You know you've been eating too much cabbage when you wake up smelling like it in the morning. That's probably the first time in my life I've ever said that sentence, or smelled so strongly of cabbage. Sad case, but so true.
A little over a month ago I started getting produce from a local organic farm share program. The first delivery day was pretty exciting. "I wonder what we'll get!?!!" Followed by a moment of even more excitement when the box arrived with fresh beets, swiss chard, and turnips (among other stuff.) These all being things I normally wouldn't think to buy at the grocery store. Not that I'm opposed to them, but if there's not a plan, then they usually stay out of my fridge. This being said, excitement soon turned into dread. "Two bags of lettuce again??!" "Red AND green cabbage!??" My boyfriend eats a lot of food, but a meal plan for four started getting us in over our head in veggies. First we had too much lettuce. Wait, did I just say that? Being the granola girl I am, I never imagined you could have too much lettuce. But it's true people. There's only so much salad you can eat until you turn into a rabbit. I made a specific, very planned grocery trip just to get toppings to keep salad interesting. Four bottles of dressing and a whole lot of nuts, cheeses, and croutons later we finally caught up on the lettuce. Then, it was swiss chard. THREE huge bundles were sitting in the ice box staring at me every time I opened the door. We put it in everything. Eggs, Lasagna, sauted with white wine, lemon, and garlic, and in place of spinach whenever called for. I complain about it now, but honestly I have liked the challenge.
Then, came the cabbage. Slaw, stir fry, sweet cabbage tart, etc. I've gotten pretty creative including last night's recipe, cheddar and cabbage pie. DELICIOUS. I liked it so much that I will be making it again, with a few of my own modifications. Nothing against cabbage, it's just that again, it's not like onion, broccoli or carrots that I would normally have in the kitchen. That, and it can be kind of bitter or bland if not handled properly. Stick around and I'll try and post pictures and instructions of the next time I make it. But this might be a while. I'm a little burnt out on cabbage for the time being.
Our most recent abundance is zucchini and squash.
Now THAT I can deal with. I normally associate my mom's recipe for zucchini bread with Autumn. The warmth from the oven and the scent of cinnamon just brings about a feeling for me. But, this recent veggie overload called for a seasonal exception.
I've never been sure who's handwriting is on this recipe card, my mom's or my Grammie Brown's. My mom's penmanship looks almost identical to Grammie's, just as mine has began to blend in to the mix as well. Simple things like this comfort me. As well as recipe's that always turn out good, and this one is no exception.(I even substituted all of the sugar for brown and used all whole wheat flour.) Still amazing.
Beat:
3 eggs
2 C sugar
1 C oil
Add and beat well:
3 C sifted flour
1 tsp soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 C grated zucchini
Add:
1/2 C nuts (I use pecans or walnuts)
3 tsp vanilla
Bake in 2 well greased and floured loaf pans at 325*f for 45 minutes to an hour.
I hope my best friend (Hi Sheri!) makes this. I can't eat zucchini bread without seeing her disgusted 12 year old face from the first time she saw it in my mom's kitchen. Being that she lived across the street she was always wandering into our house curious about the "weird" foods we ate. When I handed her a piece of sweet smelling bread with green chunks in it, she was repulsed. Oh how times have changed. :)
On another note, it's been been very rainy here in CO. Supposedly there's such a thing as the "Colorado monsoon season." Usually several days of rain can get me down. But so far I've highly enjoyed it. The sun says hi every once and a while, and when it's not raining, it's just cloudy and cool enough to ward off the summer heat. yay!
Some nice rainy day moments...
Oh, and I bought a new book. I've done decent with my new years resolution to read more. And when I saw they were coming out with a movie for Eat Pray Love, I wanted to get my hands on it. It's been out for years and I just never got around to reading it. Books are always better than films.
Hope you are having a lovely weekend! This time next week I'll be in Canada! Catch you later.
