Stuffed Eight or Cue Ball Zucchini

I was thrilled to see these at the Farmer's Market this week. I purchased one at the market last month. After getting home and doing some searching about how to prepare, I realized I should have gotten two of them. They're perfect for stuffing!!!

Stuffed Eight Ball Zucchini

2 Eight or Cue Ball Zucchini
1 clove garlic
1 shallot
1 1/2 cups couscous (prepared)
1 can rotel tomatoes
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesean cheese
Salt and Pepper

Cut the tops of about 1" from the top. Save the top if you would like your eight ball to have a lid.

Scoop out the insides, making sure to leave a wall on the sides. I used a melon baller and a regular spoon. Steam the zucchini 8 minutes, until slightly softened.

Chop the zucchini, I used a Pampered Chef Mix n Chop and it worked perfectly.

Heat a skillet with 1 tbsp olive oil. Saute garlic and shallot about 2 minutes (don't overcook). Add the chopped zucchini and saute 3 -4 minutes. Stir in breadcrumbs, parmesean and about 1/2 of the can of tomatoes (no juice). If mixture seems to dry, add a little of the liquid from the rotel peppers. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 400. Place zucchini in glass baking dish. Using a spoon or scoop, carefully fill the zucchini with the stuffing mixture. Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown and hot. Cover with tops for serving, if desired.

Grilled Chicken with Cherry Sauce

I picked up a pint of cherries at the Farmers Market on Saturday. Not really enough for a pie or cobbler. I decided to try a cherry sauce for grilled chicken.

So these cherries have pits!! My kitchen is full of gadgets but not a cherry pitter. Normally when I see how you can take an ordinary item and make something else useful out of it, I always think what a great idea but never seem have a need for it. Who knew a paper clip would made a great cherry pitter?

This is my adaptation of several recipes for cherry sauce and cherry barbeque sauce. You could use this sauce on pork or even fish. It's slightly sweet with a little tang.

Cherry Sauce

1/3 cup apple juice

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 Tbs orange juice

¼ tsp grated orange rind

2¼ cups pitted quartered sweet cherries (about 1 pound)

2 tsp cornstarch

2 tsp water

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cherries and bring to a boil over medium low heat. Cook 10 - 15 minutes, stirring often. Strain the mixture and return to the pan. Combine the cornstarch and water. Stir into the sauce and bring to a boil, stirring constantly for 5 minutes.

Brush on chicken breasts during the last few minutes of cooking. Watch carefully, since the sauce is sweet, it will burn easily.

A New Cookbook for My Collection

I haven't taken a count lately but I am guessing this one puts me well over 100. I love cookbooks, I can sit and read them like a novel. Unfortunately, since it's so easy to find a recipe on the internet, I don't use them as often as I used to. Of course, there's those tried and true recipes from my favorite cookbooks. I need to make it a point to find at least one new recipe a week from any one of my hundreds of cookbooks...that would make a great blog topic!!!

I am a big fan of Martha Stewart radio, especially Everyday Food, Living Today and the gardening show (the name escapes me). There's been a lot of talk about Martha's new cupcake cookbook. Until yesterday, my plan was to put it on my Christmas list. While browsing the book aisle at Costco, there it was and at a great price, too. I couldn't resist.

Cupcakes are just fun!!! All the flavors and all of the different ways to decorate. As with many towns today, we have a couple of shops that specialize in cupcakes. Amazing that people pay $2.50 or more per cupcake, for something that is so easy to make at home.

After thumbing through the book this morning, the recipe I decided to try first was the Blondie Cupcake. They're easy to make, no frosting and remind me of a chocolate chip cookie in a cupcake.

The Tastes of Summer

We went to the Farmers Market on Saturday morning, just another reason I am enjoying our first weekend home from vacation.

The produce at the market had changed considerably in the weeks since we last visited. I was hoping for Fourth of July sweet corn and berries. Only one or two booths had corn and I don't think I saw any berries. Next weekend?

What we did find was an abundance of squash, tomatoes, new potatoes, peas, beans, onions and lettuce. Everything looked beautiful. We've had a lot of rain and cooler temperatures (until last week) and the veggies have flourished.

We brought home our largest "crop" of the year, new potatoes, cherries, zucchini, cue ball squash, baby eggplant, baby beets, snow peas, peas in the shell and green beans. I am always a little overwhelmed when I get everything home. Making sure we store it properly. What to cook when? What new recipes to try? Now that I've figured it all out my concern has turned to anticipation. I can't wait to try some new recipes.

Ten Days...3000 Miles and Lots of Great Memories

We arrived back in "The Good Life" late yesterday afternoon. 7 hours across non scenic I80 in Nebraska was the culmination of our trip. We were all glad to be home. Our own beds and all of the comforts of home were there for us. Michael was home all of about 10 minutes and off he went to see the friends he'd left behind 10 days ago.

As we were eating dinner at Red Lobster (chain food was calling to us) in Cheyenne,Wyoming on Friday night, we recounted the memories of the week and talked about our favorities.

Breakfast - The Running Bear Pancake House in West Yellowstone
Lunch - The picnic lunch in Sinks Canyon State Park
Dinner - Michael's was the Prime Rib at the in Cheyenne and for Tim and I the gnocci at Nani's in Jackson Hole.
Most Comfortable Bed - Cody Cowboy Village
Favorite Experience - Michael's was ATVing in Apline, Wyoming, Tim says he loved it all, for me the breathtaking scenery of the Teton Mountains at Sunset.

Ten Days...3000 Miles and Lots of Great Memories!!!

1750 Miles...Jackson Hole

Michael was very glad there would be no alarm set for 5:30 on Day 6. We slept in. After a fabulous breakfast at The Running Bear Pancake House in West Yellowstone, we headed towards Grand Teton National Park.

Grand Teton is not far outside the south gate of Yellowstone. Upon entering the park we stopped at the visitors center for a map. We were told we could see elk, elk calves, bears and bear cubs on our trip down to Jackson Hole. Shortly after entering the park, we were stopped with road construction. Just about the time we started moving, off in the distance was a bear and a cub...go figure the road is one lane and we can't stop for pictures!!! We did see numerous elk and a baby moose along the way.




It was a cloudy day and the tops of the Teton mountains were hidden by the clouds. Even with the cloud cover, these mountains are amazing!!! We made a stop at Jenny Lake, a beautiful lake at the base of the Tetons. We took the boat across Jenny Lake and a hike up to the beautiful falls.

We'd rented a condo just outside of Jackson . So nice to be in the same place for two nights. Four loads of laundry later, we all have clean clothes again!!

We had dinner at the Gun Barrel Steak and Game. Tim enjoyed an Elk Chop, Michael a mixed grill of venison sausage, elk chop and buffalo prime rib. He ate every bite and said the prime rib was the best he'd ever eaten.

We drove up to the Snake River Overlook (the site of Ansel Adams famous photograph of the Tetons) to take sunset pictures. What a breathtaking and serene sight. On our way to the overlook we saw an owl. He was the most beautiful creature.

The chilly weather and lack of sunshine made me rethink my desire to go white water rafting. Tim and Mike were willing to squish into wet suits for an 8 mile trip down the Snake River. I did some shopping in downtown Jackson Hole. Unfortunately, my credit card limits aren't high enough for many of the jewlery stores and galleries in Jackson.

Jackson has been the highlight of the trip for me. The Tetons are breathtaking and I loved the town. A return trip to this area will be in our future vacation plans.

1600 Miles...West Yellowstone

It is the end of Day Five and we are in West Yellowstone. Today began with another early morning of animal watching. It was a cloudy, chilly 41 degree morning. Just as we entered the Lamar Valley, we saw two black wolves about 200 yards from the road. Fascinating to see these animals up so close.

We spent the rest of our day seeing the many thermal features and geysers of Yellowstone. The colors and shapes are fascinating. We ended our day watching with the most famous and predictable of geysers, Old Faithful.



Driving to Old Faithful, traffic came to a standstill and it took us about 90 minutes to go less than 10 miles. We wondered was the traffic always this bad or had there been an accident? As we approached the area where the traffic had been stopped, we saw the problem, a LARGE herd of Buffalo.

Next up days Six and Seven Grand Teton and Jackson Hole...