Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Baking Day and Item #15

Today after taking my grandma to physical therapy and grocery shopping, I decided I would spend the rest of the day cooking and baking. Mostly baking. I just went to town (flour was on sale, so I bought a lot and got a little carried away!)

First I made hummus. I would share the recipe with you, but it wasn't that great. Too bitter for me. It was good on crackers, but not veggies. Does anyone have a good hummus recipe for veggies? Please let me know if you do!

There were even a couple ingredients in it that I've probably never used before
I think the Sesame oil is why I didn't like the hummus. Too bitter for me.
I'll have to find a better recipe and try again! I know there are lots of different kinds of hummus.
After that, I made zucchini bread with my mother-in-law's recipe. I grated a TON of zucchini the other day so I can freeze it and make zucchini bread all year long (also my m.i.l's suggestion :-))

I actually think it turned out pretty great!! Yay!
Luke eats four pieces of toast every morning. Yes, you read that right: FOUR! I am finding myself spending a fortune on bread. We usually buy 2 loaves every week. So I decided it might be cheaper in the long run if I make my own. I made some today...it took a LONG time, but only because it takes awhile for the dough to rise. I thought it would be a lot harder! But it wasn't...Hopefully Luke likes it as much as store-bought bread. Here's the recipe if you want to try it yourself! The website where I got the recipe also has lots of other great money-saving tips, so check it out :-)
I also made some chocolate chip cookies, because I'm bringing a picnic dinner to the park for dinner for me and Luke tonight. This also covers # 15 on my bucket list: Have a picnic in the park (5 items down!). Right afterwards, Luke has more softball games. It's tournament week, and his team won last night! Yay!
For our picnic, I'm also in the process of making barbecue chicken sandwiches and baked potatoes. I'm bringing along some of my zucchini bread and cookies, and also some grapes. And orange pop (soda for you non-Ohioans ;-)). I'm excited about our little picnic. I think it will be fun, and maybe I'll have to do it again tomorrow night, since tournaments last all week.
Before I leave, I've got to show you this funny scene that happened while I was in the kitchen. I heard some commotion in the bathroom, and ran into the bathroom to see what had happened. Here's what I found:Guilty!
Gabby likes to play with Q-tips, and she somehow climbs up to our highest shelf in the bathroom to get one to play with sometimes. Today apparently she lost her balance or something. She was cute, and it was hard for me to be mad for too long :-P (our cabinets are in a tiny corner and don't have doors. That's why we have this problem :-P)

Have a great Tuesday :-D


  1. I'm so glad to learn that you say pop too! The natives in my state say pop, but we've had an influx of foreign-staters who are always saying soda! If you're going to live here, you have to say pop! This should be a law . . . this is a sensitive topic in my family if you couldn't tell! :-P

  2. And, if you are from the south, it is called coke. Even Pepsi products are referred to as coke, though no true southerner would ever admit to liking pepsi!

    I have an excellent hummus recipe that is the closest thing to the real Middle Eastern stuff!

    1 can garbonzo beans (drained)
    1 tbs lemon juice
    1 cup olive oil
    1-2 tsp cumin
    dash of coarse ground pepper

    Puree it all in a blender, pour into a flat serving dish (with alot of surface area,) sprinkle with paprika, and pour a thin layer of olive oil over it (further preserves the garbanzo beans and keeps them from getting the bitter rotting taste!) Eat with pita or flat bread for a meal!

  3. PS: I left out One clove of crushed garlic into the blender with everything.) Sorry!

  4. Brittney: Thanks so much for the hummus recipe! I'll have to try it, I think I have all those ingredients on hand from my first try.

    Callie: I love that you say "pop" too! I went to a college in Ohio, but there were lots of people from other states and areas of the country that went there, and we used to have arguments about what to call it. I remember one time the whole cafeteria got into a screaming war to try to find out if more people say "pop" or "soda." It was funny :-)

  5. Your breads and cookies look delicious. I love zuke bread! Can't help you on the hummus. I buy mine from a local co-op who makes it fresh. I'm not crazy about the plain but love their roasted red pepper flavor. Hope you're enjoying your bucket list. Blessings, SusanD

  6. I say "soda", but I'm from the Midwest, and the rest of my family calls it "pop".

    Baking your own bread is a great idea to save money (since it sounds like you buy a LOT of bread!) You might even consider a bread machine. They're not terribly expensive, and it might save you some time on your baking. Since homemade bread only stays fresh for a day or two, that's a lot of baking, if you're baking a loaf every couple days.

