Zucchini What?

Zucchini cake baby! Oh so delicious, and it has a veggie in it, can you dig? This has got to be one of my favorite recipes to make this time of year. I adore zucchini for its versatility, taste, and ... cheapness. I can do a lot with zucchini on my slim pickin' budget. Tonight I am actually in the kitchen as I type to ya'll, I am smelling the aroma of the cake as it leaks out of the oven and into the air. I am baking a cake for my boyfriend's mom. We go up to Hendersonville, N.C. and eat at this great pizza joint called West First and it is sooooo goooood if any of you ever get a chance to go there. We had this fabulous cake when we were there and she totally thought it was a slice of heaven, I have to agree, ...it is. So, tonight I am making her a cake for her birthday, and I thought that all of you would want to try this very easy, delicious, zucchini creation. I am also going to post a cream cheese recipe that I put a twist on.

Zucchini Cake Recipe:

350 degrees F. 55 minutes

1 cp. vegetable oil ( I use Canola)

2 cp. sugar ( use turbinado or raw cane if you can help it, budget permitting)

3 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla ( don't use that fake junk)

2 cp. unbleached flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 cps. grated zucchini

1-1 1/2 walnuts

( Leave the skin on, the texture is affected if you don't)

Mix in oil and sugar in a mixing bowl, add eggs one at a time. Sift dry ingredients together.

Roll in zucchini, walnuts(I like to used slightly crushed walnuts because it seems to spread the walnuts out a little better so the slices aren't so bulky with them.)

The batter will be kind of thin but that is the way that it is supposed to be.(no worries, you didn't screw it up)

Pour in a greased pan then sift a little flour in it. I learned the hard way when I first started cooking, I must have dropped like 3 cakes trying to shake them out of the pan and then on to the floor they went.

Bake 55 minutes.

Okay, now onto the Cream Cheese Frosting recipe:

8 oz of cream cheese ( I use the reduced fat and even fat free, it still tastes good to me)

4 tbsp. light melted butter

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 1/2-4 cup of powdered sugar

1 tsp. grated orange zest

1 tsp. orange juice.

Blend cheese, butter, and vanilla on a low setting. Add powdered sugar slowly and then mix in orange zest and juice. Mix until mixture is nice and fluffy like a cloud.

Refrigerate until you are ready to use.

I find that the orange zest in the cream cheese frosting really pulls out the flavors of the cake. It is so good, and oranges are just so refreshing. Hey, use the other half of the orange and juice it and make yourself a mimosa while the cake is baking, and listen to some good music.

Right now I am listening to....

"Would You Please" by Rachel Yamagata

and up next, Jeff Buckley, Live at the Sin-e, one of the best albums I have ever heard. I just think he was so talented. Such a wonderful talent wasted. I have also been listening to Cat Power. Just chillin' out in the kitchen. I hate to make it a stressful atmosphere, it makes the food bad for me, and it is important to appreciate the tastes that you have created.

Alright guys.

Put that lovin' in your tummy and hit me back and tell me what you think.

Much love to you all.