Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies

A couple of weeks ago my mother-in-law sent me a recipe for Zucchini Cookies. I finally got around to trying it. I had to modify it a bit since my husband can't have raisins or pecans. I used an extra cup of chocolate chips in place of them. I will put the orignal recipe below. Feel free to modify it as you wish. I think they taste great and so does my husband. My son did not like it at all! I think it was actually the cinnamon that he didn't like in the flavor. When he first looked at it though, he asked if I was trying to hide vegetables again. I told him that I was!

Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 tsp baking soda; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened; 1 cup sugar; 1 egg, beaten; 1 cup grated zucchini; 1 cup golden raisins; 1 cup chopped pecans; 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Method: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 nonstick baking sheets (I used my Pampered Chef Baking Stone) 2. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl. Combine butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl: beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat until smooth. The dough will be stiff and dry. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. 3. Bake 13-15 minutes, until light brown. Let cookies rest two minutes then remove to wire racks to cool. Makes about 4 dozen. (I got less than 3 dozen...but I made big cookies!)

Van Wie Natural Foods

We know that my husband's ancestors arrived and settled in the Albany, NY area. They were among the Dutch settlers in the 1600's. On our way to AJ's away football game in Hudson, NY we spotted this store and, of course, I had to take a picture. I'm sure the owner of this store is a relative somehow. Here is a link to their website if you want to check them out!

www.vanwienaturalmeats.com

Beautiful Fall Sunrise

I opened our back door this morning to get a feel for the outside temperature. I actually said "Wow!" outloud when I saw this gorgeous sunrise. The pictures are pretty but they do not begin to compare to the beauty of the sky this morning. I was glad I caught it!

Recycled Magnetic Board

My husband made me this beautiful magnetic board. It is a recycled piece of metal from the top of a vintage refridgerator. The refridgerator was salvaged from my husband's Aunt and Uncle's home when they were cleaning out last year. It was already shaped perfectly with rounded edges. It is 13 inches tall by about 23 inches wide. He cut it off, drilled holes in it to hang and painted it with leftover sage spray paint. It is hanging in my basement studio. I love it!

I had a box of Magnetic Poetry that I have been wanting to get out to inspire my writing. I came up with five sentences very quickly: 1. wander and explore the language 2. write about life 3. ask and answer 4. my story will inspire 5. discover the author in me. So....I better follow the directions that I have created!

2009 JV Football Season

This was AJ's second year on the JV Football Team. They had a long and exciting season. Their final record was 4 and 4. They had many ups and downs this year with several injuries and illnesses affecting their team. They also lost several of their best players throughout the season to the Varsity team. AJ is number 74 and he played Left Offensive Tackle. We were able to attend every one of his games this year, which we loved.

Hicks Orchard, Granville, NY

It was a beautiful fall weekend. Yesterday, Eddie and I went for a drive to Hicks Orchard in Granville, NY. They have a U-Pick orchard which we didn't do this time. We stood in line for about 10 minutes to get their delicious apple cider donuts and hot apple cider. Their barn-shop is full of apple products, maple products, local honey and many fall decorations. It smelled wonderful in there. You could watch them through one window as they made cider. You could watch the donuts being made at the other end of the barn. The orchard had activities of all kinds for the kids. There were goats, a bouncy house, make your own scarecrow booth and much more. They were selling maple flavored cotton candy...which I didn't sample, but I imagine it's yummy. Hicks has grown over the years. They now have a wine tasting barn which is a great addition to their business. I'm not a wine drinker, but I know NY has many vineyards and good wine products. It was a fun day. AJ was at work, so he couldn't go with us...but he has been enjoying the donuts we brought home!

AJ Designed His Class Ring

I am still a bit in awe of how technology makes things like designing a class ring so different than it was when I was in school. My son went onto the website and chose everything from stone color and cut to the pictures and words on the ring. There were at least 20 things to decide...like smooth vs. textured band, inscriptions, antique look vs. modern. He could put any sports or other pictures on the sides. He chose Tiger Mascot and Football to best represent him and the school. It makes it very nice to have a photo of his design to really get a feel for what it will be like. I also can't believe that my son is a sophomore already and that he is ordering a ring!

Deer in the Field

We stopped and watched this deer for several minutes on our fall drive today. He didn't seem to care that we were watching. He kept eating and looking back at us every once in a while. Other cars stopped and looked too. We pulled away as he was munching, oblivious to the need to fear us at least a little.

Moose in Bennington, Vermont

Today on our fall drive, we found ourselves in Bennington, Vermont. We spotted these four moose sculptures around the town. I love how they are artistically decorated by the businesses. I'm sure there are several more somewhere in town. These were the only ones we spotted!

Pitiful Pumpkin Crop

This year we had a very poor pumpkin crop. I had success with the mini-vine pumpkins, but we had very few of our many pumpkins grow. You can see the comparison from my post last year of our pumpkins then. We will try a different method next year. It still made a nice picture!