Happy Birthday Zachary!

Today is Zachary's 16th birthday. I can hardly believe that the little boy who carried the rings at our wedding ten years ago is the same young man here tonight. I am so proud of him and the young man he has become. I hope Zachary knows how much he is loved.

Baking frenzy weekend

We had a busy weekend between Harry Potter, a trip to the vet, and normal household stuff. I did fit in some time to make breads for the week. Of course I made Danny's favorite, Banana bread, or "Boo-nana" bread (http://thecreamerchronicle.blogspot.com/2009/07/boo-nana-bread-and-my-favorite-pan.html), but I also made Zachary's new favorite, Lemon Zucchini bread, or "Leminnanchini bread" as he likes to call it. Thanks, Joann, for another great recipe!

Lemon Zucchini Bread
* 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
* 3/4 cup white sugar
* 1 egg
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* zest of one lemon and it's juice - do NOT omit the fresh lemon, it is what makes this bread so good!

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan.

2. In a bowl, mix together the zucchini, sugar, egg, lemon zest and juice, and oil. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder and cinnamon. Stir the flour mixture into the zucchini mixture just until blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

3. Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from heat, and cool about 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

*optional - 1/3 cup of wheat germ for added nutrition

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

This weekend, we splurged and saw Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince at the theater. It was an excellent movie, and all of us thoroughly enjoyed it. Some insight from George that I agree with - in this film, there is a definite distinction between bad (Draco Malfoy as the notorious bad boy) and evil. It is also more humorous and darker (at the same time) than the previous films. That's all I'll say. Go see it - if you like Harry Potter movies.

Ya Punk Kid!

Danny is absolutely obsessed with having his hair spiky. This morning, his request was a mohawk. My little punk rocker wore it all day like that. I'd say it held up pretty well, huh?

Purist egg salad

I don't know why, but egg salad was always some mysterious concoction that I was afraid to make. George is a definite purist when it comes to egg salad, and after some trial and error to get it to match his tastes, I now make the simplest egg salad, but it is really good because it features the egg instead of other random flavors.

Here is the recipe:

4 boiled eggs, still warm

1 Heaping Tbsp. mayonnaise (I only use Hellmans Light - Hellmans is the only true mayo brand and the light tastes the same)

2 pinches salt

freshly ground pepper to taste

Slice the eggs so that they are still in large pieces, but in varying sizes. This actually provides texture instead of a mushy mess. I use an egg slicer, but a knife will do. Sprinkle the salt and pepper into the warm eggs. Then mix in the tbsp. mayo well until all pieces are just moist and no clumps of mayo are left. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Watermelon Agua Frescas

From the incredibly sweet watermelon we got this weekend, I made Watermelon Agua Fresca. This recipe was featured in Southern Living this month (courtesy of Maria Corbalan, owner of Taco Xpress in Austin, Texas), which I received two days before tasting this heavenly watermelon. Coincidence? I think not. This can be made with watermelon, canteloupe, or honeydew melon, and is a great alternative use if you have an abundance of these tasty fruits. Here's the method:

Process 4 cups cubed seedless melon and 1/4 cup sugar in a blender until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. Pour mixture through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a pitcher, discarding solids. Stir in 2 cups cold water. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Serve over ice. Makes about 5 cups. Prep time: 10 minutes.

Nature's bounty

Our generous friends loaded us up with goodies like heavenly watermelons and sweet cucumbers that the kids got to pick off the vines, heirloom peppers hanging heavy from the plant, and golden tomatoes from the greenhouse.

We also got some fresh eggs which made the best scramble I've ever tasted. Brown are usually my favorite, but I'm partial to the blue-green now (none of the light ones are white - all shades of blue-green). I'll never go back to the store if I can help it!

We love fresh-from-the-farm flavor. I only wish we could grow them ourselves. Maybe someday...

This weekend...at the farm

On Saturday, we went out to a friend's farm. It was amazing. We got to tour the chicken coop, the garden, and an extra special herb garden. The kids had a wonderful time, too. It was a great day trip, and we are blessed to have friends who are so good to us. Thank you!!!

For the birds...

Last night we impulse bought a hummingbird feeder at Walmart. It was so pretty, I couldn't help myself. The kids just love it and they have gone to the window about 30 times to see if we have any hummingbirds. None yet, but it hasn't even been a whole day.

Bling, Bling...Superstar!

Megan spent the day with a friend, and she came home with a pair of retro sunlasses (equipped with "diamonds") and the world's largest rock on her finger. She looked absolutely adorable! Oh, to be young again...

Boo-nana Bread and my favorite pan

We all got very little sleep last night, but I for one was productive! I made Banana (or Boo-nana) Bread from another great JoAnn Creamer recipe.

http://creamerchronicles.blogspot.com/2008/09/boo-nana-bread.html

I have to say, it was wonderful. This is all that was left after breakfast today.

I used my favorite Le Creuset pan (I got it on clearance at Publix of all places). I only paid a few dollars for it, but I LOVE IT! If you bake loaves, you might consider getting one. It is so worth it.

More Fourth of July

Here are some more great pics from last night, including some of the fireworks area, of the golf couse where we all sat, and of the Boom Brothers, the sky-diving pyrotechnics group who set off all of the fireworks.

The Fourth of July

Hope you had a great 4th of July! Megan and Danny spent much of the day playing games (their favorites are chess and checkers). We cooked out hot dogs and watched The Revolution marathon on the History Channel (I know, we're boring).

Then, George worked one of the local fireworks displays, and we all got to sit on the golf course and watch them. It was so close that they were literally right above our heads!

Crazy kid!

"I'm really too cool for this, you know. "

After we got home, the kids played with sparklers in the yard until there were no more.

It was truly what the 4th should be.

Past Independence Days

We are looking forward to tomorrow night. While we don't usually do anything huge, we always celebrate together. I was looking at some of the past years (2008 and 2006 - don't think I took any in '07), and I found a few great shots of the kids. Hope you all have a great Independence Day!

Summer car trips

Before the era of in-car dvd players and car seats, my summer car trips were spent sleeping in the back seat of a white Toyota, then a tan Chevy Nova, and so on. Our car trips are very different, particularly because we have more than one child. The kids entertain each other, and, despite the occasional tiff, our trips are very enjoyable events. We are so blessed to be able to make the memories that we do!

The rest of the weekend...

After the yard work, Megan and I went to the first meeting of our Mommy-Daughter book club (see the book info on the Literary Corner link at the bottom of the blog) and George worked at the Roller Derby at the fairgrounds - two very exciting events. On Sunday after church, I went to my book club meeting, and George and Zachary took Danny to a friend's birthday party at Zoinks. He had such a good time, and boy was he tired!