LEMON BLUEBERRY ZUCCHINI CAKE

This recipe is all over the Internet. So, when a friend asked me to make it for her family, I jumped right in. 

As written, I could see that the recipe might be a little heavy, so I made a couple very minor changes and it produced a wonderfully moist, tender and delicious cake.  I hope you'll try it, it's a breeze to make and our grandson labeled it "decadent"  (that's a good thing, I think? hahaha).

LEMON BLUEBERRY ZUCCHINI CAKE
2 cups finely shredded zucchini (squeezed dry)
1 pint fresh blueberries (I used about 2 cups)
3 eggs (I used room temperature eggs)
1 cup vegetable oil  (I use canola)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract  (my addition)
2  1/4  cups white sugar
3 cups CAKE FLOUR  (recipe originally said AP flour)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350° and generously grease AND flour two 8" round cake pans (even if they are no stick).

Grate the zucchini (I used 2 small zucchini because they are very tender) and put then in a clean dish towel. Twist the towel closed around the zucchini and squeeze out the extra liquid (you will get quite a bit out), just keep twisting. Set aside.

Beat room temperature eggs, oil, vanilla extract, lemon extract and sugar together till well mixed. Fold in shredded zucchini by hand.

Sift the CAKE FLOUR (regular flour will work but it will give you a much heavier cake) into a large bowl, then gently dip in your measuring cup and level off the cup with a straight edge. Add 3 of these sifted cups of cake flour 1 cup at a time, mixing well in between each addition, but don't over mix.

Fold in the blueberries (save a few out for decoration).  Divide the batter in between the 2 prepared cake pans. Gently drop the pans on the counter to dislodge any possible air pockets.

Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes. My electric oven took exactly 35 minutes. Test for doneness with the toothpick test.

Cool in cake pans for 20 minutes, then gently turn out of pan, onto a baking rack. Wrap the HOT cakes in plastic wrap and let cool completely.

When completely cool, unwrap the cakes and frost with lemon buttercream frosting and decorate with more blueberries.

Frosting
1 cup room temperature high quality butter (no substitutions)
3  1/2 cups powdered sugar
Juice of 1 lemon (2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Beat butter with electric mixer until smooth. Add everything else and beat on high till light and fluffy.

MEAT-LESS SPAGHETTI

My picky-picky husband is a "meat and potatoes" man through and through. If a meal doesn't center around meat.....well, he doesn't call it a real meal. 

That's why I came up with this "Meat-less Spaghetti" (for myself) to counter hubby's "steak night". It is total COMFORT FOOD !!!

1/4 cup olive oil

1 medium sweet onion (chopped)

(2) 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes (Italian style)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)

pinch of cayenne pepper  (see note below)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (see note below)

2 teaspoons dry basil leaves

1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon fennel seed (grind in mortar & pestle)

2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

8 ounces button mushrooms

1 small red bell pepper (small dice)
black olives are a nice addition 
Any other veggies you like (small dice)

12 ounces spaghetti noodles

Saute chopped onion and red bell pepper in the olive oil until the onion looks sort of transparent and smells "sweet-ish". Put in (do not drain the olive oil) into a large Crockpot (I think mine is a 6 quart size?). Add the diced Italian style tomatoes, garlic powder, cayenne, basil, fennel seed, kosher salt, black pepper and sugar; mix well. Cook on high for about 3 hours.

After 3 hours, slice the mushroom (nice and thick), then put them in the sauce to cook for about 30 minutes.

While the mushrooms are cooking, boil the spaghetti noodles (in salted water) until they are only HALF WAY COOKED (important).

Strain the partially cooked noodles and turn the Crockpot down to LOW. Add the noodles to the sauce and continue cooking for about 30 more minutes. Stir and serve.

I like mine with 

lots of Parmesan!!

ENJOY !!!

NOTE: Remember, kosher salt measures differently than table salt because the tiny grains (in table salt) pack together much closer. The measurement in this recipe is for kosher salt. If you only have table salt......use less.

NOTE: I'm pretty "spice shy", so if you like heat, add more cayenne.

NOTE: Make sure you only boil the spaghetti noodles half way. This is an important step since they pick up a ton of flavor from the sauce as they cook the rest of the way in the Crockpot.

NOTE: Cut this recipe in half if you only have a small Crockpot.

COLEEN's PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

I've made these cookies (literally) a ba-jillion times over the past 50+ years. They are my families all-time favorite AND they are very easy to make. 

1/2 cup "Butter Flavored Crisco" (see note below)
1/2 cup peanut butter (I use Jiff)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/4 cups flour 

In a stand mixer, cream together the Butter Flavored Crisco + Peanut Butter + brown sugar + granulated sugar. Beat until it is light and fluffy (takes just a minute or so).

Add the egg and vanilla and beat till smooth...set aside.

To measure the flour, spoon it into a measuring cup and level off the top of the cup with the edge of a knife (do not dip the cup into the flour cannister...that will give you a false measurement). 

In a bowl stir together the measured flour + salt + baking soda. Add this dry mixture to the creamed mixture and beat until well mixed.  

Tip: If the cookie dough seems a little dry or crumbly, add a tablespoon of water and mix a few more seconds.

Roll the cookie dough into balls about the size of a small walnut and then roll the balls in granulated sugar. Place on an ungreased baking sheet (about 3" apart) and flatten a little with a fork in a criss-cross pattern.

Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 10-11 minutes or until edges of the cookie are light golden. Let cookies cool (on the cookie sheet) for about a minute, then gently transfer them to a cooling rack (or waxed paper) to cool completely. The cookies will crisp up as they cool off.

NOTE: Cooking time depends on how large you make these cookies. Dough balls about the size of a small walnut, bake for 11 minutes in my electric oven.

NOTE: Do not be tempted to use butter in this recipe. The Butter Flavored Crisco makes a light and tender cookie. Butter will give you a very dense and heavy cookie.

ENJOY !!!