New 'Do, New Glasses, New School Year

I managed to get a couple of pictures of a non-cooperative Kat on her first day of 4th Grade.   The purple dress just happens to be her school color, and she decided at the last minute to wear tennies instead of sandals so that she wouldn't get gravel in her flip-flops at recess.

She got her hair cut in a cute bob a couple of weeks ago.  Her glasses frames broke irreparably on Tuesday night, so we rushed -- and spent beaucoup bucks - for a new pair at a one-hour place yesterday.  It was almost time for her yearly exam, so we did that, and got the glasses filled with a new prescription.  Some back-up glasses are going to be ordered from an online vendor very soon, so that we don't have to spend that kind of money again.

You probably can't tell from the photo, but the glasses are black on the outside surfaces, hot pink on the inside.  Very bold and very cute.

Summer's Winding Down

• Shane and I enjoyed a weekend getaway in the camper. I'll write more about that later this week.
   
• Kat has a quick back-to-school night on Tuesday, then classes begin on Thursday. Yes, already.
   
• When we checked out teacher assignments, we learned that Kat's new teacher is named New Teacher. Hmm...seems a little late in the game to not know who's filling that position.
   
• Looking forward to dinner out on Thursday with my good friend C. We've been friends since 5th grade. She invited all of us, but I may decide to ditch the family and make it a Ladies' Night Out. Used to be that would have meant heading straight for the bar, dancing and drinking until the wee hours, then somehow each of us making it to work the next day. Now a wild night means dinner, one cocktail (if any), a little conversation, and making back home and asleep by 10:00 -- and probably feeling it the next day all the same.
   
• How dare you insinuate that we're getting old!
  
  



• Our garden is down to just tomatoes and a couple of watermelons at the moment. We let the pinto beans dry on the vine and shelled those out last week. We completely missed our window of opportunity on picking corn; it got too tough and chewy to eat, but we are letting it dry on the stalk and will try making some cornmeal with it. Our few cucumbers were so bitter from the heat that we gave up and ripped them out. The green beans and zucchini that we planted along with the corn (Three Sisters planting) didn't produce a thing.
   
• We're not done gardening yet, though. It's time for a fall planting!

Banana-Zucchini Bread (aka Bikini Bread)

Shane requested some zucchini bread, so I dug out my tried-and-true recipe.  But I spied one over-ripe banana on the counter, so I added that.  And when I reached for the cooking oil and sugar, I saw the coconut oil and Sucanat, so I substituted those.  Sometimes when I can't leave well enough alone, I end up with something even better.

Here is the original recipe.  My changes are in red.

Banana-Zucchini Bread

1 large egg
1 cup sugar (1 cup Sucanat)
1/2 cup oil (1/2 cup unrefined coconut oil)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup grated zucchini
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1-1/2 cups flour (I use a 50/50 mix of white and whole wheat)
1 cup chopped nuts (optional) (I didn't have any this time)

Heat oven to 325°F. Combine ingredients in the order listed. Spread batter into loaf pan sprayed with pan spray.  Bake at 325°F.  Bake 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.

Makes 1 loaf.

To make bars instead, spray an 8-inch square pan with pan spray.  Bake at 325°F for 35 minutes.  Cut into 16 bars.  Bars come out lighter and fluffier than loaves.

I'm Just a Blip on the Radar

Just a quick fly-by to say I might be scarce this week. Kat has been under the weather since Saturday night, I have tomatoes and other good things coming in from the garden that need to be worked up, I need to go vote, and I need to get ready for another weekend camping trip.

We're trying something different this time out.  Instead of camping in a state park or Corps of Engineers campground like we usually do, we're staying in an independently owned RV resort.  It used to be a private club but has recently been opened to the public and boasts a few more amenities that the state parks.  It's called Lake Paradise; I'll let you know if it's all it's cracked up to be.

We sold our travel trailer over the weekend, which was a relief.  This late in the summer, I was beginning to worry that we'd have to overwinter it (and make payments on it) until next season.  And just so I don't confuse you further, we sold the newer, but smaller, trailer that we bought last summer.  The older, but bigger, 5th wheel camper we bought a couple of months ago is still safely tucked in our side yard between trips.  It's doing a great job doubling as a a sunshade for many of our garden beds.

I just love happy accidents like that.

Stop The Madness!

It's a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world out there in the land of nutrition and healthy eating.  Sometimes we just need a little perspective.

Another great post by Erica of Northwest Edible Life.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

"Accidental" Cajun Chili

While I can eat chili any time of the year, it wasn't what I had set out to make for supper last Saturday.  My original intent was to make a Cajun Beans and Rice dish.  But after adding this, subbing that, and adding a few other things, I came up with something much more like chili.

I was with it enough to actually write down what I was doing so I can share this with you -- and make it again sometime.  Kat wasn't here to give it a try, but Shane and I really enjoyed it, regardless of it being the "wrong" time of year for chili.

If you don't like okra, try adding fresh or frozen chopped spinach.  If you don't have quinoa, use rice instead.  Feel free to make your own changes and make this recipe your own!

Annie's Cajun Chili

1 pound pork breakfast sausage
1 medium onion, diced
1 large bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic
1 pint (or 15 oz. can) black-eyed peas with liquid
2 pints water
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoons each of oregano and thyme
2 teaspoons low-sodium Old Bay Seasoning
1 teaspoon each celery salt and celery seed
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/2 pound frozen okra
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup dry quinoa

In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, crumble and fry pork sausage with onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook until sausage is no longer pink.  Drain fat from mixture, leaving a tablespoon or so of fat in the pan for flavor.

Stir in all remaining ingredients and bring mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until quinoa is tender and about half of liquid is absorbed.  Serve immediately or cover and let simmer for an hour or more to further develop flavors.

Serve with desired chili fixings such as cheese, sour cream, crackers, tortilla chips, etc.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Fudgy Double-Chocolate Brownies

I was asked to bring brownies to a get together over the weekend, so I made these.  They were a hit with everyone there.

If you like a more cake-like brownie, try reducing the eggs to just 2.

Fudgy Double-Chocolate Brownies

1-1/8 cups semi-sweet chocolate chip
1 stick butter, cut into chunks
3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1¼ cups sugar (can use white, organic, Sucanat, etc.)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. salt
1 cup (5 oz.) all-purpose flour (can use 1/2 cup whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup white flour)

Place an oven rack in middle position and preheat the oven to 350° F.  To make serving easier later, line an 8-inch square baking dish with foil.  Spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

In a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate chips and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth.  Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth.  Set aside to cool.  This step can be done in a microwave oven, but you must stir frequently to prevent over-cooking.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt; whisk until well blended.  Whisk in the warm (not hot) chocolate mixture until incorporated.  Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon until just combined.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly..  Bake until slightly puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs clinging to it.  This can vary from oven to oven, so begin checking at 35 minutes.  My oven took a long 50 minutes to cook completely, but yours may be done sooner.

Cool brownies in the pan on a wire rack for about 2 hours. Remove the brownies in foil from the pan and place on a cutting board.  Remove the foil and cut into squares as desired.  Add frosting or embellishments (like these little cow-shaped sprinkles) as desired. Store in an air-tight container. 

Makes 12 to 16 brownies.