Zucchini-walnut Bread July 16, 2010

I love to bake and since I love to eat what I bake I am constantly looking for healthy baking options.  I recently gave this recipe a try out of a new cookbook I received and I really enjoyed it.

Zucchini-Walnut Bread
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups Splenda No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup zucchini squash
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Lightly spray the inside of 8-by-4 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. preheat oven to 350 deg. F

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a bowl. Beat the Splenda and eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until the eggs have tripled in volume and are pale yellow, about 5 minutes.  On medium speed, beat in the applesauce, oil, and vanilla. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture, and mix just until blended. Stir in the zucchini and then the walnuts. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.

3.Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack.  Invert the loaf onto the rack and let cool completely.  Cut into slices and serve.

I hope you enjoy!

This recipe along with several other great desserts can be found in The Slenda world of  Sweetness: recipes for homemade desserts and delicious drinks, published by Chronicle Books, San Francisco. 2006.

Promises, Promises October 6, 2009

Okay, okay, no more promises from me concerning getting better about blogging on a more regular basis.  I continue to break this promise by failing to blog twice a week or even once a week.  The blogging is just not my biggest priority at this time.   If you would like to be a guest blogger please let me know. I do have a very interesting blog coming about a snake in the classroom at school.

Do you have something you want to be a priority and it just isn’t?

Do you want to blog?

B90X September 14, 2009

I keep telling myself I want to blog and I really do, but time is a huge issue. Okay the excuses are over.

I have started B90X (a complete reading of the Bible in 90 days).  I must confess that I am not doing the greatest job of keeping up with my daily reading. I am still in Leviticus. I am reading every day it just isn’t all of the reading scheduled for that day so for me it is going to turn into B180X.  I will get it done, I will press on toward the goal.  If you are looking for a good challenge this requires discipline and perserverance.  

 For a complete listing of daily readings go here…http://www.stevenfurtick.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/B90X.pdf.

Are you up for a good challenge?

Brazen 2 August 25, 2009

Okay I went for it! My hair is red!  More red than we planned on, but hey.  My sister-in-law did it and Jason loves it.  I, however, am still getting used to it.  I like it, but I am getting used to it.   Everyone else loves it.  My parents have still not seen it and I have a feeling they will not like it so much.  Maybe I can get tech savy and post a pic later.

Reading, Reading, Reading August 23, 2009

So, I just finished a book I found very hard to put down. Skin by Ted Dekker was mind boggling and thrilling.  Who would have thought that was the way the story would unfold. Very entertaining! I couldn’t wait to turn the next page to see what would happen. Every chapter left me hanging and ready to start the next one.  This is the first Ted Dekker book I have read and it won’t be the last.

What Ted Dekker book do you recommend I read next?

27 August 17, 2009

Jason’s birthday was yesterday and he is pushing 30.  His parents and sister were up for a visit this weekend.   We had a birthday cookout with the family and  a few friends on Friday.  Hung out with the fam on Sat.  Had Life in The Park all day Sunday.  Busy, busy.

The one thing Jason wanted for his birthday was the new iPhone.  So, of course, that is what he got. I think he likes it.  I also got a present for Jason’s birthday.  I got the hand me down old iPhone.  I always said I could live without one, the only thing I needed a phone for was to make calls, and suddenly I find myself enjoying the very phone I never wanted.  Jason talked me into taking it and I must admit…”I like it.”

What about you? What is the great phone out there?

“Life of Pi” August 13, 2009

Did I miss something?  Is that seriously the end?  This novel starts out interestingly enough and strangely disconnected.  It drew me in, in the first few chapters, but lost me (my interest) shortly after the middle of the book.   As someone who loves to read, I generally do not finish a book that doesn’t hold my interest because there are many interesting things to read, but due to recommendations I read the entire book.   The  book ended, but the story didn’t.  I feel as if I have been left hanging, which is great at the end of a chapter, or the end of a book with a sequal, but there is no sequal.  Which story whithin the story is truth? Which story is fact and which is fiction?  Maybe I just missed it.  Can anyone shed some light on “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel?

What are you reading?

Brazen? August 6, 2009

I tend to be a safe person especially when it comes to my appearance.  Meaning for instance, that I would like a tattoo, but that is so permenant, I would also like a new ear piercing, but my ears are so sensitive, and such it goes.  So about my hair, I want to change it.  I want to add dark red lo-lights and I want to color the bottom layer the same color of red.  I know I can always change it back.  Well, I won’t ever get it to be exactly the same.   I just need to be brave. Or should I say slightly brazen?

Rainy Day July 30, 2009

On a rainy day, such as today, I like to drink chai latte’s or coffee and read a book. Currently I am working on Life of Pi, Crazy Love, and The Power of a Positive Women. I like to work my way through several books of different genres at a time, that way I can read a book that best fits my mood at a particular time.  Even when I read, what I call a book for fun, I like it to help me grow in some way.  For instance, Life of Pi, is a novel that challenges my vocabulary.  I have to carry my Webster’s with the book, but there is at least one new word I have to look up in every chapter.  Crazy Love challenges me spiritually, and The Power of a Positive Women challenges me to think positive, be supportive, and be the person that God created me to be.

What do like to do on a rainy day?

I want to blog! July 29, 2009

So, I read everyone else’s blog and sometimes I comment, sometimes I just agree without giving my input, and sometimes I disagree, and I even thought about being guest blogs for others, and then I just decided, “hey why not create my own blog” so I did and here it is.