Eating Well and Good Eating and Zucchini Blondies

Sunday morning, I was eating some delicious Huevos Rancheros with salsa made entirely from Price Hill produce, enjoying my breakfast while reading what I refer to as “the funny papers” in the New York Times. They may not have comics, but the Sunday Styles section is always good for a laugh. What other people consider trend-setting and important makes me giggle. I particularly like one feature that highlights what a society lady wore each day for the past week. I decided to take that as inspiration for a blog entry. I have been eating so well lately (and it has tasted so good), that I’ll list “What I Ate,” maybe not for a full week, but for a few days, anyway . . .

On Saturday morning, I arrived bright and early at the greenhouse to work the first packout shift, and found a plate of Zucchini Coconut Blondies, made by Jennifer Belisle, that got the day off to a delightful start. In fact, Jennifer has shared the recipe, and it’s at the end of this entry.

When I got home, I spent some time sorting and putting away produce, then made a weird but tasty sandwich—on bread from Skiritz & Johnson bakery down at Findlay Market, I spread homemade Baba Ganoush, then sliced up a tomato from the Enright farm. It was very tasty! I spent the rest of the day making pickles, salsa, and pear butter, then for dinner I put the salsa to good use; we had tacos with homemade tortillas, garnished with Enright farm lettuce and tomatoes, then had baked peaches with almonds and brown sugar butter for dessert.

On Sunday, with leftover tortillas and plenty of salsa, I had those tasty Huevos Rancheros that started this blog entry. A busy afternoon made me forgo lunch, but I had an early dinner of Summer Squash Soup with Basil Pesto garnish, fresh-baked bread, and Belgian Beet Salad with Dill. The squash soup recipe is finally posted (Squash Soup), and soon I will also post the beet salad—it was marinated overnight and quite tasty. I also had a lot of delightful treats at the Queen City Balladeers’ Leo Coffeehouse in the evening to wrap up a weekend of good eating, in no small part due to the great harvest from the CSA this week.

Zucchini Coconut Blondies*
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups packed dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups White Whole Wheat Flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1½ cups coarsely grated zucchini
1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
½ cup carob or chocolate chips
1½ cups unsweetened coconut, toasted

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a saucepan or the microwave and then add to the bowl of a mixer. Add the brown sugar and mix thoroughly. With the mixer running, add the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla, beating well.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and ginger. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture until just incorporated. Mix in the zucchini, pecans, carob chips, and coconut until combined.

Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan. Spread the batter into the pan and bake in the center of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool before slicing.

*Recipe and photo from http://acraftylass.blogspot.com