Ten on Thursday

1.  Today I picked the first ripe tomato from our plant!

There are more coming!  So I guess I won't be buying tomatoes at the farmer's market this week :))

2.  From the garden today:  snap peas, regular peas, yellow beans, cucumbers (a surprise when I looked under the leaves), red potatoes, raspberries and zucchini.  We are in full summer production - and it's a happy thing!

3.  Speaking of zucchini - I made muffins, a loaf and zucchini cheese squares.  Would you like the recipe for this lovely lunch dish?  It also makes a great appetizer when cut into small pieces.

Zucchini Cheese Squares

(from Garden Way's Zucchini Cookbook, 1977)

1 cup zucchini, coarsely grated and drained

1 cup grated carrots

3 eggs

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/3 cup fresh dill, chopped

1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

2 tbsps. fresh thyme, chopped

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 cup Feta cheese, mashed

dashes of salt, pepper and paprika

1 1/2 cups flour

Place all ingredients in large bowl and mix well with flour.  Turn into greased 9 X 9 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes until browned.  Cut into squares and serve.  

The squares are also really tasty the next day, even cold.  

4.   Back to school shopping is in full swing, as evidenced by the lineups at Staples today, when I stopped to get printer ink.  It's quite the industry, isn't it?!

5.  Here are a few glimpses of last weekend's hiking excursion, courtesy of Bob.

The Skyline Hiking Group, 2009

6.

One of the mountain meadows, in full wildflower bloom.

Evidence of other living things in the area. 

7.

Early in the morning, the valley was clouded in but high above it was clear.  I love how Bob captured it here. 

8.

And the wildflowers were absolutely gorgeous - such beautiful colors and so many varieties.  The multitude of mosquitoes, on the other hand, were huge and ferocious.

9.  This photo was chosen by the group leader from our World Wide Photo Walk as the best of our group.  I agree completely!  It was so interesting to watch Braeden compose the shot and then see his results on the screen.  I knew - and I think everyone did - right away that it was an awesome one.  

10.  If you are looking for some scrapbooking inspiration this summer, go to Big Picture Scrapbooking and sign up for August's  free online class called Busy Women Out of Time, On a Budget and Still Inspired.  I guarantee it will make you want to create something right away!  I'm really excited about the accordion album - so many possibilities with this little piece.