Starting my morning off with a cup of one of my favorite teas, Victorian London Fog from Harney & Sons. It’s a wonderful tea made up of black tea, oolong tea, bergamot oil, lavender and vanilla flavor. With a little whole milk (or cream if I have it on hand) and a teaspoon of sugar, it’s a lovely way to start the day. Of course, it’s even better today with a slice of zucchini bread I made yesterday. I used this recipe, from Sally’s Baking Recipes. I was a little short on the shredded zucchini, so I added a little grated carrot to make up the difference. I also added Callebaut semi sweet chocolate chips, which I purchased at one of my favorite local shops, Mary’s Kitchen Port (besides offering daily house-made soups, sandwiches and salads, they have a drool worthy selection of kitchen wares), and sprinkled a generous amount of pecan pieces on the top, before letting the batter rest for 10 minutes (so the leavening could do its thing). Then it went into the oven at 425°F for 8 minutes, before dropping temp to 350°F for another 50 minutes. One of the best loaves of zucchini bread I’ve ever made, I was a happy camper.

I also made Peach Muffins yesterday, before the zucchini bread. I used the Perfect Plum Muffins recipe from Christina’s Cucina blog. I’ve made this recipe before using plums and loved it, so decided to try it with peaches. She has a peach muffin recipe available, but I just stuck with the plum recipe, since she suggests using other fruits instead of plums, including peaches, if that is what you have on hand. It’s an interesting recipe, which calls for yogurt and olive oil, no butter. The muffins are so tender and moist, if you don’t overbake them (I did that once). I recently took a muffin class from a local chef, The Chef Lady, and learned all kinds of tips and tricks for making delicious muffins, regardless of the recipe. Like make sure all your ingredients are at room temp before you start. And let your muffin batter sit for 10-20 minutes before baking. Both of these tips will ensure a higher rise and fluffier muffin. I loved that class, I learned so much. Ended up buying some new baking equipment that has made baking so much easier and/or efficient. I’ll have some equipment posts in the future. Needless to say, the muffins turned out beautifully.

Finally, I decided to make stuffed cabbage for dinner. I bought a cabbage at the market the day before yesterday, thinking it was a good vegetable to keep on hand, since it keeps well. But my hubby saw it on the counter and asked what I was going to do with it. The first thing I thought of was stuffed cabbage, so I mentally committed myself. See how that works? I sort of looked up a recipe, but more or less winged it. What a mistake. My family ate it. I ate it. We ate at home, which is really the big, long term goal. But it was not one of my best meals. It was bland, the worst thing. I kept saying, “they can’t all be winners.” Ha! Well, at least they looked good and they were on the nutritious side. And everyone did eat. But what will I do with the leftovers? Maybe a deconstructed stuffed cabbage soup? I can add more seasoning, some stock and drop dumplings, right? Wish me luck, since it’ll be what’s for dinner tonight.

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