Thursday, July 30, 2009

Buttered Zucchini

I would have thought that I would have tried this method of cooking zucchini by now, but believe it or not, I haven't. I was looking for a quick way to cook up a zucchini the other day for lunch. I didn't feel like the mess of regular fried zucchini (dipped in egg then flour then fried...YUM)
so I just decided I'd saute them.

Zucchini sauted in Butter

2-3 T Butter (NOT margarine)
1-2 zucchini (depending on size) peeled (or not), & sliced
salt & pepper
garlic salt (opt.)

Melt butter in large skillet. Add zucchini, salt, pepper, & garlic salt. Cook until tender.
I like mine to get a little browned. The browning from real butter gives it such a nice flavor.
Mmmmmmm....it's so good! We'll be having some with supper again tonight.

I'm thinking zucchini needs a catagory all to its own on my side bar. Maybe I'll do that...yes, I will!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Coffee Chocolate Bundt Cake from Amish Friendship Bread Starter

Coffee-Chocolate Bundt Cake (made from Amish Friendship Bread starter)

On day 10, after you have "fed your starter" & seperated new starters into different bags, there should be about 1 cup of starter left in your bowl.
To this add:
1 cup of oil (or 1/2 cup applesauce & 1/2 cup oil)
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Mix this well with your wooden (or plastic) spoon.

In a separate bowl, mix:
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 large box chocolate instant pudding
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 t. instant coffee
1/2 C. chocolate chips

Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture & mix thoroughly. Pour into a well greased & lightly floured bundt pan. Bake at 325 for 1 hour. Cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan.

When cake has cooled (it could still be warm if you'd like...YUM) drizzle it with a powdered sugar glaze. We still had coffee in the coffee maker, so I put a teaspoon (or so) of brewed coffee into a half a cup or so of powdered sugar. Oh....it was so good!

I just made one of these again yesterday & put it in our freezer for a rainy day.
I also put my starter in the freezer...I need a break from it for a while. I've been making Amish Friendship Bread every 10 days since May 3rd! Besides, I have zucchini coming out of my ears again, so it's time to start baking zucchini bread & zucchini oatmeal muffins & put them in the freezer too. I still have a few pictures of the different variations of this Amish Friendship Bread, so I'll still post them when I get around to it, even though I'm DONE baking it for a while. :)

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Lemon Poppyseed Amish Friendship Bread

To my very few readers, I am so sorry that I haven't posted in so long! I haven't put anything on here since July 4th. That may be the longest I've ever "been away". I've just been really busy, that's all. I have continued to take pictures of food & even tried quite a bit of new foods this month, so I have a lot of material to post!
Since I posted about Amish Friendship Bread, I wanted to post some of the variations of this delicious bread. One of my husband's favorite is Lemon Poppyseed. One recipe of Amish Friendship Bread makes 2 loaf pans, or you could use just one bundt pan (& that sure helps if you're making more than one batch).


Lemon Poppyseed Amish Friendship Bread

On day 10, after you have "fed your starter" & seperated new starters into different bags, there should be about 1 cup of starter left in your bowl.
To this add:
1 cup of oil (or 1/2 cup applesauce & 1/2 cup oil)
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp. lemon extract

Mix this well with your wooden (or plastic) spoon.

In a separate bowl, mix:
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 small boxes lemon instant pudding
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2-3 T. poppy seeds


Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture & mix thoroughly. Pour into 2 large, well -greased loaf pans (OR 1 BUNDT PAN) that have been coated with with a thin coating of flour.
Bake at 325 for 1 hour


You don't need any icing on this, just slice & eat!
If you do want some icing, just add a little water & a little lemon juice to some powdered sugar to make a nice glaze to drizzle over the top.
I used to make this Lemon Poppyseed recipe a few years ago & I put it in mini muffin pans. It makes wonderful mini muffins. I made so many that I had our freezer stocked with them for a long time!


I sure hope to be better about getting on here & posting some recipes!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day!

I found this old poem written by Helen Steiner Rice. It was in a book of her poems that was published in 1981 after her death.

God Bless America

America the beautiful
May it always stay that way-
But to keep "Old Glory" flying
There's a price that we must pay...
For everything worth having
Demands work and sacrifice,
And freedom is a gift from God
That commands the highest price...
For all our wealth and progress
Are as worthless as can be
Without the faith that made us great
And kept our country free...
Nor can our nation hope to live
Unto itself alone,
For the problems of our neighbors
Must today become our own...
So in these times of crisis
Let us offer no resistance
In giving help to those who need
Our strength and our assistance-
And the stars and stripes forever
Will remain a symbol of
A rich and mighty nation
Built on faith an truth and love.

By Helen Steiner Rice

Friday, July 3, 2009

Amish Friendship Bread- Cinnamon Bread

This is made from the starter called Amish Friendship Bread. You usually get this starter in a gallon sized ziplock bag. Today I'm typing up the "origional" directions for the first 10 days, & then the recipe for the cinnamon bread.

Amish Friendship Bread
DO NOT USE METAL SPOONS! DO NOT REFRIGERATE!
Day 1- do nothing
Days 2,3,4, & 5-"mush" the bag.
Day 6- add 1 cup flour, 1 cup of sugar, & 1 cup of milk to bag & mush the bag.
Days 7,8,9- "mush" the bag & let the air out of the bag.
Day 10-add 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup milk to the bag & mush it really well (get all the lumps out that you can).
Pour this mixture into a large bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon & pour four 1 cup starters into gallon zip lock bags. You can give all four away, or give away 3 & keep one as a starter four your next batch. All of these starters are now at day 1.
There should be about 1 cup of starter left in your bowl.
To this add:
1 cup of oil (or 1/2 cup applesauce & 1/2 cup oil)
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix this well with your wooden (or plastic) spoon.
In a separate bowl, mix:
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 large box vanilla instant pudding
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 t. cinnamon
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture & mix thoroughly. Pour into 2 large, well -greased loaf pans that have been coated with the cinnamon & sugar mixture (see below).
Sprinkle extra cinnamon sugar on top.
Bake at 325 for 1 hour.
Cinnamon & sugar mixture=1 tsp. cinnamon & 3 tsp. sugar
I *think* you can make your own starter by putting 1 cup each of milk, flour, & sugar into a ziplock bag. This would be day 1. I have read this online, but I've never done this myself though. **edited to add: Here is a link at recipezaar that tells how to make the starter. **
And, you can start giving your starter "half feedings" if you get too overwhelmed with too many starters every 10 days. Instead of feeding your bread 1 cup each of the milk, sugar, & flour, give it only 1/2 cup of each. Do this on day 6 & day 10. Then on day 10, baking day, you'll only have a total of 3 starters. I usually make 2 batches of bread & then only have 1 starter to keep it going.
I posted about half feedings here.