Jan 05, 2018, Updated Sep 11, 2024 Zucchini bread has got to be one of the best things to happen to a vegetable. I made this chocolate version and it’s everything I can do not to call it cake. (But really, it’s probably cake.) It’s moist and tender and studded with dark chocolate. I provided you with a double-batch-yielding recipe because I know you. Also, Happy New Year! I took a couple of weeks off from blogging/internetting in general. I think it’s important to recharge. We had a really nice family Christmas with my sister (who is expecting her first baby – yay!) and her husband visiting. It was the first year that Theo (4) really remembered what Christmas was about and was excited for Santa, so it was pretty magical.
Santa brought them a trampoline and glitter glue, though, which made me question whether or not I was on the nice list. Our little muchkin Everett has become a very spirited two-year-old. That’s another reason for the long blog break – instead of writing about his funny shenanigans after 7 pm, I choose to fall face-first into a bubble bath and zombie-watch Friends reruns until it’s a reasonable bedtime (8 pm?).
He’s sweet, loving, and clever, but it’s seriously everything I can do to keep him from harm’s way and from doing naughty and/or disgusting things (i.e. if you keep licking the playground, we are going home; if you keep putting your spoon in your bum I’m going to take it away; NO we DON’T drink the toilet water/dog water/puddle water). He’s also put my favourite lip balm in his bum, taken off his diaper and tried to stick his private parts in an electric socket, scooped toilet water into his toy kitchen sink, and a million other things you couldn’t even dream of. Did I tell you he swallowed a pen clicker?! Pretty sure the nurse hotline knows me by voice. I might be one phone call away from having social services show up at my door. He’s always two gleeful steps ahead of (exasperated, desperate) me.
Once this week, he woke up quietly at 5:30 am, and by 6 o’clock when I got up, he’d “washed” his hair with bathroom hand soap (he didn’t rinse it, just lathered it up), added to it a fistful of kosher salt from my stove-side little bowlful, de-potted my husband Adarsh’s favourite tropical indoor tree, and used my canister of granulated sugar as a sandbox for his toy animals. And that’s just what we know about. THIS IS MY LIFE RIGHT NOW. Please, seasoned moms, send me promises of peaceful, quiet times to come. Also carbs. Send lots of carbs. Another thing, my husband designed this beautiful new website for me (yay!) so I apologize for any glitches as we complete the transition. Please let me know if you notice any bugs or things that are missing. Before I go, I just want to say a heartfelt thank you to you for being around in 2017. For caring about my silly, mundanity (or just humouring me, either is fine), for bringing my recipes into your kitchens (I am honoured to be a small part of your tables), for supporting me in the sponsored blog posts I have had this year (seriously who knew that blogging could turn into a career – not me, that’s for sure. I am an open book if you have questions that I could answer to help you do the same – #collaborationovercompetition; email address in contact page). Finally, a sincere thank you to all the wonderfully supportive, collaborative, delicious-minded agencies and brands (if you are reading) who have pushed me to new levels creatively and kept my kitchen running. Sending all my positive energy to you all for a healthy, happy, prosperous, and of course food-centric 2018.
