I got a ton of zucchini in my CSA box, so that's what made this all come about. For those of you who have never tried zucchini bread and think it sounds totally gross, do not be put off! It yields something similar in style to carrot cake. Anyway, here's the recipe, which i modified from something I found on the internet.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon or so white sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground dried lavender
2 teaspoons lemon and orange zest *
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan. (these would probably make great muffins, too
2. In a bowl, beat together the zucchini, sugar, honey, egg, and oil. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder; stir in the cinnamon, lavender and zest. Stir the flour mixture into the zucchini mixture just until blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from heat, and cool about 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
* I took the orange and lemon that i got the zest from, cut them up, stuffed them in a jar and covered in water and put it in the fridge. It's a nice tasty drink to go with this bread.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Book Review: Breath of Angel
Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review
Breath of Angel was a great fantasy story and a strong setup for future stories in its world. Melaia, a young priestess, finds herself entangled in the secret struggle among angels, who have remained mostly hidden from the normal populace. She soon is carried off into adventure and ends up with more responsibility in the secret war than she had bargained for.
The mythology and backstory for the setting of this book is quite strong, and I will be curious to see what comes next in the series. I especially liked the eerie depiction of the draks, vulture-like creatures made from human souls that bear their former inhabitants' hands instead of talons.
There were parts of the book that felt a little bit hasty in development of character relationships or the unfolding of events, but it is a minor criticism and didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the story. 4 stars!
Monday, April 11, 2011
Weekly Goal Progress Report #12
Missed a week. Oh well! Forging on...
1) One free thing in LA per month. I think I'm going to take a rest on the events and instead check out the California Science Center either this weekend or next.
2) Financial: Been stickin close to the budget, and as such I will pay off my small private student loan in June, which is a big deal to me. Otherwise, budgeting isn't terribly exciting.
3) Sew 3 Things. 1 or 3 completed. Some mending, but no updates on the next project. I contemplated making a rain coat for Mr. Davis, but that might be crossing the line. Tips for good beginner sewing projects welcome!
4) 20 Minutes of Games Every Other Day: I've been a busy gamer, recently! Still charging through Okamiden and enjoying it immensely, and I'm dabbling about in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, plotting to try the multiplayer eventually. If I had the time to devote to games that I did in high school and college, I feel I would be the sort of person to just play the crap out of Assassin's Creed. Meanwhile, I hadn't played League of Legends or Starcraft II in awhile, so I took them off the "doesn't count" list. Well, now they have to go right back on! The HD Stranger's Wrath is supposed to come out this month, though I haven't heard any updates on release dates or price. Still, that is the next game on my radar.
1) One free thing in LA per month. I think I'm going to take a rest on the events and instead check out the California Science Center either this weekend or next.
2) Financial: Been stickin close to the budget, and as such I will pay off my small private student loan in June, which is a big deal to me. Otherwise, budgeting isn't terribly exciting.
3) Sew 3 Things. 1 or 3 completed. Some mending, but no updates on the next project. I contemplated making a rain coat for Mr. Davis, but that might be crossing the line. Tips for good beginner sewing projects welcome!
4) 20 Minutes of Games Every Other Day: I've been a busy gamer, recently! Still charging through Okamiden and enjoying it immensely, and I'm dabbling about in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, plotting to try the multiplayer eventually. If I had the time to devote to games that I did in high school and college, I feel I would be the sort of person to just play the crap out of Assassin's Creed. Meanwhile, I hadn't played League of Legends or Starcraft II in awhile, so I took them off the "doesn't count" list. Well, now they have to go right back on! The HD Stranger's Wrath is supposed to come out this month, though I haven't heard any updates on release dates or price. Still, that is the next game on my radar.
Friday, April 1, 2011
A Year with Mr. Davis
As of March 19th, Mr. Davis has been with me for a whole year! Time certainly flies! I remember how excited I was when I first brought him home from the shelter, and a little nervous about how he would settle in. Now I can't imagine life without him as a part of my family!
Here's a recap of Kitty Stats for the year:
- Mr. Davis's clicker-training repertoire now includes the following: Sit, come, stand, high five, jump up (stand on hind legs and touch my hand with his paw), up (onto furniture), down (off of furniture), paw (shake), jump over, go underneath, and spin (turn around in a circle once).
- Click tricks we're currently working up: climb up the carpet wall on command, and chase a ball on command
- He sleeps next to me every night, sometimes getting fussy if I stay up too late. I now understand his "come to bed" meow. He wakes me up in the morning by kissing me on the forehead
- We go on a walk just about every day, unless it rains. My neighbors love to say hello to him. One said he was the most famous cat in Burbank
- When he gets too lovey or riled up he is prone to chomp, but we're working on this with training. Petting sessions do not begin until I make him do a trick, and he must come and sit in certain places before being fed or having his harness put on. All play, petting, and clicker training have definitive end signals (clapping, showing him my empty hands, and saying "all done")
- Nick is Mr. Davis's favorite person in the whole wide world, and when he comes over, Mr. Davis can't stop rolling over and begging to be petted.
- Mr. Davis does not like seeing neighborhood cats, but he's made friends with 2 cats in my complex, and he meows excitedly and runs up to see them every time they appear on the balcony or at a window when I'm out on my walk.
- He may be a fusscat sometimes, and sometimes he's too cool for school, but more often than not he's a big ole sweetheart and I'm so happy and thankful that he's part of my life!
I'll leave you with a few of my favorite Davis Photos
Here's a recap of Kitty Stats for the year:
- Mr. Davis's clicker-training repertoire now includes the following: Sit, come, stand, high five, jump up (stand on hind legs and touch my hand with his paw), up (onto furniture), down (off of furniture), paw (shake), jump over, go underneath, and spin (turn around in a circle once).
- Click tricks we're currently working up: climb up the carpet wall on command, and chase a ball on command
- He sleeps next to me every night, sometimes getting fussy if I stay up too late. I now understand his "come to bed" meow. He wakes me up in the morning by kissing me on the forehead
- We go on a walk just about every day, unless it rains. My neighbors love to say hello to him. One said he was the most famous cat in Burbank
- When he gets too lovey or riled up he is prone to chomp, but we're working on this with training. Petting sessions do not begin until I make him do a trick, and he must come and sit in certain places before being fed or having his harness put on. All play, petting, and clicker training have definitive end signals (clapping, showing him my empty hands, and saying "all done")
- Nick is Mr. Davis's favorite person in the whole wide world, and when he comes over, Mr. Davis can't stop rolling over and begging to be petted.
- Mr. Davis does not like seeing neighborhood cats, but he's made friends with 2 cats in my complex, and he meows excitedly and runs up to see them every time they appear on the balcony or at a window when I'm out on my walk.
- He may be a fusscat sometimes, and sometimes he's too cool for school, but more often than not he's a big ole sweetheart and I'm so happy and thankful that he's part of my life!
I'll leave you with a few of my favorite Davis Photos
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| From Birthday Cat |
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| From Birthday Cat |
 |
| From More Mr Davis |
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| From More Mr Davis |
 |
| From Mr. Davis Lounges |
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| From Walking Mr. Davis |
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| From More Mr. Davis |
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