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Thursday, September 17, 2009

I Cleaned and Baked, Just for You!

 
baking Chocolate Zucchini Bread

OK, I'm lying. I baked for Om and me. However, I did clean up the cabinet for you. I didn't want to take a picture for the blog with it as messy as it was looking.

On the Minnesota hike I was fatally tempted by a new cookbook. Why, I'm not entirely sure, since I've all but abandoned kitchen duties here. All I can say is that I was suckered into it by how wonderful the restaurant is where it was for sale. The location is called "Betty's Pies." It's just north of Two Harbors, Minnesota. If you are ever traveling up the North Shore, don't miss the opportunity to eat here. Of course their specialty is pies, but you won't be disappointed with their sandwiches either! We always eat there when we are in the area. So, with "fruits of the forest" dancing on the backs of my eyeballs, I bought the book, full of recipes from the many successful decades of Betty's Pies.

What was I thinking! Om has been startlingly disciplined on his restricted diet. I sure don't need to bake desserts when I am the one who needs to eat the whole thing... because... I will, of course.

And yet, there in the book was a recipe called "Chocolate Zucchini Bread," and it's summer. You know that means that there was zucchini in the refrigerator. So last weekend I used our "standard" adaptations to make recipes healthier and made the two loaves the recipe produces. WELL! It was SO good, more like cake than bread, that we had to slice it up, package and freeze most of it so that we could be disciplined enough to ration ourselves.

With one more zucchini left, I made another batch today. If you are curious, the changes we make are:
  • use Smart Balance Shortening instead of whatever fat is called for
  • replace half the sugar with Splenda
  • leave out the salt
  • replace the eggs with Egg Beaters (I use store brand)
Here's how it came out. Chocolate Zucchini Bread
I also went for a 10-mile bike ride today. I've been working up to this because my hike at the end of the month will require me to spot myself with my car and bike each hiking day. I say "working up," because you may recall that I came home with a stress fracture. It seems to be healed! (holding breath and being good) My leg wasn't sore today, but I iced it for a while anyway, just as a precaution. Next time, I'm going to ride 10 miles, but more on dirt roads. I was mostly on pavement today.
See Trying New Recipes - Always an Adventure
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7 comments:

Julia said...

Zucchini Zucchini Zucchini is all we have been eating for the past month! Well it's finally tapered off in the last two weeks but you know how it is with one or two plants. Your loaves look beautiful!

Salitype said...

hmmmnnn. it looks yummy! i love zucchini and so is my little one.

i might give this one a try one of these days.sound easy to do...if there's something that doesn't go very well, it is baking and me.

thanks for sharing this...

Glynis Peters said...

The recipe sounds interesting and the pics look yummy, thanks for the adaption tips.
Hope your leg is ok.

Rick (Ratty) said...

Looks like great stuff. This is the kind of stuff I need to make again. I used to make cinnamon rolls without any sugar or wheat flour, but I forgot how to do it.

Sharkbytes said...

Hi Julia- They are SO yummy. It's hard to not eat too much at once.

Tes- Yes, I like zucchini too, fixed almost any way. So I don't hate the season as much as some other people. Glad your munchkin likes veggies.

Hi Glynnis! Welcome back. Of course, when I went to buy more of the Smart Balance Shortening today I learned that they have discontinued it. So we'll have to see what else we can find for the shortening substitute.

Ratty- are you allergic to wheat?

Rick (Ratty) said...

I'm not allergic to wheat. I just try to keep the carbs low whenever I can, and the recipe I came up with had 0 carbs and it tasted excellent.

Sharkbytes said...

Ratty- Oh, I am glad. That can be a real pain to deal with.