Baking of a different kind...

...but before I get to that, I must go back a couple of posts and redeem myself!

I am going to chalk my oversight to "raw emotions" because it was the day that I posted our family pictures.  Let's not forget that I was posting through tearful eyes and to say that I was not thinking clearly, is an understatement.

Anyhoo, I must give credit to Shannon of Shannon Worley Photography for the amazing pictures that she took!  She was a dream to work with...so patient dealing with a larger group, which included three kids!  If you are local (and I know a few of you are!) and you are thinking of having family photos (or any photos for that matter) taken, I highly recommend, Shannon!  Along with her patience, her prices are VERY reasonable.  You can also find her via Facebook.  Phewwww...I feel so much better now!

Okay, now about that baking!

Factoid:  I rarely bake!  No typo, you read correctly!  Yes, I bake all the time, when I do sugar cookies...but really, that's about as far as it goes!  Oh, and the occasional banana nut bread when I have over ripe bananas!

For whatever reason, this recipe on Pinterest, made my mouth water!  Maybe it was the lemon in the background, I don't know...but I was dying to try it.  

Photo Courtesy of Pinterest

Now, for most of you, it is probably already, or coming to, blueberry season.  In Arizona, I hand "pick" my blueberries from Costco!  I am sure it is just too dang hot here to grow them locally.

I confess, I have already made this recipe twice...yep, I love it that much!  We are going to PRETEND that I am showing you my first time because I switched the recipe up a bit and made it with less fat...and believe it or not...I actually like it better than the original recipe!  True story, no bull****!  You can thank me later!

Here is how mine looked:

Instead of butter, I used one individual size serving of Natural Applesauce.  The only yogurt I had on hand at the time was Yoplait Lt. Vanilla.  When building projects you always hear "measure twice, cut once"...well, I need to use that same saying when baking..."read ingredients TWICE, measure once.  I was sure that it called for 2 TBL of lemon zest.  Oooops...that was "teaspoons"!  No worries...I LOVED the extra lemony flavor!

As you can see from the photo, I opted for a little suggested "drizzle" on top.  Easy peasy...one TBS. of lemon juice and a 1/2 cup powdered sugar!

So whether it is blueberry season at your house, or you just choose to "pick" some up at Costco...I highly recommend giving this a try!  Here is the original recipe with my revised version!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature 1/2 cup Natural Applesauce
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups blueberries (12 oz)
• 2 tsp lemon zest 2 TBS lemon zest (or to your own personal taste)
• ½ cup plain yogurt, regular or lowfat Lt. Vanilla Yogurt

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder and salt. Add the blueberries and lemon zest and toss to combine.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the yogurt then the dry ingredients, mixing only until incorporated and being careful not to crush the blueberries.
4. Scoop batter into your prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting gently onto a plate.

Yield: makes 1 loaf

 Whatcha' think...look kind of good?!

Last, but not least, is my little treasure that I picked up at the last Estate Sale that Kelli and I went to.  I think the only reason I got it was because everyone in front of me in line walked right past it without seeing it.  (Yes, there was two lines to get into this sale...one for the inside of the house and one for the garage...I chose the garage, duh!) I am pretty sure that I could have resold it right there at the sale and turned a little profit...but this baby was all mine!

Tah dah...

 

Cutest vintage tool box ever, right?!

 Okay, she is a little rough around the edges, but what potential!  Of course I already have plans for her...none of which involves holding tools.  This is the type of project that I just can't wait to get my hands on...but sadly, with temps of around 110 degrees, it gets a little hot in the garage to work.  Be patient...this one may take a while!

Would love to hear your ideas...what would you do with her?!

Till next time!