaf in the freezer for later. Otherwise I would eat it all at one time!
    Have a wonderful afternoon my friend.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  17. Hi Teresa the sunflowers are gorgeous just what I needed to see. The blanket is going to be lovely too. So sweet Caleb wants one. Which reminds me I must,must , must start scarves for Harry and Sam. They have both asked for multi coloured ones . A shame about your yarn supplier. so annoying. The bread looks delish. Hugs Anne x

    PS The bouquet was for our 42nd Wedding Anniversary. x

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  18. I found your blog through your comment at Mias Landliv's blog. I agreed with what you said ;-)

    I do love everything in your post today. Sunflowers are one of my favourite flowers and I love crochet. The zucchini bread looks so delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

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  19. Hi Teresa, the sunflowers are absolutely breathtaking! Your photos are lovely. That zucchini bread looks and sounds amazing. Thank you so much for sharing!

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  20. Fabulous sunflowers...sunshine in a vase.
    Always annoying when companies stop making a favourite yarn....may be all in a sale and you can buy the lot hehe
    Hugs x

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