Yes, we arrived home from camping; no, I haven’t had a moment to post. My husband shared a post yesterday with a delicious recipe so I’ll borrow a piece of that for today. Though we only have 5 zucchini plants in the garden, they are yielding a ton of huge zucchinis!! Wow!

“My wife and daughter have been carefully tending out first vegetable garden and we have a small harvest: zucchinis.  I wasn’t sure what to do with them but spotted a post about zucchini fritters…They turned out amazingly well.”

Read it all at my husband’s site , eBabble, today!

And I’ll add that I am sure they were tastier because they were bounty of our own hands, planted and tended with love by Chloe, John and I!

Makes 36 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 3 3/4 cups cake flour
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon red gel-paste food coloring
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 3 teaspoons white vinegar
• fruit preserves or pie filling (canned or home made)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F and line your cupcake pans with muffin liners.
2. In electric mixer whisk oil and sugar until combined. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Mix in food coloring and vanilla.
3. Reduce to lower speed and add flour in three additions alternating with the buttermilk in two additions. Stir together vinegar and baking soda in a small bowl {it will foam which will impress any baking helpers working with you!! } and add mixture to batter.
4. Fill muffin papers 3/4 full and bake for approx. 19 minutes turning half way through baking to ensure even baking.
5. Cool thoroughly. Use a piping bag with a long round tip. Pipe a small amount of preserves (I used cherry) into the center of each cupcake through the top. If you do not have a piping bag, you could simply cut the muffin in half and spread the preserves in that way.
6. Traditional icing for a red velvet would be cream cheese but I did a simple buttercream.

Notes:

• I used homo milk rather than buttermilk because that is what I had in the fridge. It turned out ok.
• I used my whisking instead of sifting technique for the flour/cocoa mixture and it did not work well with this recipe {BLUSH}. I ended up with small dots of cocoa throughout my muffins {which thankfully didn’t affect the taste!}
• This is the first time that I made red velvet cupcakes. My husband enjoyed them greatly. I’m on the fence. Maybe it’s because I am a chocolate girl and while these give a bit of a chocolate illusion, they aren’t really chocolate.

More recipes at Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, Tuesday Tastes, It’s A Blog Party’s Delicious Dishes, Tuesdays at the Table, A Beautiful Mess’ Tasty Tuesday and a BIG thank you to Sherry at Lamp Unto My Feet for the potato salad recipe and the link locations!

We arrived home from the Congo safely. The time difference is wreaking havoc on our systems; Chloe especially since she woke up from her 3 hour afternoon nap the other day went to go potty and went back to sleep on the bathroom floor. Poor baby.

This week we’re sticking close to home, working to return to some semblance of routine.

Sunday Lunch – Stuffed Pork Loin, Pappardelle Noodles and Cauliflower Gratin

Sunday Dinner – Oktoberfest Sausages and Corn on the Cob

Monday – Pasta (Mommy has an Epicure Meeting)

Tuesday – Chicken Breast

Wednesday – BBQ Steak

Thursday – Stupendous Stew

Friday – Chinese (Yummy!!)

• Visit Menu Plan Monday for more planning inspiration and visit Wordless Wednesday for more great photos (also at Two of a Kind and 7 Clown Circus)

Source

Confession Time: I don’t sift ingredients together when baking! Not even when the recipe calls for you to sift the ingredients together.  I do try and follow {most} recipes as directed but was never sold on the extra step of sifting.

Did you know that using a whisk to quickly whisk your dry ingredients together essentially accomplishes the same thing as sifting? You’re eliminating lumps and thoroughly mixing.

So if you are like me and too lazy time-pressed to sift, just grab a whisk!

• This post is linked to Works for me Wednesday

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It’s 1:15pm. I have just put my littles down to bed. I breathe {a small sigh} and contemplate what to do next. A nap, a bath, bible time, tackle that kitchen then laundry then ironing?

I rolled out of bed tired. I was up a lot through the night. Last night I had spicy salsa on Melba Toast and as a result, drank a LOT of water. Good for my body I suppose but it didn’t make for a restful night.

This morning John toddled off during a diaper change and as I watched him go (does hurt to do a lap around the house naked once in a while LOL), I realized that he had something brown stuck to his bottom. {yep, exactly what you are thinking,  the brown mushy stuff! Aren’t you glad I didn’t take a picture?} I gasped and ran to grab him but too late, he stumbled and fell and left a disaster on our light colored carpet. {Praise the Lord for rug shampooers!}

John went into the bath and I thought I could quickly get the solids off the carpet but then John flooded the bathroom floor.

We got downstairs for breakfast and had barely finished when our friends arrived for our scheduled play date. We had a fun morning, but Chloe seemed to have some attitude problems. They headed home and I turned the TV on and had my littles SIT while I made lunch.

Lunch was supposed to be a lovely baked fish with oven-fries with home made tartar sauce  but I didn’t have any bread crumbs ready. No worries, I put the oven on broil and threw some bread in. Meanwhile my sister swung in to ask a favor. I got chatting with her and burnt my breadcrumbs. {sigh}. Lunch was still good and probably healthier since the baked fish had no coating except a sprinkle of VE Lemon Dilly. It was still incredibly moist. Yum!!

Home Made Tartar Sauce:

• Mayo
• Sweet Pickles (Gherkin Recipe)
• Capers (main flavor in tartar sauce)
• Lemon Juice (can be bottled)

It really is a mix to taste kind of thing. I use about 1/2 cup of mayo (I use light because it means the sauce is 1TBSP/1 WW point), 1 or 2 pickles finely chopped, a tbsp of capers finely chopped and a squeeze of lemon juice. How easy is that and it is tasty!

After lunch, I sent Chloe up to go potty in her bathroom and put on her sleeping pants (a.k.a. cloth trainer for just in case). She obeyed then hopped into bed…..with the box of “pretend marshmallows” she found in daddy’s office.

After cleaning everything up, I sat down and found In the name of the Father, the Son and a Big Sister  in my reader. It was just the giggle I needed and now that I have shared with you my crazy day, I’m feeling much better! Thank you my reading friends. I’m heading for a bath (yes, in the middle of the day!!) and to read my bible. Then I am going to eat some chocolate Easter eggs and clean up from lunch!

• This post links to Mouthwatering Mondays, Tasty Tuesday,and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday since I took the time to include my recipe! {Is it a recipe if it has no exact measurements?}

John is still working on the whole concept of on the tray, then bake, then eat; priceless!

A tip that works for me? Double or triple the recipe for shortbread or sugar cookies. Roll the extra dough into a cylinder, wrap well with cling wrap and freeze. When you want fresh baked cookies quick, simply pull out a roll, thaw, slice and bake. Easy-peasy!

• Linked to Wordless Wednesday and WFMW

It’s Friday night. We just put the littles to bed. We’re going to watch a movie but we’re feeling munchy. We don’t have anything snacky; then DH said, “Let’s make chips”.

We (DH) sliced the potatoes super thin (using a mandolin), gave them a pat dry, fried them in about 2” of vegetable oil (about 375 def F). Then they went straight onto paper towel and received a sprinkling of salt.

I put together a quick sour cream dip (remember, I’m an Epicure Consultant!)

Oh, DH  also made some tempura mushrooms by slicing them, then battered them with an ice-water and flour mixture and dropped them into the hot oil. He’s a self-admitted cheapskate and since the oil was hot and on the stove, he wanted to make the most of it. That, and he loves mushrooms

OK, now to decide on a movie…

Have a great weekend my friends!

Today I had the privilege of doing an Epicure party with my sister as the Hostess. We had a chocolate themed party and it was a lot of fun (and tasty!!). But would you believe I burned the chocolate dips for the fruit? Talk about a disaster! Thankfully we had cookies and brownies to fall back on

Epicure’s Chocolate Oatmeal Drop Cookies

• 2 cups (500 ml) oats
• 1/2. cup (125 ml) shredded coconut
• 4 heaping tsp (20-25 ml) Epicure’s Pure Cocoa
• 1/2. tsp (2.5 ml) salt
• 1 tsp (5 ml) Epicure’s Vanilla Extract
• 1/4. cup (60 ml) Epicure’s Milk Belgian Chocolate
• 1/2. cup (125 ml) butter
• 1/2. cup (125 ml) milk
• 2 cups (500 ml) granulated sugar

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients.
2. Place butter, milk and sugar in Epicure’s 12-cup Multi-Purpose Pot and place over medium heat. Whisk to combine.
3. When butter mixture starts to boil, set a timer for 5 minutes and whisk occasionally.
4. Remove from heat and add dry ingredients to hot liquid, stirring quickly to combine.
5. Using a Tbsp (15 ml) measure, immediately drop cookies onto Epicure’s Parchment Paper and allow to cool completely, about 5-10 minutes.

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Weight Watcher Points per cookie = 3, Calories 130, Fat 5 g (Saturated 3 g, Trans 0 g), Cholesterol 10 mg, Sodium 65 mg, Carbohydrate 19 g (Fibre 1 g, Sugars 15 g), Protein 1 g

Just a reminder that Epicure Products can be purchased online (Consultant: Jennifer VanderPloeg) or directly through me.

• Chicken Breasts, Legs or Thighs (Bone In!)
• Buttermilk or Milk
• 2 Cups Flour
• 1 Tbsp Salt
• 1 Tbsp Pepper
• Vegetable Oil

Place chicken pieces in a bowl and cover with milk or buttermilk, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 deg F

Combine dry ingredients. Take chicken out of milk and coat thoroughly.

Pour oil into a stockpot (about an inch deep – the oil, not the pot) and heat until 360 deg F.

Fry chicken for about 3 minutes per side or until light golden brown. Work in batches, do not crowd.

Remove chicken, place on baking rack on top of cookie sheet and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until done.

Serve with country gravy or sweet and sour sauce!

It’s an Austrian yummy marble coffee cake in a bundt pan. It is amazingly delicious!

Ingredients:

• Recipe Adapted from Saveur. DH has a subscription and reads it the day it arrives!
• This post links to Mouthwatering Mondays, Tasty Tuesday,and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday since it seems to go with them all.
• And it was less than 30 Minutes to write in keeping with Steady Mom’s Challenge. I need to start timing these posts accurately!