I meet people on the interwebz

A week ago, I went to my friend Dionna's house and met up with other volunteers and writers from NPN. Yes, yes I did  meet people from the internet but before you send me Very Scary E-mails telling me how these people are really 70 year old Creepy Men . . . I actually know Dionna. Okay, well, yeah I did meet her on another on-line, local forum but I had met her in real life. I know her by sight, although we don't get to see each other often. She is not a Creepy Old Man but a real life mama to one point five kids (she's due in Nov).

The meet up was a weekend long event, with yoga, a peaceful parenting talk and hike. (Hey, we are a bunch of hippies!) We even did crafts, freezer paper stencials.

Alot of people did onesies but I need another apron, so I picked an apron. It's the International Symbol for Breastfeeding, with a twist- the baby's feet are over the mother's shoulder!

We had a wonderful and I wish I could have stayed longer. I would have liked to help Dionna more, as I live close to her house and considering she's 30+ weeks pregnant, she shouldn't have to shoulder the burden of hosting and setting up everything herself. As it was, Joseph's last baseball game was that day and they had a pizza party that night. I wanted/needed to be there for that and I knew the other mothers would understand. After all, Attachment Parenting is about being there for your kids and supporting and loving them... and it was his last game. (Had it been in the middle of the season, I might have missed... but it wasn't.) By the time we were home and settled, it was too late to drive back. Sunday we had Mass and I had a training I had to go to, so that was out too.  Bummer.

As a way to make it up to my friends, I present the following recipes: Zucchini Bread, Easily Adapted for Muffins. We have a boatload of zucchini this year, and the kids now ask if it is present in every dish. Even Adam was amused when he saw my Pinterest recipe board: pumpkin, zucchini, chicken, zucchini, zucchini, oh!FoodPorn, chicken, pumpkin, more zucchini...

ANYWAY, recipe! Straight from More-with-Less.

Preheat oven to 350

Combine in a mixing bowl and mix well:
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup vegtable oil (or light olive oil)
2 cups raw, peeled and shredded zucchini (I think I sometimes used three...)
1 tablespoon vanilla

shift together:
3 cups white flour (or a combo of white and whole wheat)
1 teaspoon salt OR flax seed
1 t easpoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoon cinnamon

Add to zucchini mixture and stir until blended

Add 1 cup chopped nuts, if desired
(I didn't.)

Pour into two greased bread pans. Bake 1 hour. Removed from pans and cook on rack.

****
From Buns in the Oven, a cookbook put out by my NFP Board
Zucchini Bread

In a bowl:
3 large eggs
1 cup oil (veggie or light olive oil)
2 cups white sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix well, then add:
3 cups white flour OR  a combo of white and whole wheat
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup nuts, optional.

Mix well.
Pour into loaf pans or muffins cups. Bake at 350 for one hour.

I use both of these recipes all the time. I think the second one makes better muffins but no one complains when I use the first!

It was a wonderful time and I wish I had had more time with these wonderful ladies and their families. Here's to next year!