forlorn

We had to say good-bye to our dear, sweet Capricha cat after a battle with cancer. She was a wonderful, good-natured girl right up until the end, and we miss her dreadfully.

Capricha was my constant companion, always greeting me at the front door when I got home. She would writhe around in joy, showing off her belly, seeking attention and petting.

She was a great snuggler, a lover of laps and cozy blankets.

We adopted Kylie and Capricha right after we moved to Chicago, and it seems as if a chapter of my life has ended. Losing both in such rapid succession has been very hard.

rest in peace, my dear girl

not easy being green...

pattern: Classic Baby Blanket, by Rayn Blair

yarn: Knit Picks Simply Cotton Worsted, Green Tea, 6.5 skeins

hook: H / 5.00 mm (Clover Soft Touch)

my Ravelry project page

notes:

Easy pattern! I used a larger hook (J) to make my foundation chain, since mine tend to be too tight. This worked like a charm. The only difficulty was figuring out how to do the scallop edging on the sides. The directions were vague, and I haven't figured out a good formula for where to insert my hook since the sides are kind of loose and floppy and you can't just skip stitches like you do on the ends. Anyone have any suggestions or rules of thumb?

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in the kitchen

zucchini tots ~ recipe here

Paul's boss bestowed us with a bounty of zucchini from her vegetable garden. Yum! I've been trying out a bunch of new recipes as a result.
 
Besides the zucchini tots, another success came from an old church cookbook that belonged to my Grandma Franzie. I love these church cookbooks! Most of mine are from Minnesota from the 1950s through 70s.  The ethnic and foreign foods sections are always terrific and kind of a hoot (so many recipes for lefse and lutefisk!), not to mention all the hot dishes. The coffee cakes are almost always amazing, far better than the grim prospects that lurk within the Starbucks pastry case.

Zucchini Bread

3 eggs
1 C. vegetable oil
2 C. sugar
2.5 C. grated zucchini
1 T. vanilla extract
3 C. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 T. cinnamon
1/2 C. chopped nuts
2/3 C. chocolate chips or chunks (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Beat eggs slightly; add oil, sugar, vanilla, and zucchini. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Add nuts to dry ingredients. Make an indentation in the center of the dry ingredients; mix in the wet ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips (if using). Pour batter in two greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 min.

Do you have any favorite zucchini recipes? I still have a giant zucchini sitting on the kitchen counter.