Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe

3 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
1 c. oil
4 eggs
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1 1/2 t. vanilla
3 c. flour
1 1/4 t. baking powder
1 1/4 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
3 c. zucchini
1 c. chopped nuts

Butter a 9 x 13 pan, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Finely chop nuts. Grate zucchini, set aside.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until frothy, mix in sugar, butter and oil. Add in vanilla.
In another bowl mix flour, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, soda and powder.
Slowly mix dry ingredients into egg batter.
Add nuts and zucchini, mix until blended.
Pour into pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
Cool. Serve with or without frosting.

Optional:

Chocolate Glaze

2 T. butter
2 - 3 oz. chocolate
2 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
2 - 3 T. milk

Melt butter and chocolate chips - stove or microwave.
Stir until smooth, add vanilla and 1 T. milk, stir.
Add powdered sugar and stir until smooth, add milk as needed.
When spreadable pour over slightly warm cake and spread.
Cut into slices and serve. This is a very hearty cake.

**To make this recipe vegan *
In glaze, use oil instead of butter.
In cake, use 1/2 c oil, 1/2 c. veggie shortening, or 1/2 c. soy or almond milk.
Exchange the eggs for 1 cup of applesauce.

Luscious Lemon Bars Recipe

Best Lemon Bars ever, very creamy and not too sweet. A Summertime delight!

Crust
1 c. butter
2 c. flour (In these photos I used 1 c. unbleached flour, 1/2 c wheat flour)
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/4 t. salt




Filling
4 eggs, beaten
1 - 1 1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
juice from 2 Lemons (1/4 c.)
1 t. lemon zest (optional)






Butter a 9x13 pan, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour, sugar and salt in a bowl, cut in butter and mix. A pastry knife, a power mixer, or two forks should all suffice in mixing up a crumbly crust, add a tablespoon or two of cold water if needed.

Knead into a soft and crumbly dough, press into greased pan, making a firm grip with a slight lip around the edges. Bake for 20 minutes, until lightly browned.

While crust is baking, mix sugar and flour in a bowl, whisk in eggs, lemon juice and lemon zest until smooth. Pour into hot crust immediately when done baking and return to oven. Bake 20 minutes or until firmed to touch.

Cool for 15 minutes, cover with powdered sugar and cut into desired sizes.





Bonus Recipe: Candied Lemon Slices

1/4 c. water
1/4 c. sugar
1 lemon thinly sliced

Heat sugar and water in a skillet until bubbly, add lemons. Simmer 15, flip, simmer 10 minutes more. Place on waxed paper to cool. Use as garnish for lemon bars, chewy and sweet!

Pie Inspiration From The Movie 'Waitress'

Last week I went to see the movie 'Waitress' with my husband and my mother in law. It was a great time, and the movie was really sweet and fun.
The writer/director Adrienne Shelly is one of my favorite actresses. I was excitedly awaiting this movie when I hear the awful news that she had been murdered. It was a terrible and tale, and has even been played out in an episode of 'Law and Order'. Murdered by a construction worker she had an argument with, and then hung to make it look like suicide. She has been acting for nearly 20 years, I loved her in such films as 'Trust' and 'Road Killers'.
Look her up yourselves: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0791248/
In the movie, a young, small town waitress is a pie genius, but a mess as a wife. The film follows her pregnancy until the birth of her baby. It is an endearing film, not complex, but well told and well acted by Adriene Shelly, Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Keri Russell and Andy Griffith. Jason Fillion played the doctor, and it is always great to see the original "Joey Buchanan" from 'One Life to Live' doing well. The only problem with the film was Jeremy Sisto, who could not pull off the control freak husband Earl. We all agreed he was not believable in the role. Nevertheless, the movie did not suffer at all, it was a funny film and a great way to spend an afternoon.



Since then there has been no less than 3 pies made, and they have been some of the best ever.

Shane's mother immediatly made an incredible cherry pie with a latice crust, all from scratch. Then a few days later she followed up with this perfect looking and tasting apple pie. A few days later, I added a Chocolate "Dream Whip" pie to the mix. All three were really good, and Linda my awesome mother-in-law, also made crust crisps by baking the extra pie crust drenched in sugar, cinnamon and butter. They were godly!

What is a Hellraiser Homemaker?

Hellraiser Homemaker is a book, and was a website that I just never updated. I lost the url while moving - it was supposed to auto-renew, but did not. A real Hellraiser Homemaker doesn't cry about it and pout, a real Hellraiser Homemaker says "Fuck It!" and moves on.

Now, I have started this blog, and I am willing to bet I will be able to update this a lot more than the website anyway. And, the book is still available at lulu.com.

Here's a link to it: http://www.lulu.com/content/292283

Here I will post helpful tips and recipes, and well as updates on the next issue of Hellraiser Homemaker. If you would like to contribute, feel free to email me at: amy@tvisgod.com.