We've been baking up a storm…

…IN a storm! It's raining cats and dogs right now and zucchini bread is in the oven (click here for a very interesting recipe, courtesy of Daisy …sidenote: anyone who likes Tres Leches cake should stay on that site for her recipe, but don't forget to come back). Mmm, I love that smell. It's definitely getting me in the mood for the Fall Swap! We have over 25 swappers so far, but we've still got a week left, so continue to spread the word—we want a huge variety of people, locations, hobbies, etc. I hope you're all thinking about what you'll put in the box, and conjuring up your most creative juices!
Earlier this week, the kids helped me bake (again, using the neighbor's zucchini) chocolate zucchini cupcakes, which were quite good, especially slathered with homemade cream cheese frosting (I didn't use chocolate like the recipes says, and I didn't use nuts). My favorite was that Aki justified them as "muffins" and had them for breakfast.
Then we made Banana Cake (see very staged photo above). This is the best recipe ever. . .anyone who has ever tried the cake, even people who profess to dislike bananas, loves it. I got it out of my handy dandy book of Udall Family Favorites: Recipes we love to make and share; my sis-in-law Heidi submitted it. I can't remember where she got it. . .Heidi, if you're reading, help me out here. This is also the cream cheese frosting I used for the "muffins"—the recipe makes more than I use for the cake, so the leftover tasted great with chocolate! I didn't have pictures of the final cake product because, well, I forgot (but, here it is at Ame's b-day last year). We took the cake to a family in our neighborhood as a thank you. Aki was sorely disappointed I wasn't making it for him, so to keep him happy, I had to turn a few pages in my trusty recipe book and make Risa's Cake Brownies, one of his favorites.
And then, last night, our latest baking adventure was homemade pizza. Boy, did we make a mess! But the kids loved it (notice Ame standing on the counter to help), and were very proud of the dinner they served to Dad. Yes, we eat on paper plates, especially the nights when I have the whole kitchen totally clean and really don't want to put dirty dishes back in the sink. It's a good thing my dad doesn't read this. . . talk about disappointed.
P.S. I'll be giving away a brand new "Udall Family Favorites" book in conjunction with the swap. I know you all want one…stay tuned.