Monthly Archives: June 2007

Flotsam / Jetsam

Not quite sausage

It is 5am. The weary, bleary-eyed traveler stumbles into the convenience store in search of something she can call “breakfast.” As she wanders past the fully stocked hot dog machine, a question calls out in her sleep-deprived mind: “Why do they need a fully stocked hot dog machine at 5 o’clock in the morning?”

Before the question has fully cleared her thoughts, a scrawny, scraggly man whirlwinds into the store, muttering, “Man, I’m starved.” He heads straight for the hot dog machine. He does not hesitate when confronted with the rows of steamy dogs. This frankfurter will be his breakfast, and it will be enclosed in this squishy bun. It is his destiny.

Music

Songs for snoozing

Poppy has been listening to the Baby Einstein “Lullabies and Sweet Dreams” CD at naptime and bedtime for roughly 10 months now. I thought it might be time to offer her a bit of variety, so I made a CD for her this afternoon while she napped. I haven’t tried it out on her yet, but I’m pretty sure I could sleep to it.

Poppy’s Sleepytime Songs

  1. Peace Like a River, Elizabeth Mitchell
  2. Dearest, Buddy Holly
  3. 111 Arthur Avenue, Mark Mothersbaugh
  4. Night Owl, Dan Zanes and Friends, featuring Aimee Mann
  5. Redford, Sufjan Stevens
  6. Shenandoah, Daniel Lanois
  7. This Little Light of Mine, Elizabeth Mitchell
  8. The Good Night Waltz, Dan Zanes and Friends, featuring Donald Saaf
  9. Kite Flying Society, Mark Mothersbaugh
  10. Alanson, Crooked River, Sufjan Stevens
  11. Goodnight Irene, Elizabeth Mitchell
  12. Waltz, Hem
  13. I Always Wanted to be a Tenenbaum, Mark Mothersbaugh
  14. Sparkplug Minuet, Mark Mothersbaugh
  15. Sleeping Bear, Sault Saint Marie, Sufjan Stevens
  16. Edward Appleby (In Memorium), Mark Mothersbaugh
  17. Peace in the Valley, Sam Cooke
  18. Holland, Sufjan Stevens
  19. Be Still and Know, Steven Curtis Chapman
  20. He Woke Me Up Again, Sufjan Stevens
Eating

Z is for Zucchini

Rockford made himself some Raisin Bran muffins last week, and Poppy devoured them, raisins and all. She’s still steadfastly anti-vegetable, so in an effort to sneak something green into her diet, I picked up some zucchini last weekend at the farmers market. And today, they became muffins.

I used this recipe as my starting point. Most of the reviews said the bread was good, but on the oily side, so I substituted apple sauce for some of the oil. I also used honey and brown sugar in place of some of the white sugar and whole-wheat flour in addition to the all-purpose to try and avoid what one person said was a “generic sweetness” to the bread. I also added some chocolate, because that’s how I roll.

Zucchini Muffins
3 eggs
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 medium zucchini, grated
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda (I didn’t actually add this because someone had already packed it. My muffins were on the dense side little zucchini pucks.)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chocolate chips*

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a muffin pan. (I use a silicon muffin pan, so there’s no prep involved.)
  • In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy. Mix in oil, apple sauce, honey and sugars. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, soda, baking powder, salt, chocolate and nuts; stir into the egg mixture. Divide batter into prepared pans.
  • Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until done.

    • *I used Baker’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Shavings, but I’m not sure they still make them. If you can find them, they work really well in breads.