Combine fruit and juice in a pot, cook 15 minutes or until rhubarb is soft. Add sugar, lemon juice and salt. . . . → Read More: rhubarb strawberry jam]]> 1 lb. rhubarb, trimmed and sliced in 1/2 inch pieces
1 lb. strawberries, trimmed and hulled
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup apple juice
pinch salt
juice of 1 lemon

Combine fruit and juice in a pot, cook 15 minutes or until rhubarb is soft. Add sugar, lemon juice and salt. Cook until it passes the freezer test.

Can.

Enjoy.

Next time, triple the monster because this is clearly not going to be enough jam.  Amelia licked the freezer test jam off the plate and then asked for more, please, to lick off the plate.

What to do when you’re finally tired of using overgrown zucchinis as baseball bats

see also:

Applesauce -OR- What to do when you’re finally tired of using mushy Gravensteins as baseballs.

We planted several zucchini plants this year knowing full well that we’d have too many by half, but I was inspired by . . . → Read More: Zucchini Bread]]> -OR-

What to do when you’re finally tired of using overgrown zucchinis as baseball bats

see also:

Applesauce -OR- What to do when you’re finally tired of using mushy Gravensteins as baseballs.

We planted several zucchini plants this year knowing full well that we’d have too many by half, but I was inspired by a friend to put up a freezer-full of zucchini bread.  We trudged through a few recipes that were alright-to-fine but I finally found one I really enjoyed, and what’s more, Kelsey enjoyed as well.  I know I’ve struck gold when Kelsey makes a favorable comment on something I’ve made instead of telling me what to do differently next time.

The golden recipe comes from SmittenKitchen but with the substitution of applesauce for the oil.  I have not actually tried her recipe as it’s written, but I’ve got to say, the applesauce really is nice.  Plus, I can throw some chocolate chips in it and not feel like a complete glutton.  I mean, there is virtually no fat in the damn thing.  Slather with butter.  Go ahead.  It’s ok.  It’s moist and sweet but not too sweet and by god everybody in the house likes it.  That’s good enough for me.

Almost SmittenKitchen’s Zucchini Bread

for 2 loaves:

3 eggs

1 cup applesauce

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups grated zucchini

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups AP flour

3 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup walnuts

some amount of chocolate chips perhaps, if one is feeling feisty.

Preheat oven to 350

Grate zucchini and let it drain in a colander in the sink as you bring the other ingredients together.

In a medium bowl combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, soda, powder, salt and walnuts.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, then add applesauce and sugar and then the vanilla and zucchini.  Beat to combine and then add in the dry ingredients.  When just combined stir in chocolate chips, if using.

Butter and flour two loaf pans and fill ‘em up.  They’ll need to bake for about an hour but make sure to check and rotate half way through.

ALSO:  Once released from the pans, let them sit until they’ve cooled.  Cutting into hot bread makes the loaves gummy and disappointing.  I have learned this far too many times the hard way.

That’s my boy.

The problem? Our guest list for Thanksgiving. There isn’t one. A guest list, I mean. It’s just us. Us and Grandma . . . → Read More: Thanksgiving]]> This year we almost had a strike on our hands. Amelia threatened to whine all the way through the holiday and Wiley…actually, Wiley didn’t seem to actually give a damn.

That’s my boy.

The problem? Our guest list for Thanksgiving. There isn’t one. A guest list, I mean. It’s just us. Us and Grandma and Roland but they don’t count as guests what with living under the same roof and all. To be honest, I just wasn’t feeling very Thanksgiving-y this year. Usually I can’t wait for November to roll around because:

A) Halloween is over!

and

B) I love Thanksgiving.

I love to think about menu possibilities, I love to look at glossy food porn magazines and imagine how delicious the stuffing will be this year and what I’ll do with sweet potatoes…yum. I love it. But this year I’m totally not into it.

That is, I wasn’t into it until we started cooking this morning. Then I got into it. It may be just the 7 of us, but we’re cooking like we’ve got a full house.

Thanksgiving 2007 menu

• Best Way Brined Turkey from the San Francisco Chronicle. In the past we have used Alton Brown’s recipe but I couldn’t find it right off the bat, so I used this one.
• Sausage Sourdough Stuffing
• Cranberry Sauce #1
• Cranberry Sauce #2
• Cranberry Sauce #3
• Mashed Potatoes
• Burbon Mashed Sweet Potatoes
• Green Beans with Shallots
• Pumpkin Pie

Recipes will follow for anything worth repeating.

..mmmm…Regal….

We (I) selected this cocktail because