Marbled Chocolate and Banana Zucchini Bread

I had a few things that needed to be used pronto before turning bad, so I decided to put them all in one place.  A banana zucchini sour cream bread.  I used 3 cups shredded zucchini, two very ripe bananas and doubled a basic zucchini bread recipe omitting 3/4 of the oil in exchange for a little light sour cream.    I increased the baking powder by 1/4 tsp.  I always dump in tons of cinnamon, and then when I had equally separated the batter, I added 1/3 cup cocoa powder to one batch because that makes everything better.

Plop a few spoons of opposite batter on top of each one and swirl with a knife or other utensil to marble it.

Bake at 350 for about 45 - 50 min.

 Cool then remove.

 Slice and serve warm or cool.

This is a very dense ingredient combination and makes a very moist, thick bread.  I had fun photographing it because it was so easy to prop and pose.  This bread has body.

And if you are a dunker....

It was great to the last crumb.

I'm Eyeing

These are a few things I came across searching for my reading/writing room decor from Joss and Main, an online discount retailer.  I had seen similar things in Home Goods last June and they were snatched up before I could flip the price tag over.

I am an eye-shopper hobbyist,  meaning I enjoy browsing and filing them in my already over extenuated decor repertoire categorized under "maybe someday."  I like to build upon my finds, designing in my head my 'would be' rooms.  La la la....

Reclaimed Wood Trunk

Cozy Blush Chair

Curly Detail End Table

 This is also available in a pretty bright pink (in a kid's room would be great).

Dining Table

Silver Serving Tray

Vintage Books

Would be a nice addition to my tattered collection and would sit very prettily on the above white table or desk below.

Writing Table/Desk

Summertime means Classic Strawberry Shortcake

Lots and lots of this classic summertime goodness.

Bake

I use Bisquick and alter the recipe a bit.

 Slice and whip.

 Assemble.

 Gaze upon.

Dive in.

I am always so sad at this point.  I try not to think of it as the end....

but, time for more!

The Queen Has Arrived

I have been anxiously awaiting her roadside and open field arrival.  Her appearance was very sparse and late this season in my vicinity.  However, last week she made her formal debut in full blooms with her face bright and detailed as she decorates our walkways and roadsides.  I love the delicate intricacy of the teeny white blooms that weave together like a thoughtfully crafted lace.  Just like her name proclaims.

Again, I implore you to dispense the notion that pretty flowers, some of which are useful and practical as well as attractive, should bear the unflattering and rather degrading title of weeds.  This well-known hardy weed not only grows vigorously amidst traffic pollutants and old unattended fields, but it has, as a matter of historical fact, yielded medicinal results and a healthy vegetable we eat without a single regard to its provenance.  Now, does that exemplify a scraggly old, land ravaging, unsightly and harmful plant growth?  Naw.

Queen Anne's Lace

This stalk was the biggest flower I have ever seen of the Lace.  It was about four and a half feet high towering over smaller blooms.   Her face looked over the road perched upon a stalk about an inch thick until it slimmed at her neckline.

Fun Fact 1:  The carrot was bred from this plant.

ct-botanical-society.org

Fun Fact 2:  Species name is Daucus Carota

meaning Wild Carrot

Fun Fact 3:  Women have used the seeds as a contraceptive since the 5th or 4th century B.C. appearing in written work by Hippocrates.

  Sisterzeus.com

Fun Fact 4:  This plant is biennial meaning it lives for two years, growing the first then blooming the second.

fcps.edu

Fun Fact 5:  It is very strong and will outcompete native plants.

ncsu.edu

Fun Fact 6:  Each flower produces two seeds.

ncsu.edu

I just think they are beautiful.

Simple Tomato Basil Sandwich

Start with simple fresh ingredients:

Sweet ripe tomatoes

Whole basil leaves

Soft dense garlic loaf

Then just merge them for a flavorful mouthful of sweet, simple, tomato-basil-garlic scrumptiousness.

Sometimes the basics are simply the best.

Rose of Sharon

Thanking God for His tender care and perfect love.

Dressing Blue Delftware

Blue Delftware is as striking to me today as it was to those whom adored it when it was first created in the Delft region of the Netherlands way back in the 1500's.  My daughter is a loyal blue fan, and she requested her room to be blue and white several years ago.  I was all over it, using antique delftware pieces and some replicas as the design inspiration.  I was the antique lover, but she didn't care as long as things were blue.  Her room captured people's breath when they saw it.  It was in the rounded turret part of our antique victorian.  Huge curved windows were draped in white swiss dotted panels parted as an invitation for sunlight to swarm and illuminate the periwinkle blue walls.  The hues of blue walls and decor framed by white trim made a gentle statement of the classic delft pottery.  Accents in deeper blues, including the dishes and a vase, enriched the palate with authenticity of delftware design.

The room, reminisced now in memory and photos, was a true blue beauty.

Here is my nod to delftware in garment form.

Shirt: JCrew, Skirt: TJMaxx, Shoes: Zulily, Belt: TJMaxx