Happy Halloween

Hope you have a sweet and sugary Halloween

Sandhill Crane Festival

November 6-8, 2009 in Lodi, California

I hope to attend the festival this year to hear the gargling and see the wondrous dance of the sandhill cranes.

Coconut-Pineapple Loaf

I had some pineapple chunks leftover from a canadian bacon and pineapple pizza I made last weekend, and I remembered this recipe I had printed out from Everyday Food.

Since I didn't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, this recipe was the perfect choice. Other than toasting the coconut in the oven prior to putting all the ingredients together, it didn't require much prepping. And best of all - except for the dry ingredients it pretty much was a one-bowl operation.

There is something so magical about adding sour cream to butter and sugar. The result was so smooth and silky and folding in the pineapple and toasted coconut not only smelled wonderful, but also felt so light and airy.

Although I glossed over the fact that I was supposed to cover the loaf during the last half of baking time which resulted in a very browned loaf and an even browner coconut topping, the end result was moist and very delicious. John didn't even give it a chance to cool before he cut a piece and then another and gave me two thumbs up! Me? I really liked the texture of the toasted coconut and pineapple in the cake. This is a recipe that I will definitely add to my repertoire and make again.

Dry Stack Walls With a Twist

Ever since I first saw Martha Stewart demonstrating how to make dry stack walls in her magazine and on her shows I have been fascinated by them. I really love the look of these walls that I found on Sunset magazine's blog, Fresh Dirt.

These fabulous walls can be found at Cambria Nursery in Cambria, CA, one of my favorite coastal getaway towns. I love how they incorporated broken planters in the walls to hold beautiful succulents. You can be sure that I will be checking them out the next time we visit Cambria.

Postcards from Morro Bay

I discovered that I had never published these postcards from our visit to Morro Bay in early August. I hope you enjoy them. Makes me wish I was there again.

The famous Morro Rock. The rock was named by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo when he first charted this coast during his 16th Century voyage of discovery.

The weather is mild here year round which makes it a perfect coastal getaway.

Views of the bay

These pink flamingoes were in an outside garden area behind a thrift store

So many cute and interesting stores to shop in

Sailboats everywhere, but it is also a working fishing town.

There were so many pelicans at this bay

A view of the town of Morro Bay

A sweet family

When Life Gives You Zucchini...

..LOTS of it - you make zucchini bread - am I right? I couldn't let the summer end without making the requisite zucchini bread. This is a recipe my Mom gave me and I make it just about every year, except sometimes I vary it just a bit. This always tastes good with a good cup of tea.

Zucchini-Lemon Bread

Prep. 25 min. Bake: approx. 1 hour

6 Tbs. unsalted butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (juice from one lemon)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbs. grated lemon peel

2 cups grated zucchini with peel (2 medium-size)

1-1/2 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground allspice

1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup finely chopped walnuts

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 9x5-inch loaf pan with 1 tsp. butter (I used Pam with flour).

2. Melt remaining butter, transfer to mixer bowl, and cool slightly. Add sugar, eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla and beat until blended. Stir in lemon zest and zucchini.

3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Add to batter and mix until blended. Fold in nuts. Pour into prepared pan.

4. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.