What Have I Been Doing?

Well, I'm trying to get more items on my little Etsy shop. I have several finished pieces already, several almost finished as well. And of course plans for things that I really need to schedule if I am to actually get them done. I posted 2 new pieces today and have photos of several more that are just waiting to be posted as well.

I haven't yet started my #mailart postcard project but I was able to get better paper. I wasn't happy with the thickness of the paper found at normal craft stores so Gabe made a trip to Xpedex especially for me. I have some ideas for the pieces and not a lot of time so I had better get started.

And of course I've been cooking. With zucchini. I'm thinking I may need to make categories in my blog so they are easier to navigate. Art and recipes and mom stuff. Maybe?

Today's recipe was borrowed from a friend. Marilyn writes for the Denver Examiner and recently interviewed me on my fabulous frugalness. (Really she wrote some questions and I gave her like 8 pages of answers.) I hope to expand on the things I left out in the interview soon.

The recipe was for Mock Apple Pie. I altered it a bit, that's what I do. It called for a double crust but I only had 1 so we made a crumble top for it instead. Here is the original recipe:

4-5cups zucchini, peeled and thinly sliced (like apples) -FB
1 c sugar
1/4 c flour
1 can (2c) applesauce -FB
1-2 T cinnamon
2 pie crusts
mix ingredients and pour into bottom crust, add top crust and make slits, cook for 1 hour at 400F.

Now here are the changes I made and will make in the future:
We had 1 crust so we made a crumble top. Mix 1/2 cup flour, 1 cup oats, 1/3 c brown sugar, and 1/4 c oil til crumbly and sprinkle on top of the pie filling after its in the bottom crust. Bake as normal.


This pie was pretty good, but not totally appleish. Part of the problem, I think, was that Gabe used the apple corer so the zucchini was in big eatable sized slices instead of thin appley pie slices. The bits that were quite small did have the apple pie taste that they were supposed to so I think that was just us not doing it right. The big chunks were not bad, but we could tell that they were not apple pie. Slicing nice and thin is probably an important step in tricking the kids into thinking its apples. I also may add just a bit more sugar to the filling as it was not as sweet as pie. (But we had it for a lunch so less sugar is not a bad thing.) I think I may also add 1 apple next time so that the appley pieness is more appley. And I will probably stick with the crumble top. Its less healthy, but I think its more tasty.

Give it a try, tell me what you think.

Meliss

P.S. Here's a little sneak peek of new items I will post soon...

necklace detail

bracelet detail

a one of a kind ATC with tiny 1" painting by me, sent to customer as a free gift

Zucchini part 2

I have a whole revamping of my etsy store planned. I finally got Gabe to show me how to take pictures with the computer so I can do it myself. My plan is to reassess, relist, and restart with a few new things and a better grounding.

I joined Mark Venema of @art_news on twitter in his 2nd #mailart challenge and I am newly inspired (partly by the deadline) to make more time to create. The #mailart challenge is pretty cool. As far as I understand it, we the artists commit to creating and sending at least 30 postcard/art pieces to the other artists in our group and of course we will receive art postcards from others in return. How cool is that?

Not that I'm not doing any creating. But most of it has been in the kitchen lately. I don't necessarily "love" cooking or baking, but I love the innumerable varieties of yummity goodness that can be made with just a few simple ingredients. And I enjoy sharing so many of them with you. Here are a few things I've played with recently...

Easy Chicken "Pie"-with Zucchini

Combine cooked chicken with a variety of cooked veggies (including zucchini) and 1 can of cream chicken soup and cooked rice. This warms up easily on the stove and is fast when you really don't want to cook.

Zucchini Banana Bread and Zucchini Chocolate Chip Scones

Pinto Bean Soup with Tomatoes and Zucchini

This soup is so easy, just soak and boil beans until soft, then add enough broth or water (or both) to cover about 1/2 inch above the beans. Add 1 can of diced tomatoes and chopped zucchini and simmer until tender. Add chili powder, cumin, and salt to taste. So simple and delicious with a bit of crusty bread on the side.

Adventures with Zucchini...part 1

I'm having an issue with zucchini. Just a small one, and I'm sure I'm not alone, it is the season. The bothersome bit is that it's not even my fault. I am not the greatest gardener and still have much to learn, but I learned years ago that very little zucchini plants are needed to produce many zucchinis. I planted just the right amount for my family of 6, but apparently my friend planted too much for hers because I somehow ended up with a ton from her garden, disguised as a paper grocery bag and stuffed under my chair. So now, despite my own precautions, I have too much zucchini.

I have many, many recipes that I thought I might like to try, but at the moment I have taken it upon myself to put (sneak) zucchini into everything I possible can. You may recall the Zucchini Cinnamon Chocolate Cupcakes (with Strawberry Chocolate Frosting) from my last post. Today I had 3 zucchini experiences. First I baked fresh Zucchini Chocolate Chip Scones for my brunch. Delicious. Then I had a bunch of bananas that were crying to be bread. Zucchini Banana Bread. Also good.

Zucchini Banana Bread & Zucchini Scones

Then the finale. Dinner was Spicy Peaches and Chicken (with zucchini), also a Food Bank friendly recipe. And here it is for you:
(Now, of course I would much prefer to use fresh peaches and fresh hormone-free chicken for this recipe, and if I had made it 2 years ago I probably would have, so feel free to do so if you are able. Also, when I originally made this recipe, I used apricots instead of peaches, which I prefer, but both are tasty. I will mark those items commonly received from the Food Bank with FB.)



Spicy Chicken with Peaches and Zucchini

1can peaches or apricots, drained & diced -FB
1 or 1 1/2cups zucchini, diced or shredded -FB or sneaky friend's garden
1 or 1 1/2c orange juice -FB or WIC
2-4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1-2T apple cider vinegar
2T sugar, brown preferred
1/2-2teas red pepper, I thought 1/2t was kinda lite, but 2 may be much for some
12 ounces of cooked skinless chicken, cubed. -FB 2 (6oz) cans cooked chicken
rice, cooked -FB

Combine all but chicken & rice in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10mins. Add chicken and simmer, making sure chicken gets cooked through, about 10 minutes. Serve chicken in sauce over cooked rice. Quinoa or couscous would be lovely too.

I tested this recipe on my children. The first couple times I made it I used apricots and no zucchini. Daughter #2 insists that she doesn't like zucchini, or indeed most anything green, yet she has devoured the last 5 things I've managed to sneak zucchini into with no complaints. It was she who said that she enjoyed this dish for it's mild sweetness. So, there you go.