Eggless Egg-free Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake and/or Bread

Life is Good: I'm baking again!

Need a sure-thing to take to a friend with a new baby, a family that is grieving, to share over coffee & a chat? 

This recipe does not dissappoint. I got it from my friend, Merie, and adjusted it to make it eggless for our family's needs. You can make it as a cake or a bread, chocolate chips or chocolate chocolate chips, all with the same results...YUM!

Eggless Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake

Ingredients:

2 C flour

2 C sugar

3/4 C cocoa powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

mixture of 3/4 applesauce and 1/2 T baking powder (mixed together in a separate bowl until foamy)

3/4 C canola

3/4 C buttermilk (I have often used milk and it has turned out well)

3 C grated zucchini

3/4 C chocolate chips or chunks (My friend Merie used a 1/2 bag rather than measure them)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease and flour two loaf pans.

3. Mix applesauce and baking soda together in a small bowl and set aside.

4. Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together in a large bowl.

5. Add applesauce mixture plus oil and buttermilk into large bowl of dry ingredients and mix well.

6. Mix in zucchini and then chocolate chips.

7. Pour into pans (half of batter in each) and bake. In my oven, this recipe is done after about 45 minutes. However, all ovens are different, so I suggest that you start checking the middle of the loaf with a toothpick or cake tester after 38-40 minutes.

Notes:

I typically leave the cocoa powder out of the recipe when I make this bread for my kids since they are allergic to nuts. Most cocoa powders are processed in facilities where nuts are present. If I add cocoa, I have to grind Enjoy Life chocolate chunks into a powder. Sometimes I feel like going through the extra step and sometimes...I'm lazy! The absence of cocoa powder doesn't affect how delicious it is. However, the addition of cocoa powder kind of "takes the flavor over the edge", if you will, and makes the bread much, much more rich. Try it both ways and see what you think!

The original recipe calls for 1 tsp of cinnamon, but it makes for a very obvious cinnamon taste and I prefer it more subtle, especially when leaving out the cocoa powder.

This recipe was originally a cake made with eggs that my friend, Merie, who happens to be a marvelous and adventurous cook, posted on Facebook a few years ago. (Thank you, Merie!) I adapted it to be eggless and the result was more of a bread than a cake, so I bake it in loaf pans, but if you want to try it in a cake pan, go for it! I made it as a cake for our Little Kid's birthday cake a couple of years ago and everyone loved it.

Here is the Chocolate Chunk Zucchini bread version (I used Enjoy Life chocolate chunks.)

Marriage Weather Report: Mostly Sunny

Life is Good: fifteen years later

It's been a rainy, dreary, grey day in Minnesota today.
But fifteen years ago, on a little island off the coast of Georgia, the sky was bright with sunshine as well as excitement and hope.

Many people talk about having a "fairy tale wedding" with an eye roll, but ours was pretty close to that (thanks, mom and dad!). Several of our closest friends and family flew to Florida and drove to Georgia (thank you!) for a long weekend of community and sharing, laughter and dancing, good food and...a wedding.

The "fairy tale" included riding on a real ferry called the Cumberland Princess and after saying our vows, all 45 of us walking down a cobblestone street to the waves, cheers, applause, and yes, honks of passersby. It was a sunshine-filled day where (almost) everything went right.

In fifteen years, there have been many, many sunshine-filled days where (almost) everything went right. And there have been some rainy, dreary, grey days as well. I'd like to say that Grant and I have figured it all out and have nothing but sunshine year-round. I'd like to say that this opposite personalities, extrovert & introvert, yin and yang thing we have going on is always perfectly balanced. But it's not. It can come in handy, it has been helpful, and for sure, it has definitely been a blessing more times than I can count. But also, it can be a stumbling block and even a giant pain in the...neck. ; )

What I can say for certain is that, through mostly sunshine and a bit of rain, we have made it through with our feet firmly planted on the same path using our faith and shared values as our compass. For fifteen years. FIFTEEN years. And counting.

And lucky for us (and by the Grace of God), we have three giant rays of sunshine that help keep us focused on the path, help us see past the storms, make the sunshine-filled days all the more laughter-infused and delightful, and the grey days not so dark.

So here's to being on the path together no matter what the weather. Here's to many more sunshine-filled days than not. Here's to weathering life's storms side by side. Here's to fifteen years times fifteen years times fifteen years and more.

(Heart cookie image found at http://finehdwallpaperrr.com)

When in Doubt, Go for the Tortillas & Cheese

Life is Good: dinner was easy

I've discovered that with three kids, including a baby-slash-toddler, that "winging it" for dinner is a terrible, hideous idea. On my best days, I prep dinner at breakfast time. I've also discovered that my crock pot is my best friend.

Last year (maybe? I don't know...2015 is a blur), I discovered a yummy recipe that I lovingly refer to as Burrito Bowls. It's pretty quick to cook up after the first time (I think that is the way with all recipes) and everyone in the family likes it. You can substitute rice for quinoa and it is still yummy and you can leave out the chicken if you like, too. Click on the link and try it out! One of these days I will have to check out the whole blog. You know, in approximately 17 years, when I have time for myself. ; )

We're a bit googoogaga for Mexican food around here, so my "oh, no! how did I forget to plan dinner?!" go to is: tortillas and cheese. I always have tortillas and shredded cheese ready in the fridge. They sit there, happily, waiting for me to open the door. And then, they quickly become quesadillas, tacos, enchiladas, tostadas, and even Mexican lasagna once in a while. Stick them on a fiestaware plate with a little Restaurant-Style salsa from Target and your family just might leave you a tip after dinner!

The Reason to Vote Democrat

Life is Good: we find humor in politics

Nuggets from our 4-year old at dinner last night:

"I want to vote for the Democrats. Because they're like the Wild Kratts!"

"And I'm going to be the 16th president. So I can drive!"

Good Reads

Life is Good: and so are these quotes!

I happened upon this post and am crazy about these wise words!

How to Draw on Dishes & Mugs

Life is Good: and colorful

I've been having a lot of fun visiting the Big Kid's class the past several weeks. His school has a carnival and silent auction coming up, so I offered to do a class art project to use as an auction item.

I bought a white platter from Pier 1 and some oil-based Sharpie markers from Michael's. After lots of research online, I determined that the best way to make the drawing permanent (fingers crossed) was to use oil-based markers and then, after placing the finished item into a cold oven, baking the item at 250 degrees for four hours. After four hours, you leave the item in the oven until the oven cools completely. It's basically a day's time to complete this part of things.

My idea for the platter was to draw a tree and then let each child draw a bird on the tree. I figured that a bird was simple enough for everyone. I drew the tree as an outline and told the kids to keep their birds as outlines, too. I felt like coloring in the birds might lead to smears or other mistakes that could not be fixed and might cause kids to get upset.

After I drew the tree outline, I baked it as described above. Then, I applied pieces of painter's tape on the platter leaving spaces in between. I did this in hopes of keeping all of the birds uniform in size and preventing kids from smearing or drawing over each other's work. (And it seemed to work well!)

I bought a red, blue, yellow, light blue, and orange marker. I let the kids pick what color they wanted. My only rule was that they could not use the color that had just been used (to keep things colorful).


After the spaces in between the tape had been used, I had kids draw where I pulled off the tape. Again, they could use any color but the colors beside their space. This didn't cause any problems and everyone was happy with their color. I brought a piece of paper with some bird sketches in case kids wanted to see some examples. Then, before they drew on the platter, I asked them to practice drawing their bird at least once in a space the same size as they would have on the platter. (Preparation is always key no matter what you do! This is my mantra!)

I had to go to school a few times for a couple of hours at a time to get all of the drawings done. It was fun to get to spend a little time with each child and witness their process. Some drew slowly and with intention, some took time to think about their drawing, but then drew it fairly quickly. One child drew his in seconds! (But it looks great!) After I got all of the birds drawn, I baked the platter again.

The final step in this process was getting kids to sign the back of the platter. I visited the class to read, "The Snail and The Whale" and then had them all write their names. I will go back later this week to read (maybe "The Popcorn Book"?) and get the last two names of kids who were absent. After I bake the platter once more, it will be time to give it to the silent auction committee and hope that a bunch of parents fight over ($$$) who gets to take it home!