baci' baking - Zucchini Bread

My mother and father-in-law grow tons of zucchini in their garden, so I thought I'd take a stab at making some zucchini bread and it turned out so delicious that I thought I'd share the recipe I used. My trusty Better Homes and Gardens Limited Edition "Pink Plaid" New Cook Book was just the help I need to make my first ever batch of zucchini bread :)

Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. baking powder

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1 beaten egg

1 cup sugar

1 cup finely shredded, unpeeled zucchini

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of an 8x4x2-inch loaf pan; set aside.

2) In a medium bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder and nutmeg. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.

3) In another medium bowl, combine egg, sugar, zucchini and oil. Add zucchini mixture all at once to flour mixture (pour into well). Stir with wooden spoon just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in nuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan.

4) Bake in oven for 50 to 55 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes One Loaf (16 servings)

Handpicked - Banana Republic New Fall Arrivals

Banana Republic is my favorite go-to store (and the hubby's, too!) - so I thought I'd choose my favorite pieces from their New Fall Arrivals. I love the warm textures and saturated tones they have for this windy-weather season!!

1) Wool Trenchcoat in Dark Loden - $230 (This deep green would be a great addition to my wardrobe!) 2) Martin Textured Flannel Trouser in Black Combo - $98 3) Helena Peep-toe Wedge in Saddle - $120 (I really might have to buy these - they are SO cute!) 4) Cap-sleeved Pintucked Silk Top in Irish Green - $60 5) Amalfi Cross-body Tote in Fog - $250 (Even the inside of this bag is gorgeous - it's a deep red cotton.) 6) Flannel Grey Military Jacket in Medium Charcoal - $152 7) Tiered Mini Dress in Sugar Plum - $152 (This dress would be the perfect outfit for our annual New Year's Eve Party - hmm. . .)

Sephora, My Current Wish List

I'm just going to come right out and say it - I love Sephora - there isn't a better place to shop and compare beauty products! Since I needed to shop on Sephora.com today anyway I thought it would be the perfect place to create a Friday Wish List from :) I already purchase my Purity Made Simple by Philosphy (I buy the BIG one because I love it so much) and the infamous Rosebud Salve (amazing lip gloss and great for the cuticles!), so why not talk about the things I've had my eye on. . .

1) Each time I go into a Sephora, I pick up the Bare Escentuals Tutorials: Smoky Eye Kit {$32) - I have no idea why I haven't bought it yet! 2) I got a sample of Missoni Acqua {$60 for 1.7 oz.} a while back and loved it so much that I hoarded my sister-in-law's samples, too! This is what I'll be replacing my every day Clinique Happy Heart with (it makes my mom sneeze and gives her a headache so I've decided to give it up for good because I've heard, "Amanda, you stink," enough times). 2) I've always wanted to try the Carol's Daughter product line and just the scent alone of the Carol's Daughter Mimosa Hair Honey {$15.50 for 8 oz.} has me intrigued. 3) To continue with love for the nose, I must try Philosophy's Pumpkin Spice Muffin Shampoo, Shower Gel and Bubble Bath {$16 for 16 oz.}!! 4) Skyn Iceland's Pure Cloud Cream with Biospheric Complex makes your face actually feel like a smooth, soft cloud all day long! I received a sample and was in complete heaven, but at $75 for on 1.7 ounces it's a little too rich for my blood. Hence, the wish list :) 5) Yet another sample that I fell head over heels for, Bliss Naked Body Butter Lite {$29 for 8.5 oz.} is the perfect lightweight lotion. It moisturizes without leaving you sticky (which the husband seriously hates). 6) My friend, Lexy, is the Sephora Queen so when she whipped out crazylibellule and the poppies' Shanghaijava Ananas Imperial (yeah, try to say that twice), I just had to give it a whiff. This solid perfume is a fabulous light scent that is perfect to stow in your purse. It's totally affordable too at $18!

Kristen's Baby Shower | 09.13.09 {Akron, Ohio}

If you hadn't already figured it out with this week's "Handpicked" or all of my Twitter talk about babies, babies and more babies - Ilario's brother, Paolo, and his wife, Kristen, are having a baby and BOY (ha ha ha, it's a boy - I'm such a nerd, sorry) are we excited!! He's due October 10th, but can truly show up any time now.

Since it's their first baby my mother-in-law, Carmela, sister-in-law, Cathy, and I threw Kristen a baby shower with a surprise location on Sunday, September 13th. Since Kristen is vegan, we held the shower at Chrissie Hynde's vegan restaurant, Vegiterranean, here in downtown Akron. Can I just tell you they have quite possibly the MOST DELICIOUS food on the planet!!! I mean, seriously, I'm a meat-eating girl, but if I could eat like that every single day I wouldn't think twice about the juicy medium-rare filet mignon from Ruth's Chris (well maybe that's going a little far, but you see where I'm going here). The theme of the shower was "Jungle Chic" and coincidentally enough, Kristen and Paolo decided to decorate the nursery with a jungle theme as well when they had no idea what we were doing! You must check out the crib bedding they chose from Babies'R'Us - it will make you go "Aawwww", I promise!

Baci designed and printed all of the stationery for the big day - the peach zebra print and sage spotted giraffe were continued throughout all details. The giraffe even made a guest appearance on the back of the invitation envelope beside the return address.

Surprisingly enough, we were actually able to keep the location a secret! Kristen thought she knew, but since Vegiterranean is usually closed on Sundays, she was pretty confused :)

Matching Thank You Cards designed by baci.

The front of the invitation envelope mimicked the shape and design of the actual invitation. There's the little giraffe again beside the return address on the thank you envelope.

The gorgeous Daddy and Mommy-to-be, Paolo and Kristen. Isn't she just to-die-for with her little belly in that BCBG Snake-print Dress?!?! Hands down the cutest pregnant lady ever! Another coincidence: the building to the left of Paolo's head is the hospital where he was born. Crazy, huh? The photo on the right is the front of Vegiterranean - utterly modern and classy.

A shot of the guest table all set up before people start arriving.

A close-up of the place settings at each seat. Each guest was asked to fill out their address on the provided envelope to ease Kristen's thank you writing process. Also at each seat, an advice card for Paolo and Kristen, Baby Bingo and a candle favor.

The simple blue carnation centerpieces added a touch of "boy" to the shower.

Our favors were quite the collaboration effort, Cathy and our aunt, Teresa, decided that we should use baby food jars as candles then I ran with it creating the paper wrap and "baby boy" tag to match the theme. Cathy, my mother-in-law and I assembled each favor one afternoon - we had a blast until it came to putting on those darn beads! Let's just say they didn't want to cooperate :) It was truly worth the effort though - they turned out fabulous!

On the left, a close-up of the advice cards. I was inspired to create these "Mad-Lib" advice cards by a bridal shower note I found on 100 Layer Cake. It was so much fun to read what people wrote to fill in the blanks! On the right, the Baby Bingo winners went home with these gifts I put together from Bath & Body Works.

The absolutely adorable centerpiece for the head table - such a fun way to bring more "boy" into the shower! The mums Cathy bought were the perfect color, too.

A shot of the lovely ladies - everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Usually people dart out of showers as soon as they can, but everyone stuck around well past the end - it was fabulous!

And now for my labor of love - the vegan cupcakes!! I searched for the perfect recipe and, amazingly enough, found it on the first try. I wrote on each cupcake so they resembled little hostess cupcakes - they not only looked great, but were absolutely delicious to boot! A big thanks to the staff at Vegiterranean for the lovely presentation and to the lovely Lexy for taking the pics :)

A great final shot of all of us - Cathy, Kristen's Mom, Ann, Kristen, my mother-in-law, Carmela, and me!

Wedding Wednesday | A Twist on Fall Style

When people think of Fall weddings, they generally see dark colors or {gasp} pumpkins. While I have absolutely nothing against the traditional Fall style, today I'm exploring other options for the chilly weather wedding and it has everything to do with texture in papers, fabrics and flowers!

I have a deep love for Brown Kraft Paper (I even hand-stamped it to use as wrapping paper for my sister-in-law's baby shower), so why not wrap up your invitations for your big day in it and finish it off with some Sisal Twine? {Image from 100 Layer Cake}

This gorgeous Chantilly Lace dress is perfect for any season's wedding, but with the addition of the white wine-colored bow you have the most gorgeous Fall-worthy gown! {Image from Inspired by This}

This is quite possibly the most beautiful bouquet I have seen in my entire life. By JL Designs for the e-zine Utterly Engaged, this bouquet of ranunculus, blushing bride protea and scabiosa pods has just the perfect texture.

There's no question that these wool vests are great for a Fall (or even winter) wedding and I just can't get enough of these fabric boutonnieres! {Image by Ben Blood Photography, from 100 Layer Cake}

I first saw these breath-taking bridesmaid dresses over on the bobbi+mike blog in the post about nicole+andy's wedding. So, of course, I had to know who they were by. Image my surprise when the gorgeous Nicole told me they were from David's Bridal!! This jersey/charmeuse combo in latte is perfect for an Autumn wedding.

Oh, this just made me even more excited for the change in seasons!!!

baci's baking - Chimichurri Steaks with Rosemary Potatoes

Prepare a simple salad along with these steaks and potatoes for a full-fledged (delicious) meal!!

Chimichurri Steaks with Rosemary Potatoes

(Recipe from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast: Weeknight Cookbook)

Steak

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup sherry vinegar

3 T. fresh oregano leaves

1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, coarsely chopped

7 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1/2 - 3/4 t. red pepper flakes

4 T-bone steaks (about 1 inch thick)

salt

Potatoes

Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into wedges

1 T. minced rosemary

olive oil

salt

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2) Toss potato wedges with a little olive oil, rosemary and salt. Place in 9" x 13" pan. Roast in oven until tender - about 30 minutes.

3) In a food processor, combine oil, vinegar, oregano, parsley and garlic - process until finely chopped. Pour into a shallow glass or ceramic dish large enough to hold the steaks in a single layer and stir in the red pepper flakes to taste. Season the steaks with salt, then add them to the marinade and turn to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.

4) Meanwhile, prepare a gas/charcoal grill for direct-heat grilling over high heat and oil the grill rack or preheat a broiler. When ready to cook, remove the steaks from the marinade. Place the steaks on the grill rack or put them on a baking sheet and place under the broiler. Brush the steaks with the remaining marinade. Cook, carefully turning once, for about 8 minutes total for medium-rare or until done to your liking.

Serves 4.

Handpicked - Baby Wit

I just can't resist doing a post all about our nephew that's on his way! So I thought I would share some of the cutest things ever from my favorite place to shop for babies - Baby Wit. They have the hippest and most unique clothes for fashion-forward babies (which, of course, our nephew will be)!! Check out some of these must haves for new baby Cursaro. . .

1) This Lochness Monster Organic Onesie is my nod to How I Met Your Mother (which starts tonight - I'M SO EXCITED!!!) because you know, Nessie really does exist :) 2) My sister-in-law is vegan so I just know she'd love this Herbivore Onesie. 3) Aren't these Tattoo Slip-on Shoes the cutest, punkiest thing ever? 4) Ilario and I love Johnny Cash so we'd do anything to see the little guy in this Folsom Prison Onesie! 5) I couldn't resist these tiny Red Guitar Cotton Pants - can you imagine a tiny little diaper butt in them?!?!? Adorable! 6) This hand screened Garden Gnome Organic Onesie is just too cute. 7) This chocolate brown Puppy Love Onesie by Leia Bell makes me go "Ahhhhh!!".