Good Day - Rough Day

Tuesday afternoon my dear friend delivered a loaf of her wonderful lemon poppyseed zucchini bread. It was wrapped in aluminum foil and it was still WARM! Great surprise! Needless to say I cut me a slice to have with supper.

Wednesday after my nap I dug out the old Daisy sealer and the roll of foodsaver plastic that my brother had given me when I couldn't find any more of the original type seal bags. *I blogged about this in the past. The thing is, the old bags were already sealed at one end and were individual items of two different sizes. It just another 'make-do' project now and has been useful several times - just a little more work. *Links to old blogs at the bottom here.

They have been popped into the freezer and I can have one slice at a time.

The 'rough day' part is that I went to the local health system to get my usual 8 week shoulder injection. The original orthopedic surgeon has retired and this was my second visit with the new fellow. The last time went ok, even though I had to have lumbar x-rays for a badly sprained back but the shoulder shot hit the mark well. Today he didn't seem to be sure of where to inject and was asking me where it should go. I only remember where the original guy did it so I indicated the area. After he removed the needle, he grabbed some gauze as the injection site was bleeding. (I am not on any blood thinners.) The bad thing was - are you ready? The blood stained the back neck of my brand new special mauve waffle weave shirt! It was the first time I wore it and did so, knowing it would stretch over the shoulder to make access easy. I couldn't wait to get home and rinse it out with cold water. Yes, it did come out.

*two links below

OLD Food Sealer

My Two Loaves

Winter Prep

 A friend sent over two of her zucchini breads when I was hobbling around on my walker due to the injured knee. They were in little tins and the perfect size to demolish quickly. Since then I have been accumulating the ingredients after requesting the recipe she used. I must say, this was an all-morning project for me but well worth it! This recipe produced a very large baked result as I didn't follow the directions exactly as listed and put my own twist on it. After our lunchtime treat, I packaged 1/4 for my grandson, 1/4 for a friend, and will package and freeze the rest to enjoy over the winter. Sometimes I feel like a squirrel! 

please click on image to view larger

YIELD: 2 Loaves *

Lemon Poppyseed Zucchini Bread

PREP TIME: 25 minutes COOK TIME: 55 minutes

 

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

• 1 package (3.4 oz.) instant lemon pudding mix

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 4 large eggs

• 1 1/4 cups milk

• 1 cup vegetable oil

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon lemon extract

• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

• 2 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 medium sized zucchini's)

• 1/4 cup poppy seeds

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. *Spray two 9x5 loaf pans with nonstick spray.

2. *Shred two zucchini's using a food processor with shredder attachment.

3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, pudding mix, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

4. In another bowl, whisk eggs, milk, oil, lemon juice and lemon extract.

5. Pour lemon mixture into dry ingredients and mix until JUST COMBINED! Do not OVER MIX!

6. Fold in zucchini, lemon zest and poppy seeds. *I added 1 cup of ground walnuts.

7. Pour zucchini bread mixture into prepared *loaf pans and bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

NOTES………………………………………..

* I shredded one medium zucchini with a hand held grater. The food processor shreds too finely for my tastes.

* I lined a 10" x 15" pyrex glass pan with release foil instead of using two loaf pans. (Everyone who bakes or cooks needs one of these! I use it mostly for bread puddings!)

* I didn’t remove from pan after cooled. Sliced and packaged individual servings.

Internet Photo

Baking Day

Feeling Susie Homemaker today so baked a new recipe. I have been saving this for a long time and today is THE DAY.

Baked and glazed

 Sliced with electric knife

 Test slice

 Served to Mister

please click on image to view larger

He said it is the best and most delicious blueberry concoction I have ever made! (I didn't use nuts)

RECIPE

Blueberry Lemon Bread

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 15 min. Bake: 1 hour + cooling   YIELD: 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice (I used freshly squeezed that I had frozen earlier)
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (If using frozen blueberries use without thawing to avoid coloring the batter.)
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
• GLAZE:
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup sugar

Directions

• 1. In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, lemon juice and eggs. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir into egg mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Fold in the blueberries, nuts and lemon zest.
• 2. Transfer to a greased 8x4-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.
• 3. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm bread. Cool completely.

(I lined my pan with Release foil instead of greasing it. The foil was later put under the loaf to catch the drippings before spooning the glaze over the top.)

UPDATE! The trash collector took his slice home to eat with his dinner, the Mister ate 2 pieces after lunch, I ate one, and at 4PM our daughter visited and ate 2 more! They are going F A S T!!

JUMBOS!

To tell the truth, this recipe wore me out! I was trying to replicate an old recipe that my grandmother used. The recipe is lost, but the memories aren't. The cookies were large, very large. They were crispy on the outside edges and softer in the middle. The main thing I remember is that they were very lemony and very sugary. She kept them in a large grey tin marked "Cookies" under her kitchen sink. It seems as if they were always there.  I think these gems come close. 

I used a fine grate to zest my lemons. I used my old pastry blender to incorporate the zest into the sugar. 

I used an electric juicer to obtain the juice that was called for. There was a lot of juice left over, so I froze it.

Then the Big Red Workhorse was put to use. When all mixed, the dough had to go into the refrigerator for an hour to become firm. The next step was to scoop up and roll some dough into 6 large balls, then roll each ball in the sugared zest, then press each down on the baking sheet with a small bowl. It seemed to take forever for them to bake the 14 minutes while I washed some of the dishes. 

It seemed to be a long five minute wait for them to be ready to remove from the sheet.

Next, the entire process was again begun. Four times. I’m glad I timed each batch in the oven and watched as the temperature remained steady. I really think it was important. 

If there were some way to share these you would be appalled at their deliciousness! Oh my GOSH!  

please click on cookie to taste  

I have each one stored in its own sealed bag. Too much of a good thing is not good, don’t you know! One at a time, and once in a while they will leave their wrap and be enjoyed like a fine wine. Hopefully.