MUSIC AND MEALS~

 

I haven't done a rock-n-recipe in a while---today it was Neil Young and Zucchini Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.

 

"What does Neil Young have to do with cake?"  you might ask.  "Cinnamon Girl," of course!  I hope you get a chance to try this amazing cake, and don't forget to put your Neil on.  "I could be happy for the rest of my life with a...(cinnamon cake.)"  You know...artistic license and all~

 

Here's the recipe below.  I used fresh zucchini from my garden.  It is the most tender, moist and delicious cake.  It's very similar to a carrot cake. You certainly don't taste the veggies in it---great way to sneak in some extra nutrition for the kiddos too.  Now to keep all fingers out of it until Father's Day dinner tomorrow after church.

 

ZUCCHINI CAKE WITH CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE ICING~

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees

Cake--

3 C. Flour

3 C. Granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp. Baking soda

1 tsp. Baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients and then add the wet ingredients below and mix well with spoon. 

1 1/2 C. vegetable oil

4 eggs

3 cups grated zucchini (un-peeled)  I like the green bits---adds color and freaks people out when they realize zucchini is one of the main ingredients in this amazing cake.

Pour into 3 8 inch cake pans that have been sprayed well with non stick spray and lined with parchment paper on the bottom.

Bake for approx. 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted.

Let cakes cool completely and then ice with cream cheese icing (below)

Icing:

8 oz cream cheese (softened)

1/2 butter  (softened)

3 cups powder sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

I added 1/2 cup of cinnamon chips into my batter and and pressed extra cinnamon chips around the sides of cake to make it prettier and add some extra cinnamon richness. 

A sweet way to get your veggies

Click on the video to enjoy some classic Neil Diamond----goodness, he is an incredible talent!

 

 

 

 

Over the past couple of weeks, we've seen quite a few rainy days here in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area.  Although it seems like it's rained every other day, we're still down for what we actually need.  But, the good news is our rainy season here in Oklahoma still has a couple more weeks to go.

The rain is fantastic for my flowers and vegetable garden, but not so conducive to my swimming lesson's schedule.  Yesterday, we had overcast skies, a few light sprinkles (which came around our lessons) and temperatures were only in the mid 60's.  By the time I was finished with three hours of lessons, my nail beds were numb I was so cold.  Most popular phrase for the day, "Mrs Jjjjjjody...I'm cccoooold!!" 

Rainy days---not so great for putting children in the water, but my flowers, squash, tomatoes and peppers are loving it!

My lilies finally bloomed this week.  Such gorgeous, elegant flowers.  This particular plant was a gift (in a decorative foil lined pot) from my son-in-laws mother for having them over last Easter.  I planted it in the front bed and can enjoy it each spring now.

Well...hello there!

Can you spot the zucchini? I'm going to make a zucchini cake with cream cheese cinnamon frosting for Father's Day this weekend.  I'll post the recipe and how-to~

Lots of rain, lots, and lots of squash! 

It was a wonderful, exhausting and gratifying week.  My first session of swimming lessons are under way.  Thirty two of the sweetest children are attending lessons for this first two week go around.

We painted our house this week too, thanks to my father-in-law and brother in law helping.  It's dark olive, cream trim with my red door and my old side gate is going to get a make-over with the same red antique finish.  I'll upload the finished project next week.

Busy, busy summer.  Very blessed.

Sweet little Adam was so scared the first day, but I had my assistant snap this pic of him smiling in the water to show his mama that he enjoys lessons.

                  I love hanging out with little people in the summer time~

What a fun gathering we had this weekend for what turned out to be the final Thunder game of the season.  We fired up the game on a big outdoor screen, and gathered our lawn chairs around, but unfortunately our Oklahoma team's ride to the final two ended Saturday with a loss to the Spurs in over time.

The mood definitely dropped for a few minutes after the close game, but we quickly recovered, manned the bean bag lawn toss game, and Forrest pulled out the guitars---highlight of the night,"Simple Man," sung by Ty and Forrest at our cozy back yard concert.  

Win, loose or draw, you gotta keep singing. Can't wait until next season to root our Oklahoma Thunder on again!

Forrest and Ty lifted our defeated, competitive spirits with a great outdoor concert Saturday night after the Thunder's last game of the season.

We're addicted to the bean bag toss game affectionately known as "Corn Hole."  You should have heard the snicker I got from the young sales guy at Dick Sporting Goods when I called to ask if they had the game in stock!