Zucchini Bread

This is a prized recipe in my boyfreinds family, and Ihave it.

Zucchini Bread

3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
2 cups zucchini pulp (or grated)
3 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tsp cinnamon

mix all the ingredients together and put into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. Makes 2 loaves.

~Enjoy~

Its a great alternative for the holidays instead of the usual pumpkin bread, or nut bread.

Food Heritage

So here I am watching, you guessed it Food Network. And it got me thinking why I am just a foodie. My mom always just cooked basic chicken, pork, and hamburger for dinner, but when it comes to dessert that is her speciality. The best are her Key Lime Pie and Peacan Pie. (maybe thats why everyone gathers at my house after Chistmas with their families) My maternal great-grandmothers was they type of cook who just took a handful of flour and a dollop of butter and made biscuits. My mom is the follow the recipe and measurements precise. I'm a lovely combination of both of them, and then add in my fathers inventive skills and you have me. My paternal grandfather is also an amazing cook. He is famed and loved for his homemade apple pie. He even was on the Food Network apple pie bake off television show. It was great to see him on there doing what he loves. (Although he didn't win, its always a favorite in my book). He also made homemade jams and jellys from fruit in his backyard. By profession he is horticulturists and specializes in grafting plants. Now he has since retired but still enjoys the plants and tending to them. This gene was passed to my father and he grows all sorts of things in the garden. He started just growing hot peppers, then it grew to collard greens, and now we have great fresh "right of the vine" vegetables and fruits.

• tomatoes
• peanuts
• edame beans (soy Japanese beans)
• hot peppers of every variety
• collard greens
• mustard greens
• mushrooms
• pineapple
• squash
• zucchini
• herbs of every kind: basil. mint. chives. parsley

and more that I don't even know. So when we cook we always look in the backyard for the freshest ingredients. I'm sure the county would allow it, we'd have a few chickens for eggs and cow for milk. Luckily our backyard is not that big. Heck my parents wont even let me get a dog.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Thanksgiving has come early. This is one of Josh and mine favorite recipes and its become sort of a Thanksgiving tradation. If we dont take it to his dad's house for Thankgiving we are not invited in.







Pumpkin Cheesecake

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 Tbsp butter (melted)
1 cup + 1 Tbsp sugar
24 oz cream cheese (room temp)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice

1. Mix graham crackers, melted butter, and 1 Tbsp sugar in small bowl. Press firmly into spring form pan. Bake at 350 for 5 min, and set aside.
2. In large bowl, mix cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, and vanilla with mixer until smooth. Ass the remaining ingredients and mix well.
3. Pour into crust and bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes. The top will begin to brown and crack. 4. Remove from oven and let cool at room temp for atleast an hour.
5. Run knife around the side of the pan (sometime dipping the knife in warm water helps) and remove outter ring, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator.

The Field

The other night, Josh and I went to a little Irish Pub right next to his house. I have known this place existed for a long time, and went with Twinny in high school. A friend of mine (and crush at the time) worked there. All I remember from that experience was just goofing around like a bunch of high schoolers. I see this place almost 3 times a week or more, and just drive by. So the other night Josh and I were hungry and I wanted soup of some kind. Potato soup sounded good to me so we went the the Irish Pub. GREAT IDEA! It was amazing!! Not to mention the food was great! I got the Irish potato soup, with an Irish whiskey creme brulee. Josh got the Shepard's pie. Absolutely amazing and mouth watering. Now on top of the awesomely great food, they have a LIVE Irish band playing traditional Celtic music Monday-Saturday. I have already decided that the band is being booked for my wedding. It was a great atmosphere and a real homey feel.
If you live or are ever visiting South Fl that is a must place to eat. Its on Griffin Rd east of 441.
And to top it all off I think the sun-sentinel newspaper ran a recipe of their potato soup and I am gonna find it!

Background to "Sittin' on My Kitchen Floor"

Yes I know this is my 3rd post of the day, and yes I am worried I will run out of steam, but who the hell cares.

This whole sittin' on MY kitchen floor thing started Junior year of high school, when I learned that one of my new friends from school lives just down the street.
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At one point the kitchen in my house was one of those you'd find at your grandmothers; old, outdated, and a few decades behind the time. We (not so) fortunately had a leak/flood in our kitchen, so low-and-behold we had to re-do/update the kitchen.
Now lucky this was during my "interior design" phase so I helped steer my parents away from tragic decisions. Long story short, it turned out great! As part of the reno we put the wood laminate floors down. Not only do they look pretty, they are apparently comfy.
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Back to high school and Twinny...Steff came to my house, and we gravitated towards the kitchen, figured "hey! Let's make cookies (or chocolate covered pretzels)". In the midst of making whatever it was Steff plopped down in the middle of my kitchen floor. When everything was done we chowed down on the treats...well...you guess it, on the kitchen floor. It has somewhat been a tradition, kind of like Christmas eve breakfast at IHop, and always gathering at my house for dessert and drinks Christmas night. 5 years after the first kitchen floor sit-in it is still going strong. We have a few more people to our ring of friends on that kitchen floor, and every time Steff and I take a seat we get the same look around and dumbfounded look. Now my boyfriend (Josh) and her husband (Gordon) have gotten use to the tradition and joined in. As for everyone else it take some getting use to. And take my word for it. We have PLENTY of chairs and sofas to sit on that are very comfortable.
We have joked through the years, that what ever house I end up living in I will have to get the same flooring that is in my childhood house, just for Stephanie. And you know what? I don't have a problem with that one bit.

A lot of first have happened on that kitchen floor and a lot of memories have be stuck inbetween the grooves. Some of the best times we have had has taken place on those floors. Its amazing to look back through the last 5 years that have been spents there.

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I forgot to add one tid bit of info on this one and my mom just reminded me. We also slept on the kitchen floor one time. Yes I know crazy. It is better for sitting on than sleeping thats for sure.
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