Breakfast

 Benjamin had his first yerba mate this morning. There's a little bit of Argentine in this boy. Yeah!!!

His waffle ended up with butter, syrup, biscoff and red plum jam. I remember we used to eat our waffles with our hands when we were little. Sticky fun mess this morning!

Zucchini Bread

I'm not afraid of zucchini bread any more, or zucchini. I didn't like the stuff growing up, but I finally developed a taste for it. Well, here's my first zucchini bread and I think it turned out pretty yum.

Zucchini Bread

Dry Ingredients:
1 1/4 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:
3/4 sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 C canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

2 C grated zucchini, squeezed of excess moisture

Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together dry ingredients in medium bowl and set aside. In large bowl, blend together wet ingredients. Blend the zucchini in well. Scrape into greased loaf pan. Bake for about 45-50 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan.

This recipe also called for 1 1/2 cup ground pecans or walnuts. I omitted them because occasionally I share treats with those that have nut allergies. Since the nuts were ground, I imagine the purpose is to soak up some of the excess moisture from the zucchini. However, even though I love adding nuts to my food, I found that I like how it turned out without the nuts.

Also, I was on my way out the door after the bread finished baking so I had to remove the loaf from the pan without letting it cool properly. As a result, the bottom stuck to the pan. I scraped it in to a bowl and Benjamin and I enjoyed the little treat as we drove to our destination.

Cars Tied Quilt

A big thanks to Donna and Holly for helping me get this put together! Benjamin loves his "comfy" quilt.

Oh, Benjamin!!!

Our little guy loves being his dad's helper outside. After moving dirt all morning last weekend, Benjamin got to cool off in the water sprinklers.

Usually it's Mike that's in this position on the bed with his tablet. Benjamin likes to copy his dad!

Oh, Benjamin! Disciplining has begun and here he is in the corner. Right now he thinks it's a little game, gives a little smirk to his dad before saying 'sorry'. After dinner tonight he asked if he could go to the corner again. I think we're dealing with a clever little boy. We're in for some T-R-O-U-B-L-E!!!

Peach Strudel

 What to do with all those left over peaches and you want something a little different then peach cobbler again? I found this simple, yet fancy-looking peach strudel recipe. It was a great dessert after an evening of eating out with friends. I liked that it wasn't too sweet.

Peach Strudel

1 egg 

1 T water

6 medium ripe peaches, sliced thin or diced

1/3 C brown sugar

1 T flour 

1/4 C chopped pecans (optional)

1 tsp vanilla 

Cinnamon and nutmeg to taste

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed but still chilled 

2 T raw sugar

Heat the oven to 400°F. Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork. Stir the peaches, brown sugar, flour, pecans, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg  in a large bowl.

Unfold the pastry sheet on parchment paper. Roll the pastry sheet into a 14x12-inch rectangle. Spoon the peach mixture lengthwise down the center of the pastry. You may have extra peaches. Cut slits 1 inch apart from the 2 sides of the pastry rectangle to within 1/2 inch of the peach mixture. Starting at one end, fold the pastry strips over the peach mixture, alternating sides, to cover the peach mixture. Brush the pastry with the egg mixture. Sprinkle with the raw sugar. Place the pastry onto a baking sheet (if you unfolded the pastry on the parchment paper, the transfer to the baking sheet will be easier). 

Bake for 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Let the pastry cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 20 minutes.

 

I had left over peaches from the strudel, so the next day I made up some of my mom's apple crisp topping and added it to the peaches. I baked it for 25 minutes and had a yummy snack to share with the hubby.