Gasp!

Gasp!

I'm the mother of a high-schooler. Part of me keeps thinking "how the heck did this happen?"
The snarky/romantic side keeps answering "well, a man and a woman got together..."
This plays in my head over and over.
When Chirp chirp was just a babe, people, older ladies in particular, would constantly advise to enjoy it now, it goes by so fast. I'm a freak of nature, or something, because it hasn't felt fast at all. It just feels odd that now I'm one of those people who has high school kids--and I'm not sure how I reached this point. Wasn't there supposed to be a manual handed out or something? Shouldn't there have been an official letter in the mail? "Hey Lady--your daughter's going into the high-school!"
I don't know. I just have this discomfited feeling.
Chirp-chirp, on the other hand, is rockin' her new status and making me proud. Changes aren't her strong point, but you'd never know it to see how she's handling it all. I am SO proud of her!

This past week, I've made three fail foods. The first was zucchini frit-foo-young. That's when you try to make zucchini fritters for a crowd, but omit the flour from the mix. The second was creme bruleaky. That's creme brulee that doesn't set up, but it's your aunt's birthday and everyone at the table is dying to see what incredible treat you've made for dessert. The third fail food was coconut ice crud. That's where you take a lovely recipe for coconut ice cream and forget to put the sugar in. That was for Grandma's 89th birthday, a mere three days after the creme bruleaky incident. With the same crowd. I tired to hand over my baking crown, but no one would take it. Maybe that has to do with the crusty smears of ravioli stuffing gone awry decorating it?

Grouse season has started. This means that turkeys can be viewed at every turn in the road, but the grouse are invisible. This shouldn't be confused with turkey season, when grouse fly up from under your feet with every other step you take and turkeys don't seem to exist. Turkey season does start here in a couple of weeks, at which point I'm sure we'll see lots of something else. Of course, I don't hunt for anything else, so I'm looking forward to it!

We did see a badger the other day. Thankfully, the badger saw us and decided it was easier to melt back into the trees than to stake a claim on his territory. Also saw a couple of snakes that day engaged in a little bow-chicka-bow-bow. But no grouse, of course.

Today I'm attempting this month's Daring Bakers challenge. Hopefully my streak of bad performance in the kitchen is over and I'll meet with success. Of course, it's such a yummy challenge that I won't mind repeating it over. And over.

Neither will the resident high-schooler! (Gasp!)

Zucchini fritters (spell that one ten times fast!)

My garden runneth over, with zucchini.  I've made zucchini bread a few times already, and while we all like zucchini bread a lot, we are getting a little tired of the same ol' same ol'.  Mr. Boom and Chirp-chirp refuse to eat fried zucchini, no matter how much Parmesan cheese is melted over the top, so I'm trying to find new ways to use up the squash. 

A fellow Master Gardener brought me a piece of zucchini cake the other day, and it was sooooo good!  The recipe came from her CSA (a weekly fruit and vegetable delivery service straight from the farm), and she said she'd pass the recipe along to me.  She did send me a bunch of recipes for zucchini, but not for the particular slice of cake in question.

I finally e~mailed the CSA and asked if they'd share it with me.  They said sure, no problem, it's form Martha Stewart.  Lo and behold, I had the recipe here in my own home!  The cake was featured in the July Martha Stewart magazine.  Hooray!

In the same article, a picture of zucchini fritters caught my eye.  The fritter recipe called for exactly twice the amount of zucchini I had in the fridge, twice the eggs, and twice the onion.  Perfect!  I made the fritters for myself, and began reheating leftovers for the sure-to-be naysayers.  You know, of course, that I can't follow a recipe to save my soul, so here's what I did.

About one cup of zucchini, about one half an onion, together strained through a bit of cheesecloth.  About one cup of grated Parmesan cheese (another leftover), and a palmful of flour.  Also salt and pepper, but you can't really see those.

Mix it all up gently with one egg.  The last egg.  A store-bought egg because the hens refuse to lay in this heat.

Fry them up in a bit of oil in a cast-iron skillet set to blazing hot.  Throw the first three onto a plate and cook up the second three.

Come back to find the first three MISSING ENTIRELY!  Mr. Boom and Chirp-chirp like zucchini fritters, it turns out.  Like them a lot, it turns out.

Well, we've got lots of zucchini, but I'll need to get some eggs and onions.  Both of which, by the way, should be coming from the yard but aren't.  Thank goodness for the modern supermarket, and thank goodness for  a new way to serve the family squash.

I'll make the cake next, after I get the eggs.

I'm sorry to say that neither of these recipes are on the Marth Stewart Website, but I don't think you need a real recipe for the fritters, anyway.  Try it and let me know what you think!

Random thoughts (by Kat)

Previously titled Today's Randomness, a title stolen *STOLEN* I tell you, by another blogger!
How did she steal it before it even posted? Is she in my head? Will she trade her cute little sweetie of a baby for a teen? Will she weed my garden, too? Careful, Paperseed. I'm on to you!

I would like next month's Daring Baker's challenge to use zucchini. Do you think that will happen? No, neither do I.

Thunderstorms everywhere, but no rain.

Jayne, of the Barefoot Kitchen Witch, is having a very cool giveaway. I'm loathe to tell you about it, because I'd really like it for myself. But, I'd like you to have it too, so here I am telling you about it. Have you ever read either of her two blogs? You really really should. Really. She makes cheddar cheese and is willing to show you the mold. It was Jayne that set me straight on using whey in bread. And she made a Star Wars cake that will never be topped. Ever.

My tomatoes are tall. It's hard to tell in this picture, but they're just about as tall as I am.

My apricots are ripening too, but my camera died. The lens won't shut. The screen won't light up. This is sad.

Mr. Boom is contemplating using my zucchini in his potato canon this weekend. Some nerve!

The three of us played Boggle tonight. I made an eleven point word! S C A L L I O N ! Of course, it had to be a food word...

Bet (you know, my co-blogger and friend extraordinaire?) and I graduated high school twenty years ago. The big reunion was this past weekend. Neither of us went. I wonder if our names came up at all? I think hers probably did, and I just hope mine didn't.

I'm getting a new vacuum cleaner. Well, it's used, but just barely. Mr. Boom's aunt who's moving from the Tetons to the Aloha State bought a Kirby less than two years ago. She sold it to me for less than half of what she paid, and less than a third of the current value. I'm psyched. I finally get to shampoo my carpets, and with four cats in the house you can bet they need it!

What else. Two ticks on me at work Wednesday. Yuck. And my work truck has to be jump started every time I need to use it now. I hate not being able to turn the engine off. If someone steals it from me while I'm off in the stream doing what I do, I'll be making a long walk in my waders. Oy.

Best part of being back from out trip? My espresso maker.

Worst part? I slept better in our tent in the backyard of Mr. Boom's aunt's house than I've slept in years in our house.

Well, that's a pile of randomness. Hopefully, you just skipped most of that and went to Jayne's blog. Jayne rocks my world, I must confess. I bet she never gets ticks and she was the prettiest girl in her high school class! She even runs! Wow......