When life gives you lemons, I mean zucchini...

...make zucchini brownies!

That's right. 'Tis the season for zucchini coming out the wah-zoo, and if you're like me, about this time of year I'm really scraping for new ways to use our bountiful crop of emerald beauties. When we sit down to the dinner table, my husband teasingly asks "OK where's the zucchini?" I've gotten clever at the hiding game!

My mom gave me this recipe a couple of years ago, and it's a winner. Rich, moist brownies with a fudge-like frosting. And, thanks to the cooler-than-normal summer we're having, I can actually stand to turn on the oven in our non-air-conditioned house and bake up a batch of these. I like to grate zucchini and freeze it in 2-cup portions so I can make this year round too.

We're bringing these to our neighborhood picnic tomorrow, and I expect the dish will be empty by the end of the night! I hope you'll try these and let me know what you think.

Zucchini Brownies

2 cups grated zucchini
3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg (optional - If you add it, the brownies will be more cake-like. If you leave it out, they will be more fudgey.)

2 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Combine first "wet" ingredients in a large bowl. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add dry to wet and combine well. Pour into greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Top with frosting.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk

Mix together in saucepan and boil for exactly one minute. Remove from heat and add: 2/3 cup EACH chocolate chips and mini marshmallows. Stir until marshmallows are melted and spread on brownies. Let set until frosting firms up like fudge. Enjoy!

We all scream!

Did you know this month is National Ice Cream month? Did you know there was such a thing? Thanks to President Reagan's declaration back in 1984, July is officially the month to celebrate this frozen concoction of deliciousness. The third Sunday of the month (or this past Sunday) is National Ice Cream day.

I don't know about you, but I usually don't need an occasion to enjoy a bowl of cookies n' cream or a pudding pop. But it's nice to know it's celebrated in our country.

I once heard that there is more ice cream consumed in winter months than in the summer. Has anyone else heard that? It's been so long since I learned that surprising fact that I'm starting to wonder if I made it up so I wouldn't fee so guilty digging into a dish of caramal cashew on a chilly February night.

Anyway, we like to make ice cream at our house, but we usually like to make it when it can all be eaten the same day as it's made, so we'll invite you over sometime to help us eat it! Re-frozen homemade ice cream just seems to lose a lot of the texture and flavor that it has when it's eaten right out of the ice cream maker. Here's a site with all the recipes you can imagine.

But for a "quick fix" I love a good Dilly bar or a soft serve cone too! It's worth all the brain freezes in the world!

Happy ice "screaming" this month! What's your favorite kind?

Hope for little lambs

I was asked to speak in church this past Sunday, and I wanted to share just a couple of thoughts with you. The subject was mostly on hope, and I related it to the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how vital it is to have hope in our lives and in our families. There is an element of action that needs to take place along with hope.

"As parents, we find our fondest hopes center around our children. We hope they will grow up to lead responsible and righteous lives. Such hopes can be easily dashed if we do not act as good examples. Hope alone does not mean our children will grow in righteousness. We must spend time with them in family home evening and worthwhile family activities. We must teach them to pray. We must read with them in the scriptures and teach them important gospel principles. Only then is it possible our fondest hopes will be realized."
-Elder Steven E. Snow

I realize more and more the importance of the responsibility I've been given to raise righteous children. I'm certain the challenges will be greater the older they get too. But I also know the potential of my hopes and actions becoming exponentially far-reaching, perhaps for generations to come.

"The Echo"
C. C. Miller

’Twas a sheep not a lamb
That strayed away in the parable Jesus told,
A grown-up sheep that strayed away
From the ninety and nine in the fold.
And why for the sheep should we seek
And earnestly hope and pray?
Because there is danger when sheep go wrong:
They lead the lambs astray.
Lambs will follow the sheep, you know,
Wherever the sheep may stray.
When sheep go wrong,
It won’t take long till the lambs are as wrong as they.
And so with the sheep we earnestly plead
For the sake of the lambs today,
For when the sheep are lost
What a terrible cost
The lambs will have to pay.

Berry-licious

image source

It's that time of year when all the berries are their full glory. I guess strawberries have been on for a while already, but the blueberries, raspberries and blackberries are catching up. And that means stocking up!

Growing up, we had a huge strawberry patch at our house, and it was my summertime household job to pick berries and make freezer jam pretty much every other day. Any time my away-at-college sisters would call home and ask what I'm doing, no matter what time of day, the answer would always be "dishes" or "making jam." I got pretty sick of it sometimes, but we were sure glad to dig a carton of homemade jam out of the freezer in the winter when we were craving a little taste of summer.

Speaking of summer, it's having a hard time making an appearance around here. Our heater kicked on this morning! So, our harvest may be meager at best, which means we'll be visiting our local "u-pick" farms for berries. If you haven't heard of PickYourOwn.org, you must go and check it out. You can search by location and narrow your search by the type of produce you're looking for. It has extras like recipes, canning tips and picking tips. Our favorite is blueberry picking at Canter-Berry Farms. They don't use any pesticides or herbicides, and they encourage you to eat as much as you like while you're picking.

If you're looking for something delicious and different to make with your berries, try this Rhuberry Pie. It combines FOUR kinds of berries and my favorite - rhubarb. Hurry before the rhubarb is gone for the season! Or convince yourself to break open one of the 6 bags you're hoarding in the freezer for year-long rationing. Not that I do that.

Happy Independence Day next week, everyone! Make something deliciously patriotic with all those berries out there!

P.S. Speaking of strawberries, this is one of our favorite books! We all love the illustrations, and I love that I totally relate to it (although my freckles didn't go away when I got older either!).

In bloom

I'm loving this one right now:

And this Japanese variety is pretty spectacular too:
This soft pink one smells like a sweet breath of fresh air whenever I walk by:
But you know which is my favorite? The white one. Look closely and you'll see tiny flecks of bright red in a few spots.

It's a reminder that something doesn't have to be perfect and pristine to be beautiful.

Sorry

Have you ever heard the saying "Love means never having to say you're sorry."? It's actually a line from a book and a 1970 movie, and I've heard it here and there in various contexts. Two years later, the phrase was repeated by Barbara Streisand's character in another movie, to which her costar Ryan O'Neal responds, "That's the dumbest thing I ever heard."

I have to say I agree with his answer. Since being married, I've learned that "I'm sorry" is one of the most important, and necessary, things I can say to my husband. I don't think I say it too much because I think overusing it just becomes a trite cure-all phrase, and because I try my hardest to not do or say too many things in the first place that I'm sorry for. But there are definitely times where I have to put my pride aside, get a little perspective on the situation, and turn on the empathy. It might be easier to just disregard the situation, and when the bad feelings subside, just go back to life as usual as if nothing happened. But, as I'm sure you all know, that doesn't make it better in the long run.

I recently read an article titled "Making a Marriage Work" where Elder Pinnock lists ten ideas to not only make your marriage work, but to strengthen it (I highly recommend reading it individually and then as a couple). The seventh idea is:

"Say, 'I’m sorry,' and really mean it. Contrary to a popular saying, love, in part, means learning how to say 'I’m sorry.' So often when we make mistakes, even innocent mistakes, damage has been done and an apology is in order. Along with learning to say, 'I’m sorry,' husbands and wives must learn to say, 'I forgive.' Jesus taught that to be forgiven by our Heavenly Father depends, in part, on our ability to forgive those who trespass against us. Some of the strongest marriages of which I am aware have been between partners who could say, 'I am sorry,' and who forgive each other."

So, if I could re-write the saying based on my own experience, it would say something like "Love means saying you're sorry even when it's the most difficult thing you've done in a long time and it wasn't your fault to begin with and you want to sulk until the other person comes to you and apologizes and you don't want to talk about it and you don't care about being sorry because you just want to be right."

Now that's TRUE love.

She was born on a Saturday.

I gave birth to her at 3:27 am on a Saturday.

In these short two years, I've seen some of myself in her.

She's a little crafty...

...and a little domestic.

She loves being outside...

...even if it means getting dirty.

She's independent, determined (sometimes to the point of stubbornness) and has a special admiration for her big brother...just like her mom.

But she's very much her own person.

She takes an unconventional approach to life.

And she could teach me a thing or two about finding joy in simple things.

Yep, she was born on a Saturday...

...and I'm changed because of it.

What's your secret?

OK I need some ideas here.

Let me back up. It's been awhile since I was introduced to a couple of cook books that are all about creative ways to hide vegetables in kids' favorite dishes, and I've tried a good amount of them with success.

I was reluctant at first because I thought, "My kids might not eat many vegetables at first, but I'll keep offering them at mealtimes and eventually they'll try them and decide they like them. If I grind, puree and disguise them in other foods, they'll have a warped sense of what vegetables taste like. They'll think zucchini is supposed to taste like my mom's zucchini brownies or that butternut squash tastes like macaroni and cheese. Then they'll NEVER like them when they find out their green leafy friends really taste like, well, vegetables."

In actuality, I'm the one with a warped sense of reality. The truth is, they each like a few veggies like cucumbers and carrots. But with summer approaching, I'm going to be whipping up all kinds of salads, and I'm not sure how well they're going to go over with the people under 5 years old in the house.

So, what's your secret to hiding a little extra goodness in the meals you make for your family? I've just shared a couple of mine with you (I like to throw in a handful of fresh spinach into our smoothies too), but I'd love to know from you!

Fresh & Clean

photo source

I've probably already exhausted the topic of house cleaning here and here and here, so I won't talk about that during this week of "clean." So, switching gears a little, what a fitting topic for this time of year, when springtime brings out the newness and freshness that makes me want to open all my windows and bring it inside! That's what I love about living where I do. The rain is nature's shower that leaves everything fresh and clean.

So, now that Memorial Day weekend is approaching and summer is on its way, I've put away the hot chocolate, and I'm stocking up on things for warm-weather drinks. I love mixing up a delicious, refreshing, CLEAN-tasting drink to pair with a tasty salad or with whatever's on the grill. I've always been a fan of citrus, and now I'm particularly all about limes. Here's a quick, zippy refresher I like to make:

Fizzy Lime Refresher

5-6 limes, juiced
1 TB grated lime zest
1 handful mint leaves, roughly chopped
1/4 cup sugar (I experimented with turbinado sugar for this and it was yummy)
1-liter bottle sparkling water, like Pellegrino or similar
mint leaves and/or lime slices for garnish

Combine lime juice, zest, mint leaves and sugar. Refrigerate 30 minutes to dissolve sugar and meld flavors. If desired, strain through a fine sieve to remove mint leaves and zest. Just before serving, add sparkling water. Serve with ice and garnish with mint leaves and/or lime slice.

*Note: I like this pretty tart, so if you want it sweeter, either add more sugar, or use 7-Up or Sprite instead of sparkling water.

Relax

Since having kids, I've really had to learn how to relax when it comes to my house getting dirty. I think I'll always be the type to admire fresh vacuum lines in the carpet as much as I cringe at stepping on something crumbly or sticky on the kitchen floor. I don't sleep well on the nights when my sub-conscious reminds me that there are dirty dishes in the sink.

But, as they say, life happens. My kids teach me that it's more fun, and more necessary, to put a train track together than to wipe up the counters. It's more urgent to read a stack of library books together than to get out the broom. And it's more important to watch an episode of Curious George together than to fill up the dishwasher.

Do you remember moments you wish you could go back and change? A few years ago around Halloween, I had some moms and their kids over to our house to play, carve pumpkins and have treats. After the pumpkins were done and most of the carnage was cleaned up, somehow it bothered me that the table was still sticky while everyone was enjoying their delicious pumpkin dessert and hot chocolate. I couldn't leave well enough alone, so what did I do? I got out my spray bottle of cleaner and proceeded to wipe around and, embarassingly enough, under everyone's plate and cup until the stickiness was gone. Why that moment is engrained in my memory, I'm not sure. But I think of it often to remind me to relax and enjoy...there will always be time to clean up, but time with family and friends is precious and fleeting.

I'm a slow learner, but I'm getting there. I'm learning it's OK to enjoy the fun of life, even if it gets a little dirty sometimes.

Getting Ready

Today I did some of this:

to get myself ready for that:

~~
Then, I made a dent in this:


to get some cute things ready for that:

~~
It was such a gorgeous afternoon that the kids and I did a bunch of this:

to get the garden ready for that:

~~
After kids were happily fed, bathed and in bed, I did some of this:

to get my kitchen ready for that tomorrow:

What exciting things are you getting ready for?

Pucker up!

The calendar says it's well into the spring season, but I'm not sure if anyone sent the memo to Mother Nature. We've had a few days here and there of sunshine, but even for me (and I'm someone who loves digging in the dirt), it's been too wet to get out and plant anything in our vegetable garden. I heard on the news the other day that you would have to go back to the 1950's to find a spring with less days over 55 degrees than this year. That being said, I'm happy to see signs of life and rebirth in the yard. My daffodils have been out for a couple of weeks, the tulip buds are starting to open, and the peonies are already forming buds that will explode into lovely light and dark pink pom poms by Memorial Day.

So, what have I been doing so far this spring? A little sewing (not as much as I would like!), a little playing, and a LOT of cleaning.

It's time for spring cleaning around here, and I'm down to my last two rooms to get done. So, that's why I missed posting last week (sorry!), but the only time I was really online was to find advice and tips for cleaning stubborn soap scum from the shower or splattered who-knows-what inside my unfortunately-not-self-cleaning oven without fumigating the whole house. I'm running out of steam, but what keeps me motivated is seeing all those check marks on my list (seen above) and knowing that I've taken complete mental inventory of everything in the house and I know it's clean!

Want to know what is possibly my most favorite thing about spring? This stuff:

Rhubarb! It's sweet, tangy, sour and juicy all at the same time. And it's in season right now. Growing up, we had a TON of rhubarb, and we used it all. We cooked it slowly until it was soft, mashed it up, and sweetened it with a little honey and ate it like applesauce. Or we cooked the big, tough stems until it was really, really soft, strained it and bottled the resulting rosy liquid in quart jars. Mix it up with a package of raspberry Kool-aid, a little sugar, some water and it's a perfect summer quencher.

Here's one of my favorite recipes using rhubarb. Serve it warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream...yum!

Rhubarb Dessert

1 pound rhubarb, diced
1 cup sugar
1-3 oz. box strawberry Jell-o
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup water
1/4 cup butter, melted

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray. Layer ingredients in order listed. Do not stir. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.


Try it and let me know how you like it!

Fix-it-and-forget-it day

Thursday is usually our grocery store day. I've often wondered why I picked this particular day of the week, since my older munchkin is in preschool on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and if I went one of those days, I'd only have one kid with me. I'm still not sure, other than that's been grocery day for years. I went back to work when he was 6 months old, and I was home on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and it just made sense to go later in the week. Now I have the pick of days of the week, and it's still Thursday.

Anyway, sometimes we go in the morning and sometimes we wait until after naptime. Regardless, it's a day that I don't want to think too hard about what to have for dinner. Here's a delicious go-to dinner that uses things I usually have on hand, and it's so easy you don't even have to defrost the chicken!

I don't know what to call it, so we'll just call it Crockpot Taco Chicken, and it's super simple. Spray crockpot with non-stick spray. Layer 2 cups frozen corn, 2 frozen chicken breasts, 1 can of black beans (rinsed and drained) and about a cup or so of salsa. Turn on medium and cook for 6 hours. Remove chicken, shred it with two forks and return to salsa mixture. You can make it into tacos, burritos or taco salad with your favorite tortilla chips (aka Trader Joe's Baked Blue Corn Tortilla Chips) and fixings. Maybe I'll try warming it up on the stove with some chicken broth and making it into chicken tortilla soup.

We had this tonight for dinner, but I forgot to take photos. I'm sure you can imagine it. So, tomorrow we'll have leftovers, which will be even easier than it was making it today (if that's possible). Try it and let me know how you like it!

"to-do" vs. "to-be"

Are you a list maker like me? It's easy for me to overwhelm myself with tasks swirling around in my head that need to be done, and it's only when I write them on a list with a check box next to them that I feel like I can conquer the pile of things that need to get finished.

This past weekend, I didn't do anything on my checklist except watch and listen to General Conference. One particular remark from Elder Lynn G. Robbins caught my ear as he talked about "doing" versus "being."

"Many of us create to-do lists to remind us of things we want to accomplish, but people rarely have "to-be" lists. Why? To-do's are activities or events that can be checked off the list when done. To be, however, is never done. You can't earn checkmarks with be's...As a parent, when can I check a child off my list as done? We are never done being good parents, and to be good parents, one of the most important things we can teach our children is how to be more like the Savior."

It seems like I learn more often from them how to be like the Savior than I teach them. I guess we teach each other. So, just when I start to work myself into a tizzy because I'm not getting enough done or checking things off my list or finishing that lingering project, I will remember to look at my children and just be. All I have to do is watch them to know how it's done.

Ho-hum

Not much exciting goes on around our house on Wednesdays (other than it's my day to post on our little blog here - yay!). Afternoons have been a challenge for me with little kids. What to do between naps and dinner time? I'm usually feeling the afternoon slump and not wanting to do much, but the kids get restless and need something to occupy their time.

One of my goals this year is to do a craft with them once a week, at least while the weather keeps us indoors. It doesn't have to be much, sometimes it's just coloring together in their coloring books. Admittedly, it's not something I'm always excited to do. There's the getting out of the supplies, the refereeing when both kids must have the exact same color of crayon/marker/paint at the SAME TIME, and the clean up. But then I remember how I learned at a young age to love creating things with my hands and how that has grown into a love of making beautiful things for my home, family and friends. My brother and I used to flip through the pages of these books in search of the next awesome project to take on.

I'm sure my mom wasn't thrilled with the set up and clean up either (especially since paper mache' was one of my favorite things to do), but just like her, I love watching my kids create.

So that's what Wednesdays are for. Today is especially "ho-hum" with the dark clouds and rainy skies. It looked and felt like it was 6 pm all day long. So, since this is the song of choice around here, we added a little brightness to an otherwise uneventful and ho-hum day. I've come to love Wednesdays, especially the afternoons.

(This popcorn kernel being eaten may or may not have glue on it. There were others too.)

Wallah! Artwork worthy of the wall of fame!

How do you fit in creative time either for yourself or with your kids?