Fresh, FAST, low carb zucchini pasta with shrimp

Hello, everybody! I cannot wait for summer! I've been dreaming of our Farmer's Market, our garden produce, our peach, cherry, plum orchards. I'm READY!

But, alas, spring has not yet sprung here in Eastern Oregon so I'll just try to pretend with a simple dish I saw on my friend Christalee's page. (Hers was much prettier, of course!)

 You'll need several baby zukes.

 Some raw or cooked shrimp, good size. Cook them in a pain with about 2tsp of minced garlic and some butter. YUM.

 A half cup or so of chopped, raw red bell pepper.

 I know some people don't like salmon but since we can get it so fresh and cheaply (these were $5lb already cut into the perfect sizes, so I just marinated and grilled in a big batch and then froze them for another day... which is today!) This salmon is a random bit of the cooking tonight. The zucchini dish doesn't need salmon.

 Cut into small strips. I tried to cut it as thinly as possible and then after I was done, I realized I have a vegetable slicer that would have worked better. Oh, well.

 Sautee the zucchini in a pan with (more) butter, salt to taste, a little pepper, and a dash of garlic powder. Put the shrimp on top and ta dah! Low carb, super tasty, let's-pretend-it's-summer dish!

  Now, there are other people in the house who prefer more food so here's a teenager's plate. She sprinkled on parmesan cheese. I decided to follow her lead and it was delicious!

 My husband's plate. The man can't live on protein alone so I made some pasta to put under his salmon.(And then he got another helping. I swear his metabolism is speeding up as he ages. Or maybe he's got a portrait in the attic that's getting fat while he eats what he wants!)

Now, remember tomorrow is PI DAY! (Get it? 3.14?) So, remember to have yourself some pie while contemplating its circumference... NOT your own!

 Until next time!

Blackberry Zucchini Bread

 So, a few weeks ago I mentioned blackberry zucchini bread. Here it is! Easy peasy. We got this shredded zucchini from a neighbor, so it doesn't have the skin. (We usually leave the skin on. But the skinless looks prettier in this loaf anyway so...)

 Blackberries from along the river. There weren't many this year. SO SAD.

Now, the recipe is something written down on a stained notecard so I'm not exactly sure where it's from. It looks like my friend Eleanor's handwriting so I'm assuming it's a family recipe. She didn't really work from cookbooks. 

 Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup blackberries

 Mmmmmmm. Fresh from the oven.

I love the moistness that the zucchini gives the bread. Of course, that might be the 3 eggs and cup of oil, too. :D But anyway, it was a delicious combination and now on our rotation of baking favorites! I'm curious if it would be as good in banana bread, but I'll have to wait until next year because our blackberries are gone. 

Until next time!