Mom is Just a Nickname

During my alphabet game in January, E was for Easter Bread.  I talked about the tradition of making Easter Bread and the memories I have from years past.  Last year, I approached the baking of the bread with some trepidation.  This year, making it has helped drag me back from the fog in my mind.

Last night and this morning, I’ve once more attempted to re-create this long standing family tradition. I had to ask my parents for the recipe again (for about the hundredth time!). I’m not sure why I always lose it. I have a notebook to keep family recipes in. I have no excuse for losing it all the time! I had to call my mom as I was starting to clarify something on the recipe. But otherwise, I did it without her help!  I think my anise seed wasn’t as strong as I’d like it, but the texture is good.  Overall, I’d say this batch has been a success!

Now, to make everyone drool, I’ve got pictures of this year’s baking marathon! Click on the pictures to see them bigger!

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for passing on this family tradition. It’s means a lot to me, to dig my hands into the sticky dough and think of the generations of my family that have also stirred and kneaded and rolled and shaped this dough.

(Get your mind outta the gutter. sheesh)

One husband, home from work today because he’s caught the plague.
Gone to one meeting where I learned I’ll soon be working my butt off to run a booth for my daughter’s school’s spring carnival. (Mental note: reread before publishing. Thank you very much.)
Two children now on antibiotics after seeing the doctor. Thankfully, no problems with asthma, ear infections, pneumonia or sinus infections; all of which I worried about.
Two trips to the grocery store = more comfort food for the sickies.
One mommy ready to drop.

Is it bedtime yet?

Today’s been an odd sort of day. I’m in a fairly snarky mood; maybe it’s boredom (been stuck at home most of the week with sick kids), maybe it’s sleep deprivation (was up most of last night with one of the sick kids). Either way, I don’t feel like spending more than this first paragraph being snarky, bored, cranky or otherwise irritating to myself (let alone to others). So, I’m going to count some blessings.

From the movie White Christmas, where Bing Crosby sings about counting blessings, to the book Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, where Sarah Ban Breathnach recommends keeping a daily gratitude journal, the idea of looking at the good things in life is not new. Focusing on the positive instead of the negative has a way of altering a bad attitude –and I’ve got bad attitude in abundance today.

So, today I am thankful for:

1. Although both J and X have been sick this week, neither has been so sick that I’ve had to sit at their bedside worried, nor have I had to rush anyone to the doctor or the hospital. (You couldn’t see it, but I knocked on wood as I typed that.)
2. Today’s boredom has resulted in a multitude of snuggles with X, two clean bathrooms, a dishwasher of clean dishes and at least one load of clean clothes.
3. We finally managed to get our old washer and dryer out of our garage and into a good home where it can once more lead a useful life.
4. Despite the fact that I haven’t grocery shopped this week, we have plenty of food in the house. Stocking up grocery shopping is working nicely that way.
5. I have a book waiting to be read, which is promising to be a good read: The Fiction Class by Susan Breen. It came to me via Blog Stop Book Tours which is run by my friend, Lynn, the Virtual Wordsmith. (Look for the review on my blog in April! More details later!)

I have other things to be thankful for, but this will do for now. Oh, I have one more:

Today is Friday!!!!!

Zucchini is one of those vegetables I have a love/hate relationship with. My dad always used to put it in stir fries, where the texture would turn slimy and unappealling. I’ve never been all that fond of summer squash for just that reason: it’s slimy texture when cooked.

But then my mom would take zucchini and turn it into bread. Oh, how I love zucchini bread! It ranks up there with banana bread and blueberry muffins, and all those other baked goods! Baked goods are my weakness.

Over the summer, before we set off on our vacation North to see family and friends, I made banana bread and zucchini bread. I really thought the kids wouldn’t bother with the zucchini bread, and Toph’s usually pretty neutral about my quick breads, of any kind. But for whatever reason, the whole family ate the zucchini bread and loved it! It was a really good loaf, better than most I make. It was so moist, you didn’t miss the butter we didn’t pack in the car. It made a great breakfast for the first day of our road trip.

The recipe:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1 cup finely shredded, unpeeled zucchini
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 egg

Mix the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.

In another bowl, stir together sugar, zucchini, oil and egg. Add the first bowl to the second bowl and stir just until mixture is moistened. It’s ok if it’s lumpy.

Spray the bottom and sides of an 8x4x2-inch loaf pan (or, like me, whatever you have available!) and then pour the batter in. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 50 minutes, until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

I usually end up tenting aluminum foil over the top in the last ten minutes of baking so that it doesn’t brown too much before the insides are cooked. I do like a crunchy crust, but not a burnt one!

Let it cool for at least ten minutes before trying to cut through! Otherwise it crumbles. If you wrap it up and store it overnight before eating it, it tastes even better!

Makes one loaf.

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I’ve also been experimenting with substituting milled flax seed with oil in a recipe (directions are on the box of flax seed). I’ve also been known to substitute applesauce for the oil (equal proportions). Just little things to make the things I bake a little more healthy.

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Now, Z is the last letter of the alphabet. The Alphabet Game is over. I made it from A-Z, only taking breaks on the weekends. Did you like it? Should I do it again with a topic other than food? lol. I always got hungry when typing up these food posts!

To see the other alphabet posts, check the categories on the right side panel for “Alphabet Game”!

Ah, back to the food. Yum.

My favorite kind of yogurt is PLAIN yogurt! It’s so versatile. I use it instead of sour cream on chili, fajitas, quesadillas, in sauces, etch. I also like it mixed with fruit (although, honestly, I’d rather have vanilla yogurt to do that). It can be used to make a sourdough starter, or a soft cheese. It seems like every time I turn around, I find something new to do with yogurt. And it’s healthy too.

I keep hearing about “Greek Yogurt” when I happen to be flipping past shows like Rachel Ray and such. What is this Greek Yogurt? I’ve never seen it in any of my grocery stores. Is it something the more cosmopolitan areas of the country have? Or is it just not something that’s popular where I’ve lived? Have you ever seen it? Ever tried it? Is it good?

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Yesterday we visited my grandfather and his new wife [they've been married a year, now]. Toph was doing some computer work for them, so the kids and I visited with ‘Grandma J’ while the men were in the computer room. She’s got so much to say, it’s always interesting to chat with her.

I find myself very conscious of what I say to my grandfather. Not in general conversation, but when I say hello and goodbye, mostly. I make sure to hug him, to kiss him, to say “I love you”. I hold his hand as we talk or we stand side by side, arms around one another. He says I’m still as ‘lovey’ as I used to be when I was little. Truthfully, I’m not usually with anyone except Toph. But with my grandfather, I feel sad if I’ve left his company and haven’t had a chance to stand near him and hold his hand or to tell him I’ve thought of him while we’re apart. Maybe it’s because he’s my last surviving grandparent; maybe it’s because I’ve become so much more conscious of how those we love slip away; maybe I simply deeply appreciate being close enough to my family to see them regularly….maybe it’s that in some ways, I’ll always be that lovey little girl and he’ll always be my grandpa. Whatever the reason, I do deeply appreciate the times I’ve been able to see him lately and express my caring.

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Anyone out there adopt? Toph and I have always talked of adopting and we’re getting close to the stage we thought we’d be ready to do it. I was wondering if anyone has had any experiences with it? I need to start doing more research about it. I’m curious how long the process takes for local adoptions, what it costs, what kinds of checks and tests we’ll have to go through, etc. We’ve always wanted our children to remain the oldest in the family, but we also have no great desire for an infant. We’ve always heard that the littlest of babies are often requested, and we’d rather not get in that line. There are other, older, children who need homes and love.

Anyhow, it’s a new adventure coming up on the horizon. It’s still far off, but it’s getting close enough to require serious thought and deliberation.

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So, it’s Monday. New week. I’ve got grocery planning and shopping to do and I also want to stop out at the preschool we’re hoping for X to attend next year and see if I can get him registered. Busy day, all in all. I should probably get to it.