They Are Like Flowers

I was walking through the living room and saw that Pandora was playing a song by Duncan somebody.  It made me think of Bryan Duncan.  And that immediately took me back to San Cruz and meeting Bryan Duncan with my cousins.  Those were such good memories.  I would spend part of the summer with my Grandmother in Northern California and she would take me down to San Jose to spend a weekend with my cousins.  My cousins and I (well the girls anyway) would make up dances to songs.  One of the main artists we listened to at the time was Bryan Duncan.  So going to Santa Cruz to the beach boardwalk with them and meeting him was exciting or at least it was for me.

It's funny how some memories stick with you and other stuff is just gone.  And why is the stuff that isn't all that important sticks with you and things you really need to remember have left.  A few other memories I still remember are tips people have passed along to me.  A friend college told me once that when she makes her bed she puts the comforter on so the tag is on the head end of the bed instead of the foot.  That way when she wakes up in the night and the blankets are disheveled she can figure out how to put it back together by the tag. I still use that with the extra blanket on my side of the bed.  Another tip I remember is one I learned in jr. high.  If your pencil has an eraser that is hard and just won't erase anymore, rub it on the carpet until it is soft and erases easily.  The carpet takes off that hard crust that has developed.

These small things I remember aren't important but they make life a little better. They are like flowers.  They aren't that important, but they make life a little better.  I have found while cooking & baking it's those little things that makes the food taste so much better.  My mom's zucchini bread has that small thing that makes it so much better.  I actually don't know what it is, but her recipe tastes so much better than other recipes I've tried.

Zucchini Bread
3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini, squeeze the water out
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325.  Grease 2 loaf pans. Beat eggs till they are light, add oil, sugar, zucchini and vanilla.  mix well.  Add remaining ingredients.  Bake 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.