After hopelessly spending 3 months and countless hours trying to fix a broken RSS feed, I’ve reluctantly decided to hang up my chef’s hat and put aside my snarky pen.

Thanks for all the great comments and feedback, chickens!

        

Alice was #35 and our winner in the Pepperidge Farm Visa $100 Gift Card giveaway.

        

I’ve been having the worst kind of trouble with my blog feed lately.  Is anyone out there getting my feed?  If so, would you be so kind as to post a comment so I know.

Thanks!!

        

It’s that time of year again…when children cry and parents cheer. Summer memories of swimming, biking and camping are long gone. But they don’t have to be. You can pack a bit of summer memories in their lunch with these super easy, super chocolatey and super marshmallowey (If that’s not a word, it should be!) S’mores Bars.

And I found this cool new marshmallow creme that tastes like the perfect toasted marshmallow.  You know, the one you set on fire so it gets just a little black but then you eat it and burn your tongue and can’t wait to get another and burn your tongue again?  Well, this stuff tastes like that only without the black burnt pieces. I thought it worked perfectly for these, but regular marshmallow creme is just as delicious.

S’Mores Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
5 chocolate bars (I used about 12 mini Hershey bars)
1 cup marshmallow creme

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy with a mixer set on high.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat some more.

In another bowl, mix the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt then slowly pour this into the butter/sugar mixture.  Take out about 3/4 cup of this stuff and set it aside.

Take the rest and pat it into a greased 8″x8″ square baking pan.   Set your candy bars on top of this base.  Spread the marshmallow creme over the candy bars. Finally, drop spoonfuls of the graham cracker mixture you set aside on top.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes.  Cool and cut into squares.  Campfire taste without Smoky the Bear showing up.

        

It’s that time of year again.  The overflowing basket of zucchini that magically appears on your doorstep because your kind, elderly neighbor, Mr. Green Jeans, wants to dump share some with you but you already have 182,976 zucchini sitting on your kitchen counter.  What to do?  What to do?  Oh, I don’t know, how about a few…ok, 100 recipes.  That oughta hold ya.

Stuff ‘em

1. Dana’s Stuffed Zucchini @ Homesteading Housewife
2. Foot Long Stuffed Zucchini @ Sage Trifle
3. Lamb and Ricotta Zucchini Boats @ Delementals
4. Zucchini Boats with Puree of Parsnip @ Chocolate Chip Trips
5. Southwestern Stuffed Zucchini @ Mindful Plate
6. Stuffed 8 Ball Zucchini @ Aileen’s Musings

Make a salad

1. Zucchini Carpaccio @ Gina’s Weight Watcher Recipes
2. Cold Tomato Zucchina Pasta Salad with Sherry Salad Vinaigrette @ The Cooking Corner
3. Corn, Zucchini and Blue Cheese Salad @ Sugar Laws
4. Farmer’s Market Zucchini Salad @ Freshly Baked
5. Zucchini Ribbons Salad @ My So-Called Kitchen
6. Arugula, Zucchini and Fennel Salad @ La Tartine Gourmande

Saute ‘em

1. Lemon Garlic Zucchini @ dlyn
2. Braised Zucchini Wheels with Almond-Mint Pesto @ Cooking Books
3. Ravens’ Restaurant Crabless Crab Cakes @ Just Veggin’ Out
4. Zucchini Cakes with Dill and Feta @ Sounding My Barbaric Gulp
5. Sauteed Zucchini with Spinach and Basil Pesto @ Kalyn’s Kitchen
6. Zucchini Fritters @ Chickens in the Road
7. Shrimp, Eggplant and Zucchini Spaghetti @ Kath Eats Real Food
8. Seared Flounder with Zucchini and Toasty Garlic Mojo @ Eats Well with Others

Bread ‘em

1. Breaded and Baked Zucchini @ The Perpetual Plum
2. Breaded Zucchini and Squash @ Our Life in Food
3. Corn-Breaded Zucchini @ Savin’ It Up
4. Baked Breaded Zucchini Sticks @ Healthy Life with Jenny
5. Breaded Zucchini @ Dumpling

Make soup

1. Zucchini Spinach Soup @ What’s for Dinner?
2. Zucchini Basil Soup @ Caviar and Codfish
3. Spicy Summer Zucchini Soup @ Sideoats and Scribbles
4. Quick and Easy Zucchini and White Bean Soup @ Dinner Cakes
5. Roasted Zucchini Soup @ Salty Spoon
6. Cold Zucchini and Summer Squash Soup @ Two Kitchens

Make pasta

1. Pasta Primavera with Garden Zucchini and Herbs @ goodLife {eats}
2. Zucchini, Soba Noodles and Cake @ Cookie Crumbs
3. Zucchini and Summer Squash Fettucini @ Jenn Cuisine
4. Pasta with Zucchini @ Morta di Fame
5. Zucchini Tagliatele Alfredo @ FoodieTots
6. Summer Risotto with Corn, Zucchini and Cherry Tomato Oil @ Herbivoracious
7. Zucchini and Tomato Couscous @ Friesencold

Bake ‘em

1. Zucchini Gratin @ The Italian Dish
2. Ratatouille @ Gluten Free Homemaker
3. Zucchini Pizza @ Brick and Plastic
4. Zucchini Gratin @ The Italian Dish
5. Ovenroasted Zucchini Wedges with Proscuitto Crudo and Oregano @ Lucullian Delights
6. Zucchini Polenta Tart @ Chocolate and Zucchini
7. Zucchini Strudel @ Gotta Little Space
8. Zucchini Mexican Lasagna @ What’s Cooking
9. Dilly Zucchini Casserole @ Frugal Upstate
10. Zucchini and Tomato Gratin @ Pinch My Salt
11. Zucchini Tart with Raclette @ Kosher Camembert
12. Creamy Potato and Zucchini Gratin @ Not Quite Nigella
13. Zucchini Galette with Heirloom Tomatoes, Asparagus and Pesto @ Spatulas, Corkscrews and Suitcases
14. Zucchini Sausage and Feta Casserole @ Elizabeth’s Edible Experience
15. Zucchini Tart on a Hazelnut Thyme Crust @ Once Upon a Plate
16. Vegetable Casserole with Zucchini, Tomatoes and Potatoes @ Soupbelly
17. Zucchini and Goat’s Cheese Pizza @ Purple Foodie
18. Zucchini Pie @ Dinners for a Year and Beyond
19. Zucchini Biscotti @ Treehouse Kitchen

Roll ‘em

1. Zucchini Rolls with Goat’s Cheese aka “Makis” au Chèvre @ Nami Nami
2. Zucchini Wrapped Salmon with Dill @ One Tree Past the Fence
3. Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini Rolls @ Apple Pie Patis Pate
4. Zucchini Roll Ups @ The Party Dress
5. Lemon Grilled Zucchini Rollups @ Fab Frugal Food
6. Zucchini Rolls with Roasted Garlic Ricotta @ Pithy and Cleaver

Transform ‘em

1. Zuni Cafe Zucchini Pickles @ Cookography
2. Patyence’s Spicy Turkey Meatballs and “Zughetti” @ The Yuca Diaries
3. Zucchini Ribbons with Mint @ Zoe
4. Veggie Burger # 1 @ Mango Power Girl
5. Chicken Breasts with Zucchini Pappardelle @ The Bitten Word
6. Zucchini Lemon Basil Toss @ Once in a Blue Moon
7. Zucchini Pickles @ Kitchen Gadget Girl
8. Zucchini Relish @ The Abundant Life

Grill ‘em

1. Mediterranean Vegetable Grilled Wrap @ Panini Happy
2. Grilled Fresh Zucchini @ Simple Daily Recipes
3. Quinoa with Grilled Zucchini, Chickpeas, and Cumin @ Dana Treat
4. Grilled Halibut Esconsced in Zucchini @ Hot Off the Garlic Press
5. Grilled Zucchini with Pine Nut Butter @ Lime in the Coconut
6. Grilled Zucchini Rolls with Herbs and Cheese @ Indulge and Enjoy

Go international

1. Mini Burger Pitas with Zucchini Yogurt Sauce @ The Cooking Photographer
2. Soba Noodles with Edamame, Zucchini, and Spinach @ Two Peas and their Pod
3. Zucchini and Corn Quesadillas @ random anderson
4. Zucchini Fritters with Tzatziki Sauce @ The Noshery
5. Hibachi Shrimp Zucchini @ Beachlover Kitchen
6. Zucchini Sushi @ CreatiVegan
7. Spicy Migas with Zucchini @ The Accidental Housewife

And, of course, bread and cake

1. Whole Wheat and Honey Zucchini Bread @ Heavenly Homemakers
2. Geeky double chocolate zucchini bread @ What Geeks Eat
3. Special Zucchini Bread Recipe @ 101 Cookbooks
4. Zucchini Bread @ Simply Recipes
5. Zucchini Cakes @ The Pioneer Woman
6. Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread @ Home Joys
7. Whole What Zucchini Cake @ Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures
8. Whole Wheat Zucchini and Cherry Bread @ Daily Unadventures in Cooking
9. Zucchini Pecan Flaxseed Bread @ The Kitchen Sink
10. Zucchini Pistachio Cupcakes @ Noble Pig
11. Chocolate Wave Zucchini Bread @ Taste Tell and Blog
12. Blueberry Zucchini Bread @ It Feels Like Chaos
13. Zucchini Muffins With Walnuts and Cranberries @ Mango & Tomato
14. Dolce Italiano’s Zucchini Olive Oil Cake @ Stacey Snacks
15. Zucchini Brownies @ Pantry Diva
16. Zucchini Cheddar Bread @ Honey and Jam

Now smile and say thank you to Mr. Green Jeans!

        

Behind on my posts lately as I’ve been a bit busy chasing this new little addition around the house.

Who knew so much trouble could come in such a little package?

        

When I was growing up, my Appalachian dad called this thing a muskmelon. So when I grew up and someone asked me if I liked cantaloupe, I said, “Never had it.” Of course, when I saw it, I thought, “Oh, we hillbillies just call it muskmelon.” Well, guess what? We hillbillies were right. But honestly, as strange a name as cantaloupe is (they’re a rare type of leaping animal, right?), muskmelon doesn’t sound much better. The only time I want to hear musk anywhere near my food is when it’s my waiter’s cologne.

Cucumber Cantaloupe Salad

1 cantaloupe
1 regular or English cucumber
1 lime
1 tablespoon sugar or sugar substitute
1 handful of fresh cilantro

Pretty easy measurements, no?  Anyway, peel, seed and chop the cantaloupe.  Do the same with the cucumber.  If you bought an English cucumber (the kind that comes wrapped in plastic), you don’t need to seed it.

Squeeze the lime juice over the salad.  Sprinkle the sugar over.  Toss.  If you like cilantro (which I do!), add in a handful of fresh, chopped cilantro.

        

Hubby is taking a renewed interest in our daughters’ extracurricular activities.   Which includes registration at a myriad of school events, rec centers and  doctor’s offices.

Hence we have this actual conversation while signing up Daughter Youngest for a recent event.

Registry person: Child’s age?

Husband: She’s 8. (looking at me)

Me: 9…You know her birthday, right?

Husband: Um…(deadly pause)

Me: November 7, 1999

Husband: Well, she’s in 2nd grade.

Me: 3rd.    Do you even know her NAME?!

Now don’t get me wrong.  Hubby is a loving, doting father who challenges them to wrestling matches on the floor, shows them how to fix a leaky gasket and even teaches our little princesses how to burp the alphabet then gives congratulatory knuckles when they succeed.   (Reminder to self:  See if he’s aware of the sex of our children.)  But while he’s tops in digestive games, he’s lacking in knowledge of the details.

From talking with girlfriends, I believe this may be a deficient chromosome in male DNA.    Which is why I’m still the “go to” person in charge of schedules, birthdays, appointments and deadlines.   And why, when I leave for a night out, I leave notes around the kitchen that say “Remember to feed the kids,” because, yes, it’s necessary.  This is the same man who can recite the batting averages of the entire National League.  This is the man who changed Daughter Eldest’s first diaper wearing a surgical mask and rubber gloves yet still managed to gag and run out of the room as soon as I came to help.

But as they grew in to little people, I would come around a corner and notice him pretending to be asleep as giggling girls smothered him with lipstick.   (Once when he let them give him a lovely purple pedicure, he forgot about it until he was swimming at the pool on a business trip…with his boss.)   This is a man who would willingly make himself a fool to encourage a giggle, be the strong arms that catch a leaping fairy princess in a torn tutu and the one who changes from a tough manly man to a real softie whenever he hears a little voice call for “Daddy.”   Thank God for fathers.

Happy Father’s Day, hon!

        

Oatmeal Cookies are the Rodney Dangerfield of the cookie community.  They just don’t get no respect, ya know?   They have a reputation as being bland, slightly boring attempts to pass off a healthy breakfast grain as a dessert.    Even my youngest thumbed her nose up…like so:

“I don’t like oatmeal cookies.”
“You’ve never had oatmeal cookies.”
“I know.  Because I don’t like them.”

Ok, there is a certain “8 year old kid” logic to that.

Maybe what we need is a marketing campaign for oatmeal cookies.  Like..

• “Hey, it’s a cookie.”
• “Oatmeal: It’s not boring, just laid back.”
• “They were good enough for Grandma.”

Grandmas know that oatmeal cookies are economical, delicious and easy.   And I think this recipe might change your mind about oatmeal cookies.

First, we’re going to soak the raisins.  And feel free to swap out the raisins for dried cherries or cranberries.  Those are great too!

Put your raisiny mess in the fridge for about 1 hour.

`

Grandma’s Oatmeal Cookies

3 eggs, well beaten
1 cup raisins
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups oatmeal
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Pour the beaten eggs over the raisins and add the vanilla.  Put in the fridge for 1 hour.

Cream together butter and sugars together.  Combine the flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda and add to the creamed mixture.  It’ll be crumbly.

Blend in egg-raisin mixture and add the oatmeal.  The dough will be stiff.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet (a silicone sheet works great), or roll into balls and flatten slightly.

Bake ‘em at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Then visit your Grandma and share ‘em.

You might also like:

Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cookies
Amish Snickerdoodles
Lemon Cookies are Like Spring Without Sneezing

        

It’s that time of year.  We’re all feeling it.  If we see one more dirty snowpile, one more pair of salt encrusted snow boots or one more sidewalk to shovel, we’ll go insane and smash the snow shovel into little pieces.  Don’t do it.  I have a tasty alternative.  Close your blinds, turn up the thermostat for one hour and put on some shorts…or not if you look into the mirror to find that your pasty white trunks are whiter than the snowdrifts in your driveway and the lack of sunshine is causing you to look like Gollum from Lord of the Rings and then you might snap and they’d find you in the kitchen cupboards mumbling about blizzards and the sunlight burning your eyes…not that I speak from experience. Anyhoo, go into the kitchen to make this summery tasting salad.  You’ll feel better, I promise.

Seafood Avocado Salad

• 1 lb. seafood (I used surimi here but shrimp, crab, or any firm fish will work well)
• 2 avocados, peeled and cubed
• 2 tomatoes, cubed
• 4-6 green onions, minced
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon canola or avocado oil (A neutral tasting oil is best here)
• A handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
• A pinch of salt and fresh pepper

Do you really need instructions?  Mix them together.  Eat.

Ok, if you really need more direction, make sure that you coat all the ingredients thoroughly with the lime juice as the avocado will turn brown without the lime juice.  Cover with Saran Wrap right on top of the salad to help prevent oxygen from getting to your lovely little avocado bits.  This stuff is really good on a bed of lettuce or rolled in a tortilla.

Close your eyes and count the days until summer.