FLOUR

     During the summer months I bake twice a week and sell what I have prepared at a couple of area farmers' markets.  Quick breads are my go-to item every time, but I also vary my selections from muffins and small pound cakes to cookies and granola.  Customers who visit these two markets don't always prefer the same items, so I try to "mix it up" by continually offering something different.  Then if I make an item that customers seem to like and request, I naturally prepare it again and again.

    This past week I decided to try something different
by changing one of my Zucchini Bread recipes so that
it was sweetened with only honey and not the white
sugar that it called for in the ingredient list.  I did this because some of my customers either say they are not supposed to eat anything made with sugar or they wish to eat things that are considered healthier.  To the right is a photo that shows the end result.  I thought it turned out well as far as color and presentation.  I tasted the batter before placing the pans in the oven.  It was definitely sweet, but not too much.  The honey actually allowed the batter to have an earthy balance of sweet and then spice from the cinnamon.
     I did an Internet search and read three sets of similar instructions to learn how to substitute honey for sugar.  Apparently this is a popular substitution since there were several sites that could be viewed.
     First, one should decrease the amount of honey called for because it is considered sweeter than actual sugar.  Some directions said I could use one cup of honey for one cup of sugar.  But if you must use more sweetener, then you should make a reduction, like one-fourth to one-third a cup.
     Second, if substituting with honey and again, using more then one cup, the total amount of liquids used in your recipe should be less.  Imagine not decreasing your liquids and ending up with a watery batter. Yikes!
     Third, your recipe should include at least a one-fourth teaspoon of baking soda in order for your baked good to rise well.  Baking soda also helps reduce an acidic taste.  The recipe I used already called for a teaspoon of soda, so I did not have to alter that step.
     Lastly, when baking your item, reduce the temperature so that it is 25 degrees less since batters made with honey tend to brown faster.
     Here is the Zucchini Bread recipe I used.  The alterations I made are in bold to the right of the first two ingredients.  I also reduced the temperature.

2 cups sugar/ 1 1/2 cups honey
1 cup oil/ 3/4 cup Canola oil
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 cup chopped nuts

     Mix wet ingredients.  Whisk dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Then add dry to wet and beat just until mixed.  I used a handheld mixer.  Stir in zucchini and nuts.  Bake at 350 degrees/325 degrees.
     My bread took about 20 minutes, but the baking time for this recipe will be different due to the changing of ingredients, pan sizes, and different ovens.  

& FLOWER 

     Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance.........that seems to be where I am now in my gardening.  To the left is a photo of one of my knockout roses around our mailbox.  It already seems stressed from the heat we have had so far.  If it could speak I imagine I would hear, "It's too hot to put forth so much effort to bloom!"  But really this knockout rose is actually gearing up to start another blooming cycle. The most wonderful thing about them is that they do not have to be deadheaded.  But you can probably guess, sometimes I do it anyway.  It is okay to reshape your knockout roses in summer.  If I have time, I snip off the dead heads while I'm at it.
     Also, even though I have seen some of these beauties that have been allowed to reach their mature height of three to four feet, it is good to cut them back in the very early spring.  The process not only shapes them, but prepares your knockouts for high performance blooming.

     What is that old saying, "Do as I say, not as I do."  This photo at right is a prime example of that.  What a mess!  This conglomeration of iris, wild violet, geranium and other stuff is the last of my overgrown beds that greatly needs attention.  What happened was this, I love all plants and hate to get rid of anything.  But sooner or later this tangled jungle look takes over and I have to divide and conquer.  Again, maintenance, maintenance, maintenance.

     This photo is the rhizome or fleshy root of a bearded iris.  This is only one plant of the many iris from the above photo that I must transplant.  It is actually okay to move these now, despite the heat.  I will baby them by placing them in a semi-shaded location and making sure they are periodically watered, but not drowned.  When one plants an iris, the rhizome top must be visible as you see here.  I think of planting iris as if I were positioning them in comfortable cushioned chairs of soil on top of the ground.  Cut back the blooming stalk, but do not cut back the iris leaves.  That would keep the iris from being able to bloom next year.

FLOUR
      I have been incorporating olive oil into my cooking for about 10 to 15 years.  Olive oil is known for its potential to improve a person's health, particularly extra virgin olive oil.  The possibility of lowering the risk of heart disease and lowering a person's total cholesterol level were two characteristics that first impressed me.  I am, like many other people, battling my genetic background.  Even though I continue to manage my cholesterol level through diet, a challenge to be sure, I believe my total cholesterol has benefited from my olive oil consumption.
     I use olive oil to saute meats and vegetables.  I also drizzle it on anything I intend to roast, like potatoes, asparagus, mushrooms, and zucchini.  Then naturally, it does help to make an excellent salad dressing.  But never, until recently, did I decide to bake with it.  I had seen a few recipes regarding an olive oil cake and became especially curious of the outcome.  The photo below is a slice from such a cake that I made courtesy of Melissa d'Arabian's Orange Olive Oil Cake recipe at www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/orange-olive-oil-cake-recipe.html.
      I appreciate the use of Ms. d'Arabian's recipe, but as one often finds when cooking, I did not have an orange at the time and decided to substitute a lemon instead.  I also added about a cup of blueberries.  As one can see, my cake baked to a light brown.  The texture was soft with a delicate crumb.  There is absolutely no dryness and, in case one wonders, no oiliness.  I am sure the orange intended for the original recipe would be delicious.  However, I was very pleased with the lemon substitution and the blueberries, as well.
      So I believe a popular expression today is, "Who knew?"  I certainly didn't know how well olive oil would carry over into a dessert, but I do now.    
    

& FLOWER 

     I grew up calling this plant an "Easter" Lily because that is the time of year when I knew one could be purchased.  Then some years ago I decided to plant one in an open space of one of my beds after it lost its trumpet-like flowers.  I weeded around it until fall and really kind of forgot it was there until the following spring.  I normally walk around my planting beds to see how everything seems after winter has passed.  I saw the lily emerging, but Easter came and went before I ever viewed developing blooms. This photo at left was my lily just in the last week, which is actually the normal blooming time for this plant.  I continue to be amazed at what I learn by just trying things.

     This is a Southern Magnolia bloom photographed from a tree in Southeast Missouri.  These pristine white flowers open with a delicate feminine fragrance.  In their fleeting lifespan of just a couple of days, this scent matures into an earthy cologne that I have never forgotten.  The state flower of Mississippi, the Magnolia has always been a special spring bloom, not to be ignored.  If you have never smelled one and live near such a tree, please stop and enjoy.

     I have already shared something about the lacecap hydrangea.  This one is planted in my backyard on the west side.  I really like all hydrangeas even though their flowers do not last long and sometimes suffer in summer's higher temperatures, even in early spring.  I especially like the delicate and graceful flowers of this variety. 

     This is a mophead hydrangea shrub planted in my backyard on the east side.   A mophead tends to have large blooms.  I have seen some even eight inches or more in diameter.
     Now here is the interesting part about these hydrangea shrubs.  They are both in my backyard, but each has different colored blooms.  One might think they would be the same color since they are in the same general area.  There is a difference because the pink lacecap on the west side is growing in alkaline soil.  The blue mophead planted on the east side is growing in acid soil.  The color of a hydrangea is determined by the pH of the soil in which it is planted.  Both shrubs are far enough apart for these flowers to differ.  Actually this mophead is not a true blue, but is somewhat lavender in color, meaning its soil is not truly acidic.  I understand that pH soil differences do not effect a white hydrangea.