Zucchini Bread

About this time of year, gardens everywhere begin to overflow with ripe tomatoes, peas on the vine, fresh cucumbers, and... the dreaded zucchini. Now don't get me wrong, I like zucchini. We're real good friends when he's fried in butter with onions and potatoes. But there's only so much zucchini a person can take. Even a couple zucchini plants in the garden can produce a monstrous number of zucchini children.

And oh do those children grow up fast...

In my neighborhood, zucchini is rampant. We've become so infested with the green vegetable, we'd certainly be doomed if they ever gained sentience and turned on us (zucchini apocalypse, anyone?). I'm not only faced with the problem of having about 10 zucchini too many, but so is everyone else. It's reached the point where we can't even give zucchini away.

Just a few days ago, someone left a bag of zucchini under the mailbox. The poor zucchini sat there for a long time, begging to be picked up, to be loved, to be eaten. It was a couple days before someone took pity on the poor souls and brought them home. You know the infestation is bad when people turn away from garden ripe vegetables.

My parents have a running joke with friends that around this time of year you need to keep the car doors locked and the windows up because someone might just leave a zucchini in your car if you aren't careful. They've even taken it a step further and stashed zucchini in their friend's cars when they weren't looking. I have a hard time imagining my father as a zucchini fairy, but too many vegetables can mess with your mind.

If you happen to have this very same green vegetable problem, zucchini bread is a great (and delicious!) way to use up a few of your vegetables. But, if you still find you have one too many of these vegetables after baking up a storm, you could always find an open car window...

This Zucchini Bread is moist, dense, and lightly sweetened. The bread has hints of cinnamon and nutmeg and is made with brown sugar, which gives a hint of molasses to the finished product. The best part of this bread is that you can customize each loaf with an extra touch. I made one loaf with chocolate chips and the other with walnuts (though I imagine a loaf of zucchini bread stuffed full of raisins would be a dream). Topped with a thick spread of butter or jam, this bread is perfect for using up all the extra garden zucchini.

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Chocolate Beet Cake

Back in May, I happened upon a gorgeous video created by Matt and Julie from Tiger in a Jar. It showcases the making and baking of a chocolate beet cake, but it's so much more than that. Matt and Julie took the simple process of baking a cake and turned it into art. The colors, the lighting, the food—everything about it was beautiful. Since it first caught my eye, I've watched it many times since.

Today, I wanted to share it with you.

Though I've never had an affinity for beets, this video made me want to give beets another chance. So this week, when walking through the grocery store, I spotted a bundle and the color was so bright and pink I couldn't resist picking them up. There was never any question what I was going to do with them—chocolate beet cake was destined to be their fate.

Those lucky, little beets...

While many of you may cringe at the idea of putting beets into a chocolate cake, hear me out. Often fruit or vegetable purees are added to cakes and breads to add nutrients to baked goods and make them healthier than their non-puree counterparts (think banana or zucchini bread). Plus, the puree flavor is usually masked by other ingredients. In the case of this chocolate beet cake, the chocolate hides the beet flavor quite well. As a result, these purees lend a very moist, healthier product (to date, I'll argue that this chocolate prune cake is one of the most deliciously moist cakes I've ever eaten).

Have I convinced you that beets and chocolate cake aren't so scary together? I hope so.

My favorite part of this cake is serving it to others. I love to watch the expressions as they take their first bite, not knowing the secret ingredient. Most people will not notice the beets whatsoever and are shocked when you divulge the secret (but it never stops them from scraping their plates clean!). Others may notice a little extra flavor, but will not be able to put their finger on quite what it is.

I ask you, what better way is there to eat a serving of vegetables than in a cake?

This Chocolate Beet Cake is so moist, it would have you believe that it literally melts in your mouth on contact. It's big on flavor and rich in texture, while the beets add something a little extra to the taste. The cake can stand alone and doesn't need frosting to make it taste better (though I wouldn't fault you if a bit of chocolate frosting found its way on top anyway). A simple dusting of powdered sugar is enough for this cake.

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Rocky Road Cookies with Almonds and White Chocolate Chips

I recently tried my hand at a bit of woodworking. You should know, before I begin, that I knew absolutely nothing about the subject. And truth be told, after all the fuss and mess, I still don't.

I wanted to create a new tabletop to play around with for my food photography. I was feeling uninspired with my current two choices: wooden dining room table and slab-of-wood-I-stained-that-looks-a-lot-like-dining-room-table. A change was in order. While place mats can be fun to experiment and play around with, I no longer wanted to be restricted to photographing something on a 15 x 11-inch surface (tougher than it looks!). Thus, my mission to create my own tabletops began.

I think this officially takes me from "enjoys food photography in her spare time" to "slightly obsessed." You'll still love me even if I am a little crazy, right?

After dropping $20 on five planks of wood, I was at a loss of what to do next. The wood sat in the garage for two months while I tried to figure out what to do with it. It got wet. It warped. It'll add character, I told myself when I tried to dowel all five pieces together and they refused to match up. It'll add character, I told myself when creating deep grooves and divots while mishandling a belt sander in an attempt to smooth the warped surface. It'll add character, I told myself when I accidentally dropped the heavy tabletop on cement and cracked one of the corners.

It'll add character... right?

I think that's going to be my new woodworking motto.

After painting the surface white and letting it dry, I christened it by photographing these cookies. And it was beautiful. Until, of course, I picked up one of the cookies after setting it on the table. Turns out you need to seal wood or the buttery goodness in your baked goods might just leave grease stains. Oops.

Well, there's always something new to learn. And if you are like me and trying to do woodworking, turns out there's everything new to learn. Um, does anyone happen to know how to get grease stains off wood?

Have YOU tried anything new lately?

Since I have an allergy to tree nuts, "Rocky Road" has eluded me for most of my life. I've lusted over this flavor in ice cream shops and bakeries for far too long. It's about time I did something about it. So today, that's exactly what I did.

Though these Rocky Road Cookies do not feature walnuts or marshmallows—the staples of that classic Rocky Road flavor—I don't think you'll mind. I think you might be too busy finding and nibbling at every last crumb to notice. Since I'm a little burnt out on marshmallows (yes, it's possible! I blame this, this, and this), I substituted in white chocolate chips instead. I feel that white chocolate chips have a texture better suited to cookies than marshmallows, while marshmallows have a texture better suited to ice cream. It's a personal preference, but I feel like it makes all the difference.

These Rocky Road Cookies with almonds and white chocolate chips may not be your traditional Rocky Road cookie, but it doesn't make them any less enjoyable. A rich chocolate cookie is absolutely stuffed full of white chocolate chips and almonds. Each bite showcases all of these flavors at once, providing your taste buds with a Rocky Road experience. Plus, these cookies kind of look a little rocky. I suppose that's what I get for stuffing them (too) full of flavor!

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