Yummy Zucchini Cake!

Since we finally started getting zucchini’s, I have been dying to make some zucchini bread.  Maggie has never tasted it (that I can remember) and Chris doesn’t like it.  So I knew once I made it I would have to freeze one bread and eat the other sparingly! 

Well, I ended up only getting one piece of the first loaf and the one who refused to eat it (Maggie) ended up eating 2 pieces and then ripping off a big hunk when I wasn’t looking.  And the one that doesn’t like zucchini bread (Chris) at his fair share too! 

I have to admit, it was pretty tasty.  They will be bummed to find out that I froze the second loaf!  :)

How did I make this tasty bread you ask?  I used the recipe from Southernfood.about.com as my base and changed it to our liking.  Here is what I came up with!

2 cups shredded raw organic zucchini
1 3/4 c organic coconut palm sugar
2 cups of flour (I used 1 white, 1 wheat)
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 farm fresh eggs
1 cup coconut oil
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup organic dark chocolate chips

Put zucchini in strainer and press or squeeze with hands to get some of the excess liquid outs.  In a mixing bowl beat together eggs, sugar and oil together.  Stir in the flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, salt, vanilla, walnuts and choc. chips, mixing just until all the ingredients are combined.  Add drained zucchini.  Mix well.  Pour into 2 greased and floured 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pans.  Bake for about 55-60 minutes at 350, until wooden toothpick or cake tester inserted in center comes out with very little or no crumbs clinging to it.

The coconut oil was really nice, but had I had applesauce in the house I would have used that instead.  A little cheaper to use!

This turned out really tasty and moist.  And for two people who were kinda “poo-poo” about it to begin with, it was a big hit!  There is one piece left of the first loaf, and Maggie claimed it as breakfast! 

So thankful to our garden for supplying us with yummy veggies and to our chickens for giving us eggs!  There certainly is something a bit more fun about eating something you have baked from something you have grown/raised!

Tales from the Coop-keeper

Chickens.  Seriously one of the best.pets.evah!  I never thought of chickens of pets, until I had my own.  Actually, I thought of them as a food source, whether it was for eggs or meat.  I never knew of their quirky, silly sense of humor, and never would have guessed they had a sense of humor.

Our rooster, Ellen DeHENeres is such a sweet little soul.  I love watching him with the girls.  He is so polite and gentle.  One thing that he does that melts my heart is, when we bring down treats, he let’s the girls go first.  When they are done, he joins in.  What a little gentleman!  Another cool thing about Ellen is, he will let Chris cradle him upside down like a baby and rub his belly.  We have had hens before, but never a rooster.  Admittedly, I am a little intimidated by him, even though he is so sweet.  I’m workin’ on it!

 

I fully admit that I am a little bit of a crazy-chicken lady.  I don’t have a problem saying so.  I spoil our flock.  I spoil them rotten.  But they give us so much, it’s my only way to give back.  Every morning I make them a fresh salad of some sort.  This morning they had kale, fresh basil, fresh cilantro, summer squash, blueberries, watermelon, flax seeds, chili pepper and garlic.  (see Ellen hanging in the back,  patiently waiting?)  At night they usually get the left over veggie/fruit fixin’s from dinner and snacks from the day, and the stuff I pull out from the garden.

Another thing I do is make them homemade iced tea on these blistering hot days.  Sometimes mint, some times alfalfa, sometimes a combo of whatever herbs I have an over abundance of in the garden.  I have found that the iced tea would be considered chicken crack for my feathered friends.  They see it coming and they start squawking and flapping their wings running toward me.  I am pretty much known to them as “the treat lady”.

Last night I cleaned out their coop, which is something I do pretty often.  With 11 chickens living in there, it’s important to keep their living spaces in tip top shape!  My favorite thing to do is leave fresh cut herbs in their nesting boxes.  Kind of like getting a mint on your pillow at a nice Inn.  Don’t you just love the little surprises?  I think my girls and roo do too!  I mean, who wouldn’t want to come in and see this-fresh oregano, english thyme, rosemary, basil, lemon balm and chamomile.  Smelled like heaven in there!

I am hoping to get in and paint their boxes soon.  After all, if they look nice, they will want to use them, right?  We now have 3 hens laying!  I am so excited!  We have one more who is super close.  We will need to wait about another 5-6 weeks before the other 6 start giving us eggs.  I can not wait!

Miss Rosa is the “leader of the pack”.  She is also the one who will follow you around, (she is such a nosey hen) and just talk to you.  She also laid her very first egg last night!

Oh!  If you are wondering about the tea and why I use fresh cut herbs in the nesting boxes and their coop, take a look at this article from Backyard Poultry.

If you don’t have chickens, consider them.  They are easy to care for, they are fun, it’s a great learning experience and they will not only provide you with constant entertainment, but food as well! 

Onion Extravaganza

Sunday afternoon while Chris was fixing the goat pen I harvested our onions.  I had a couple that I had to toss out, but I am pretty impressed with what we got.  I did think they would be a bit bigger, but I'm not complaining!

  I love, love, love onions!  We already harvested a few a week or so ago and they were wonderful.  I’m sure these will be just as good!

Goaties = T-r-o-u-b-l-e!

The goaties got in their first real trouble yesterday.  Chris had gone down late afternoon to check on everyone and found Bluebelle and Clover on the other side of their pen eating figs.  They had that “busted” look about them and knew they were in trouble.  So we had some work to do.  A little rearranging, hopefully they don’t escape again.

 

   

                    We really like Bluebelle and Clover, but we are contemplating on not keeping them.  Kind of breaks my heart because I am already attached, and I know Maggie will be heartbroken.  But we are noticing they are very skittish, not very welcoming (not mean, just offish) and our intentions are to milk them.  We can’t even just walk up to pet them, how on earth are we going to milk them?  So, we have some heavy thinking to do.  I think we would prefer to get babies and raise them ourselves so they know us and trust us.  Right now I don’t let Maggie in the pen with them.  Which is a problem.  She needs to go in and help.  But I am not comfortable with it.     I think for an experienced person, they would be great.  But for noobs like us, it’s not a win-win.  And I want these girls to have a good life!   We are still thinking it out.   Not an easy decision.  <sigh>                                                   

Worth the wait….or so I'm told!

    
















 






















 
 
As you may remember from my post the other day we had a sweet cherry tomato turning red on the vine.  I’ve checked it while watering, tempted to pick it, but waited.  Waiting by the way is not one of my strong points!  But I held back and did the right thing.  Thinking about how yummy that first little red pop of goodness was going to be!


    I needed to go down to the garden to gather some herbs to make the chickens some tea and low and behold that tomato looked ready! 

 

Well, Maggie was with me, so who do you think got to pick it and eat it.  Yes!  The girl.  And she made sure to tell me how juicy and sweet it was.  I will get the next one!