Vegetable Gardening: Fresh Vegetables from Our Garden to Our Dinner Table: Zucchini Cake Recipe #vegetablegardening #zucchini #gardening

Terror on Sunshine Boulevard by JQ Rose

Rescuing a naked woman lying in a geranium bed? Investigating mysterious murders? These are not the usual calls in a Florida retirement community for volunteer first responder Jim Hart.

Click here to discover more books by JQ Rose 

on her BWL Publishing author page.  

You just need a garden and a library!

 What a special time of year for people who love fresh veggies. July and August are the prime months for harvesting vegetables from our garden. This is the time of the year when we get paid back for all that hard labor in planting and nurturing those lovely plants. 

We are reaping the rewards now.

Not only does gardening provide rewards of fresh, healthy food, but the labor also is more satisfying than going to a stinky dark gym to exercise. Planting, digging and weeding the plot is one of the best ways to keep a happy, strong heart.

Warning!! It's zucchini time. Zucchini is a prolific plant. Once it gets growing, the harvesting goes on and on and on. You'll need several recipes to have some diversity in your diet.
I'll share a zucchini cake recipe at the end of the article.

Green tomatoes. Fingers crossed we'll have a long enough season for the tomatoes to ripen.
We had a late spring. The weather was so cold and rainy, Gardener Ted thought he would never get any crops from our garden. Unfortunately, many seeds rotted in the cold ground and had to be replanted. The good news is the sun finally came out and warmed up the ground so the beans are flowering and looking healthy today! We may pick a handful by the end of the week.

I picked my first green pepper this week. I love, love, love green peppers. You too?

The potato plants are blooming. They show promise of producing tasty spuds.

Lettuce on the left. Romaine and Magenta. We have had to give lots of lettuce away to friends and family and to the local food pantry. What a rewarding experience when people smile when we hand them the fresh lettuce. Nothing like it.
I've made two batches of slaw from crisp heads of cabbage. Nothing like the sound of the crack of a head of cabbage when you split it with a sharp knife. I cut the head in halves or quarters, cut out the core, then soak it in salt water for about 15 minutes.
The salt kills any insects hiding within the layers of leaves.

I know, the black-eyed Susans are not veggies, but oh so pretty.

In my scary story, Terror on Sunshine Boulevard, the main characters are Gloria and Jim Hart from Michigan. They spend winters in a retirement community in Florida. Jim is a year-round gardener with a garden Up North and one in Florida. He grows waaaaay too many vegetables so they give them away to friends and family. Gloria is always searching for delicious ways to cook vegetables so she has a choice of dishes for their dinner table. 

Hmmm...these characters are suspiciously similar to the author and her husband. LOL...Yes, I based them on my life, but Jim and Gloria are a bit more fun and quirkier than we are!

Zucchini
Image by congerdesign from Pixabay 

Since I can't pass a zucchini through the Internet to you, I will share a great recipe with you for Zucchini cake. 

ZUCCHINI CAKE

3 c. flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Sift together these dry ingredients into a bowl and set aside. (I don't use a sifter.)

3 c. sugar 

11/2 c. vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

3 c. shredded zucchini

1 c. chopped nuts

Beat together sugar, oil, vanilla, eggs and zucchini

Mix all ingredients together. Fold in nuts.

Spray 9 x 13-inch pan with oil--do you flour your pans?

Bake at 350 degrees C  for 1 hour

Cool in pan, then sprinkle with powdered sugar or frost with cream cheese icing

Mmmmm. Good.

TIP: Use 3/4 c. applesauce and 3/4 c. oil instead of 1 1/2 c. oil to reduce fat

So I leave you with this delicious recipe. 

I hope you and your family and friends enjoy the cake.

Our Michigan garden

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Thank you for your support of my novels and memoir over the years and for your support of BWL Publishing.

Click the links below to stay connected with JQ Rose. Thank you.

Author JQ Rose and Gardener Ted

JQ Rose's Focused on Story Blog

JQ Rose, Author Facebook Page 

Where Do You Find Success by J.Q. Rose #BWLPublishing

Arranging a Dream: a Memoir by J.Q. Rose

Follow this couple’s inspiring story, filled with the joy and triumphs and the obstacles and failures experienced as they travel the turbulent path of turning dreams into reality.

Click here to discover more books by JQ Rose 

on her BWL Publishing author page.

  

🍁🍁🍁🍁

Where Do You Find Success? Fall colors Wednesday, September 22 is the official first day of fall, but we are having fallish-feeling days in West Michigan now. I love it. Fall is a time of change. The days are cooler, The kids go back to school. Mother Nature paints the landscape in gorgeous colors.  The apples turn a brilliant red and are ready for harvest.  The transition from summer to winter sparks a change within me, one of reflection and review of my life.  Succeed! The Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop question for the month of September stirred much contemplation about success. The question was—“How do you define success as a writer? Is it holding your book in your hand? Having a short story published? Making a certain amount of income from your writing?” I have to admit I felt the exhilaration of pride and success when I held my paperback book in my hand. I mean, opening the box of books from amazon was akin to the excitement of opening Christmas gifts when I was a kid. I feel that way with every one of my published books. So many folks think of success as related to their job. I find we all look for success in our work, but also in our purpose for our lives. Does success have to be a ground-breaking event to be considered a success at all? Does it have to be as big as being part of the team that landed on the moon? Developing a vaccination to keep us safe from COVID infection? Discovering the components to build the World-Wide-Web? Success to me comes in small and large packages that evolve throughout my lifetime. Some days my success was measured by how many times my daughter’s diaper was dry because she used the potty, when my third grade student figured out the math problem on his own, the bride loved her wedding flowers, my husband and family told me how much they enjoyed the dish I had prepared for dinner, the publisher of my first book offered me a contract because “she loved my voice,” the first time I ventured out to the grocery store during the shutdown and I returned and remained healthy! As I look back on success, I discovered none of them had to do with money. Success is measured in your heart, not in your wallet. During this difficult time in our world, when you are feeling down, reflect on the moments you felt success in your life. Let that feeling flow through your body for a moment. Then use that resurgence of strength and move on with a bounce in your step to achieving your next success, big or small.

“Success is the ability to do what you love every day. This may sound simple but what you love changes over time and having the ability to change what you are doing to match your passion is true success. This has nothing to do with money, wealth or status as each person has different passions and loves.” – David Hauser co-founder of Grasshopper, a virtual phone service for small businesses. 🍁🍁🍁🍁 Wishing you a wonderful fall season! J.Q.Rose 🍁🍁🍁🍁 Click here to connect online with J.Q. Rose