CHOCOLATE CHIP ZUCCHINI CAKE AND TIME TO KILL!

QUESTION:  When you get bored, do you take photos of yourself in your full-length mirror, like this?.......................

I actually loathe pictures of myself, but I wanted to show my daughter my new larger than normal hoop earrings I bought yesterday.....she and her friends have an utterly charming expression (I can't believe I'm telling you this) that goes a little something like this : "The bigger the hoop, the bigger the ho!"....isn't that just lovely? Well, I'm here to tell you that I'm no "ho", but I have been buying bigger earrings lately, to somehow offset my shorter - than - normal but oh - so - necessary haircut (lots of hair thinning from chemo /  immuno-suppressant drugs). I think they look fun and funky, especially on an almost 50 year old!

FACT:  I'm kinda bored because I feel like a shut - in, due to that annoying Irene....Hurricane Irene, that is. What a week it's been....first our earthquake, which is so very strange in the East, and now this. We are, fortunately, not even close to the coast, but we are experiencing heavy rains and winds, and so I'm typing feverishly to get this post in before our power zaps out. Big Daddy and I are actually going out of state for a few days later on this week, so this will most likely be my last post for a week or so....BUT, I have my friend Carrie's Gluten Free Muffin recipe to share with you upon my return.......so, Y'all come back now, ya hear?

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If you have your own vegetable garden, you probably have an over- abundance of these bad boys lying around, 'bout now................

Now I know there are soooo many things you can do with Zucchini, like Zucchini bread, latkes, stuff like that. But, have you ever heard of Zucchini Cake? I hadn't either, and wasn't sure what I thought of the concept. Hmmmm....but I gotta think, pumpkin is a squash, and it tastes so good in sweet baked goods, and then there's carrot cake, for goodness sakes! You probably aren't thinking about the actual carrots when you're enjoying each bite of that delicious cake, but they sure add a nice flavor. Well, same goes for this recipe.....the cake is super moist, and there's a lot of chocolate in it, so that just makes everything okay, no?

Go ahead and grate up about 2 cups of your zucchini..............I grated mine into a strainer, because you won't believe how much water comes out.....

Cream together your sugar, butter and oil. .....................

Add 2 eggs, some vanilla and REGULAR sour cream........C'mon, live a little!..........

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt..............

Add this dry mixture to your wet mixture. Beat well, then stir in grated zucchini and chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chips....wow!)............Bake in a greased bundt pan for 45-50 minutes....................

I served mine with freshly whipped cream, but the cake would also be fabulous with ice cream!........................

YUM! Here's the recipe.....

CHOCOLATE CHIP ZUCCHINI CAKE

Cream together:

 1 and 3 / 4 cups sugar
1 / 2 cup butter, softened
1 / 2 cup oil (I used canola)

Add:

2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 / 2 cup sour cream

In a separate bowl, mix together:

2 and 1 / 2 cup flour
4 tblsp. cocoa
1 / 2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 / 4 tsp. salt

Add dry mix to wet mixture. Beat well then stir in:

2 cups grated zucchini
3 / 4 cups chocolate chips

Bake in a greased bundt pan at 350 degrees for 45 - 50 minutes. Test with a toothpick.

TODAY I'M SO GRATEFUL FOR......

***Word thus far that so many of our friends who have homes / second homes on the Atlantic ocean are fine. So far, most of the damage is from downed trees and flooded basements.

***Strong Starbuck's French Roast coffee...the drug of success!

***Good books, especially for plane travel.