Don't know when to stop

I still had a ton of zucchini left after making the cake, so I ended up making three loaves of zucchini bread, plus one loaf of chocolate zucchini bread. Boy, did I make a mess in the kitchen! But they turned out great, and I've got a freezer full of bread for breakfast now. I love to eat something sweet in the morning.

I also bought about 10 pounds of pickling cucumbers from the folks at Black's Heritage Farm in Ames. They helped start the nearby Slater farmers' market on Wednesday night. I can just call head, and they'll have the cucumbers(or whatever veggies I want) waiting for me after work.

Since my garden dill is starting to wilt, I decided to try bread & butter pickles. Unfortunately, in what has become an all-too-common pattern of mine, I failed to read the recipe ahead of time. When I decided to start canning on Saturday night, I realized I needed to soak the cucumbers in ice water for four hours first. So I delayed the canning until Sunday.

After the four-hour soak, I read through the rest of the recipe and realized I forgot to add the pickling salt. So I added it to the water last minute. Hope it doesn't make a difference in the long run...

I have to admit, it took forever to pickle and can all those darn pickles. It took more than eight hours, from start to finish, including four hours of boiling the pickling liquid and processing the jars. My canner can only process six pint-size jars at once, and I ended up with 18 jars of pickles. And the smell of the hot cider vinegar was overwhelming. I completely lost my appetite for the rest of the night.

But when I finished the last jar at 8:30 p.m., Josh and my sister told me the pickles looked great. I hope they taste better than they smelled. I may never get the smell of vinegar out of my mind. My pickling days are officially over (at least for the summer).

Just one more picture to show the potency of the pickling liquid: The yellow tumeric spice in the pickling solution stained my old countertop. But Josh insists that it will come out over time. We'll see...

Zucchini o'plenty

The CSA farmer offered me as much zucchini as I could carry back to my truck this week. So I grabbed three big squashes that barely fit into my refrigerator crisper. I've got big plans for these babies!

First on my list was baking one of my husband's favorite: zucchini chocolate cake! I found the recipe in an old church cookbook that my mother-in-law sent me. The zucchini makes the snack cake very moist. And how can anyone resist chocolate chips!

Here's the recipe:

Zucchini Chocolate Cake

• - 1/4 c. butter, softened
• - 1/2 c. oil
• - 1-1/2 c. sugar
• - 2 eggs
• - 1 tsp. vanilla
• - 1/2 c. milk
• - 2-1/2 c. flour
• - 4 tbsp. cocoa
• - 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• - 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• - 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• - 1/2 tsp. salt
• - 2 c. peeled, finely chopped zucchini

Mix all ingredients together, except zucchini. Add zucchini last and mix well. Spread in 9x13 greased pan. Mix the following and sprinkle on top:

• - 1 c. chopped nuts
• - 1 c. chocolate chips
• - 1 tbsp. sugar
• - 2 tbsp. brown sugar

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

I've also got a couple recommendations for the baking ingredients. If you ever are in West Des Moines near Valley West Mall, make a stop at Penzey's spices near Pier 1. I've been using Penzey's cinnamon and Mexican vanilla in my baking, and they are fabulous! They have a very rich aroma, and they make baked goods taste amazing. Also, I discovered Florida Crystals organic sugar at my local Fareway. I don't buy into the organic trend, but this sugar is something special. It's light brown in color, and it tastes more like brown sugar. It gives baked goods a nice caramelized color. Definitely worth the extra price.

How my garden grows

It wasn't a big haul, but I started picking the first tomatoes from my garden last week. I also picked a baby acorn squash, since the others on the vine have been attacked by bugs before they get a chance to grow. I'm getting a few cucumbers each week, as well, but not enought to make a jar of pickles.

My backyard garden is so colorful right now. The flowers are looking great thanks to the recent rains. And I can't believe the size of the marigolds. They were just little seedlings when I bought them from the Des Moines FFA greenhouse sale last May.


Another view of the vegetable/flower garden. The marigolds really have taken over.

My perinnual garden is also blooming, although it's not as colorful as it has been in past years. Some of the flowers didn't come back from last winter's subzero temperatures.

Found this strange worm (or is it a catepillar) on my cucumber plants. Very strange. It didn't move the whole time I was taking this picture.

The tomatoes are growing out of control. I've tried to pinch the vines back, but they just want to keep growing. Still not many ripe tomatoes yet.

Josh's clematis vines are blooming like crazy. So pretty!

The glads are also looking beautiful, although they keep falling down under their own weight. These blooms are in a vase on my kitchen counter.