Zucchini Archives

Lake Days and Donuts

August 10, 2015 by theblogbloom.com 7 Comments

In the summer, Adam and I spend many weekends (… or, at least we try to) at his parent’s lake condo that is about an hour away from our home. Adam grew up spending summer weekends on lakes around Indiana with his family. They all enjoy skiing, wake boarding and soaking up the sun on a boat.

My family never boated and I didn’t try water skiing until I was about 18 (… And, ten years later, I am still not that good). But, soaking up the sun on a boat? That was a family tradition that I very easily assimilated to.

Lake days with his family are super fun. His parents have a great, big boat so that everyone in his eleven person family can ride on it together. (Although, #11 doesn’t make a huge impact… he is only nine months old.) The whole crew works together to prep great summer meals and snacks. During the hot afternoons, we bust out the tubes or wake boards and ride for a while. Or, we just anchor and spend the day laughing at “Party Cove.”

Photo credit to my brother-in-law, Mike.

But, because all of his sibling’s have pets at home and some of them live just around the corner, we are typically the only ones who stay the night at the condo.

And, while we miss the lively group, there is something special about the quiet moments at the lake. Especially those in the morning.

Adam is an early riser at the lake. He enjoys when the sun is coming up and the water is as smooth as glass. He is known to just sit on the patio and watch the sky and water change from dark blues to pinks and oranges as the day arrives.

But, once 8:00-8:30 hits Adam is itching to get out on the water. It’s empty and quiet so we can throw down the throttle and really move or just leisurely idle around.

And, because of this time of the day and our desire for a little caffeine, we always end up talking about how someone- maybe even us- needs to open a coffee shop on the lake.

Adam and I actually talk about the different kind of restaurants we would open (if money was no object and failure wasn’t an option) often.

There’s the steak house the would feature our homegrown beef and have a vegetable garden in the back. My cute cafe slash nursery that would serve lattes and tea until it’s acceptable to drink champagne and wine. Adam’s sandwich shop that would have the best homemade bread on the planet. And, of course, our coffee shop on Morse.

The coffee shop would just be a little building, maybe even more like a hut. It would have to have plenty of slips for boat parking and would be a great place to take kids on a weekend morning. Food would have to be handheld so that it could be taken on the boat and enjoyed by children, so donuts seem like the most obvious choice for the menu.

Plus, it pairs well with coffee and Saturday vibes.

I have been experimenting with donuts all summer thanks to a great donut pan that Adam’s mom put in my stocking last Christmas.

And, because they are my donuts, we’re not talking about any plain old glazed treats… Instead, there’s been flavors like blueberry lemon almond, strawberry vanilla, and a crowd (AKA Adam) favorite: Chocolate zucchini.

I get that it sounds a little funky, but baked goods made with zucchini are fabulous.

Zucchini helps treats like breads, muffins, cake and donuts maintain a moist texture without changing the flavor significantly. Instead, it will make you question if there really is a vegetable in there.

It is also a great way to take advantage of zucchini when it’s producing like crazy and you just can’t have it on the grill one. more. time.

Chocolate Zucchini Donuts

2015-08-11 16:27:40

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Ingredients

2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup shredded zucchini, all extra water well squeezed out
3/4 cup butter milk
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Chocolate Glaze

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. vanilla
2-3 tablespoons milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
Add squeezed zucchini to the dry mixture and toss evenly to coat.
Add the buttermilk, eggs and melted butter. Stir until just combined.
Grease donut pan with cooking spray.
Spoon the batter into the donut pan, filling until just full.
Bake for 8 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack.
Let the donuts cool completely. (I sometimes do over night and then glaze them first thing in the morning.)
To glaze, dip half of the donut into the glaze.

Notes

Topping with sprinkles is optional, but recommended!

Bloom. https://www.theblogbloom.com/

Summer in December

December 17, 2014 by theblogbloom.com 2 Comments

This weekend I took on Operation Holiday Cookies.

The amount of butter in my kitchen was at an all time high and my mixer found a new temporary home on the counter top.

I baked a handful of treats that my mom always had for the Holidays like oatmeal candy canes, spritz cookies and almond crescents.

While in the middle of my baking marathon Adam poked his head into the kitchen.

“I know you are making things that your mom used to make, but those are not cookies,” he told me.

Um, have you seen the amount of sugar I have gone through? These definitely are not crackers….? I was confused and really curious why he thought this way.

“They aren’t circles. Cookies are circles,” he stated.

For those of you who might be new… Hi! Thanks for reading. And just so you know, Adam is my husband… Not a toddler. I thought it would be best to clear that up after this preschool observation.

Okay then…!

Cookies are circles. Only.

-Weirdo.-

Hmm.

Well, that ruled out my plans for gingerbread men or frosted sugar cookies in the shape of trees and bells.

So, instead, to appease my husband’s wishes for round cookies, I made one of his (and my) summertime favorites: Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies.

By the middle of the summer, we have zucchini’s covering every surface of the kitchen. We saute them, grill them, bake them. We have so many that I even make special trips to Indianapolis to ~~pawn them off~~ give them away to my friends.

But, even with all this, there are still tons of zucchini’s that come out of the garden everyday in the middle of the summer. To help make the most of our plentiful zucchini’s I like to freeze them either grated or sliced so that Adam and I can enjoy them throughout the winter months.

This cookie recipe calls for grated zucchini, either fresh or frozen. However, if frozen, be sure to squeeze out all the liquid.

Now, I know what you might be thinking… Zucchini in a cookie?!

It’s actually really good.

So good, that I think the flavors would make a really good ice cream too. Maybe I will play with that next…

The taste of the grated zucchini isn’t strong by any means and is complimented by the ground cinnamon. It’s also a fun way to sneak in vegetables in a picky kid’s diet.

Or husbands.

… And they are circles.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies

2014-12-22 11:28:42

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Ingredients

1 cup (2 Sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated zucchini (about one large zucchini or two medium sized zucchini's)
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Using a stand mixer, beat together butter, sugar, brown sugar, until combined and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time until combined and mix in vanilla.
In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and beat on low until they are just incorporated.
Add the zucchini and chocolate chips and mix until they are just incorporated.
Scoop the cookies onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Bloom. https://www.theblogbloom.com/

The Last of The Zucchini

September 12, 2014 by theblogbloom.com 1 Comment

I ripped out the zucchini plants a couple weeks ago.

I won’t lie, I wasn’t even sad about it.

In fact, it felt pretty good.

Don’t get me wrong. I love, love, love zucchini.

I love how easy it is to grow and how quickly it grows. I love how I can use it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, as a side dish or dessert. I can cook zucchini on the grill, in a skillet, eat it raw, bake it, whatever! I love that it freezes really well and I can enjoy them throughout the winter. I love the different flavors like lemon, red pepper flakes, parmesan or dill that I can add to zucchini to give it dimension.

See? There’s lots to love about zucchini.

But there’s just this one little thing… by September, I am kind of sick of zucchini.

Yes, they grow fast, but they produce A LOT of zucchini for A LONG time.

There comes a point (… say, two weeks ago) when I am just simply over it.

I can’t possibly run another zucc over the grater for baked goods. The thought of zucchini with dinner makes me so not excited for dinner… which is weird as every fifth thought in my head is about what I am going to be eating next. I don’t even want to look at the plant in the garden for fear of seeing a zucchini ready to be picked. And, if I do look at the plant and a zucchini is ready for harvest, it will likely be given to the chickens.

A normal mid-summer sight on my counter top.

So, while the zucchini plants have now made way for some fast growing fall crops like radishes and arugula, their memory lives on in my freezer. I have gallon bag after gallon bag full of grated zucchini in 1/2 cup portions for baking, long slices for zucchini lasagna and grilling (grilling in the snow is actually fun… and makes you tough), and little disks that are great for sautéing.

The freezer is crazy stocked with zucchini, corn, peas, beans, and cherry tomatoes.

And that last zucchini I picked didn’t go to the chickens. I embraced it as the final one and the end of a great season by creating these cute little mini muffins.

I try to make easy grab and go breakfast for Adam, especially this time of year. His days are long thanks to gearing up for harvest so a little sustenance first thing in the morning is good for him. These zucchini mini muffins fit the bill. He can grab a handful and pop them on his way to the office. They are also perfect for a kids lunch box or you could amp them up with some flax seed for an added boost of nutrition.

Zucchini Mini Muffins

2014-09-11 14:05:32

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Ingredients

6 ounces of all purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground allspice
2/3 cup shredded zucchini (I use the grater tool on my mandolin. You could also use a cheese grater.)
3 TBS canola or vegetable oil
2 TSB butter, melted
2 TBS milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, slightly beaten
Cooking Spray

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray mini muffin sheet.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.
In a different, large mixing bowl combine wet ingredients with the zucchini. When combined, stir in dry ingredients.
Portion into mini muffin tin.
Bake for 10 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean of the center of a muffin.

Notes

If you wanted to sub flax seed for butter, do it with a 3 to 1 ratio. So, 3 TBS of flax seed for each TBS of butter.

Bloom. https://www.theblogbloom.com/

Fried Zucchini Blossoms

July 18, 2014 by theblogbloom.com 5 Comments

Zucchini is a great plant for a newbie -and oldie- gardener.

They are easy to grow. It doesn’t need too much attention. Just decent soil. And there’s nothing outrageously tricky in terms of watering. They also produce veggies for a long time; Just be sure to pick them before they get huge! They are the most flavorful when they are maybe 3-4 inches wide and 5-6 inches long. (This can be a rookie gardener mistake… it’s fun to see this HUGE veggie come out of the garden, but it’s not going to taste as good as it could.)

However… There is one problem with zucchini.

Yes, the produce for a long time, but they also produce A LOT for a long time.

A few nights ago, after staring at about fifteen zucchini’s on my kitchen counter, I began looking around for new zucchini recipes to help make sure we don’t get too bored. (Not even kidding. Fifteen Zucc’s.)

In my searches I kept coming across recipes for zucchini blossoms.

Zucchini blossoms are the flowers that appear as the plant is producing a fruit. They are a very beautiful, vibrant orange when in full bloom, but they wilt as the fruit gets larger and ready for harvest.

There are female and male blossoms. Female blossoms are attached to the zucchini, male blossoms aid in pollination and will not bear a zucchini.

A female blossom. You can see the developing zucchini.

Male zucchini blossom.

Although it wouldn’t help with my growing zucchini collection, I thought with all the big blossoms on my zucchini plants to give Fried Zucchini Blossoms a try.

They looked similar to tempura, but tasted almost like a mozzarella stick thanks to the warm, melty cheese I stuffed in the blossom. My backyard basil added great, subtle pepper flavor and sweetness and the lemon had the right amount of tart to add depth to this fun appetizer.

These are great on a summer evening with a glass of cold moscato.

Fried Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms

2014-07-18 17:31:50

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The Cheese Filling

1 Cup Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 Lemon, juiced and Zested
1/4 Cup finely chopped Basil
S&P

The Batter

1 1/2 Cup Flour
1 Tbs. Baking Powder
1 1/2 cup soda water or beer
10 Zucchini Blossoms
Vegetable Oil for Frying

Instructions

Wash Zucchini blossoms thoroughly, but do not soak in water. Be sure to look inside the blossom and check for bugs and dirt.
Mix together all stuffing ingredients in a medium bowl then add salt and pepper to taste.
Stuff each zucchini blossom with the filling. Be sure to wrap the petals closed once stuffed to "seal" the blossom.
In another bowl, mix the batter ingredients together, carefully whisking in the beer or soda water.
In a heavy bottom pot or pan (we use a cast iron skillet) heat about two inches of oil until shimmering. Dip the blossoms in the batter mixture and turn until coated. Fry in batches for about two minutes or until the batter is golden brown.
Remove from oil and place on a paper towel lined plate to cool.
Enjoy!

Bloom. https://www.theblogbloom.com/

Chocolate Zucchini Brownies and Vanilla Ice Cream

April 6, 2014 by theblogbloom.com 11 Comments

At Purdue we had to take cooking labs as part of the Hospitality major. In the labs we worked in a mock restaurant where everyone was assigned roles that lasted the whole semester. I don’t know how they assigned us to the roles because we didn’t answer any questions about what we liked or where we had experience, but there always seemed to be a system to it.

Students with restaurant backgrounds were put on the line, cooking the entrees. People with strong, bossy personalities were expediters, inspecting every plate before it went out to a customer. Pretty girls, who wanted to be wedding planners or in sales, were servers and would spend the lab learning new napkin folds. People who didn’t want anything to do with restaurants and the food industry were put on the dish washing machine… and they hated the lab.

It wasn’t a hard system to crack.

And, for some reason, I was always put in charge of desserts.

I think the reasoning there was: She’s in a sorority and has a cute face but a little chub. She must like to bake.

Okay. Sure.

Guilty as charged.

I did.

At eighteen only real kitchen experience I had was baking with my mom at home.

So the system hit the nail on the head.

And, I did pick up quite a bit about making great desserts from the labs at the university and in the classes I took in Europe. (Yes. I was, somehow, assigned to desserts there as well. Sizing me up translated the same way all the way on another continent.)

Too this day I still like to make desserts, I just try not to do it often as I have this problem where everything sweet and wonderful tends to go to my behind. Does any one else suffer from this crazy phenomenon?

But, if I had to pick a favorite dessert to make it is hands down ice cream. We got an ice cream maker for our wedding and I love it. It is such a neat tool and makes ice cream making super easy. I have made sherbets, herb infused ice creams and more.

I decided that I wanted to make ice cream this weekend because I wanted to try the ginger syrup from the trip to Atlanta. The grower at the farmer’s market mentioned it is great drizzled over vanilla ice cream.

Vanilla ice cream is ridiculously easy to make. There are a whopping four ingredients in it versus the, like, forty in the ice cream at the store. Best of all, it has this great, creamy, authentic flavor.

As I dug through my pantry to find the vanilla extract, I thought about what also goes great with cold vanilla ice cream: Warm, fresh baked brownies.

Get ready for dessert overload because in this post I have my super easy vanilla ice cream recipe and a great chocolate zucchini brownie recipe using some of last summer’s frozen zucchini.

And in the spirit of full disclosure, the ginger syrup was excellent on the fresh made ice cream. The gingery bite of the syrup on the cool, creamy vanilla ice cream elevated my basic vanilla ice cream to a ten.

Gingery drizzle.

Vanilla Ice Cream
1 ½ cups whole milk (… it’s temping to try to save calories and use skim or a lower fat milk. Don’t do it. The texture isn’t right.)
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
3 cups heavy cream
1 ½ tablespoons pure vanilla extract

Use a hand or stand mixer to combine milk and sugar in a medium sized bowl. Mix until sugar is dissolved, about three minutes.
Mix in heavy cream and vanilla.
Pour mixture into the ice cream maker’s chilled freezer bowl. Mix for about 25 minutes.
Transfer to a container and freeze for at least two hours before serving.

Chocolate Zucchini Brownies
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ melted butter
1 cup flour
Pinch of salt
¼ cup unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon allspice
1 cup chocolate chips and a handful for topping

Pre-heat oven to 350.
Spray an 8×8 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, zucchini, vanilla, sugar, butter and salt until combined. Stir in flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and allspice. Just combine.
Add chocolate chips and mix until incorporated.
Pour batter into baking pan. Top with a handful of chocolate chips. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the center is cooked through.

… In defense of my super decadant afternoon snack, I also planted a whole flat of lettuce today. It’s all about balance, right?!

Uh, yeah. If you need me, you can find me at the gym.

Cleaning Out The Freezer: Zucchini Sandwich Cookies

March 9, 2014 by theblogbloom.com 4 Comments

This past week Ree Drummand, The Pioneer Women, posted this photo of her Mason jar collection.

It made me laugh. Here is mine…

I see you, Ree.

PS- Who wants pickles?!

Digging through my glass jar collection inspired me to do some major spring cleaning and the timing also coincided very well with Lent. A great time for making changes, simplifying and setting goals… among other things. So I decided that, from now until Easter, Adam and I will deep clean and/or declutter a different area of the house each day.

It’s surprisingly going really well! Today we even took on our closet and were able to take three department store bags of old clothes to Goodwill.

One area of the house that isn’t assigned a specific day but we are focusing on this Lenten season is the freezer.

Now, I understand the typical thing to do during Lent is to fast, eat less of something or totally give up some kind of food, like dessert or carbs or whatever. But, we still have quite a bit of frozen garden vegetables that we need to go through.

We have some sweet corn, a little bit of sliced poblano peppers, cherry tomatoes, sliced zucchini and grated zucchini in the freezer and it’s only a matter of time before there is more. So, opposed to basically everyone else during Lent, we are going to make an effort to eat.

And in the spirit of continuing to be totally weird and different, I figured why not kick off this abnormal Lenten goal with a dessert.

It’s rare for me to bake. And, if I do bake, it’s even more rarely a sweet treat.

But, grated zucchini is great for baked desserts. One of Adam’s favorite desserts is Chocolate Zucchini Cake and I made it for his birthday in December. It also works really well in chocolate chip cookies.

In July I froze a bunch of zucchini’s in 1/2 cup portions to make for easy baking.

This cookie was kind of inspired by the chocolate chip cookie recipe and also by a Martha Stewart recipe where she makes it super decadent and turns it into a sandwich cookie.

What is nice about baking cookies is that I typically have all the ingredients in the pantry so I can bake them on a whim. Although, yesterday I was missing chocolate chips. But, with the cream cheese icing filling they didn’t need them… unless you really want them.

They were sweet and had a great balance of spice with the cinnamon, which compliments zucchini really well.

Couple good baking tips for the newbie’s and/or novice:

– It takes a little planning, but makes sure ingredients like eggs, butter, and cream cheese are room temperature. It’s easier to incorporate into the dough, makes more even cooking and a lighter texture.
– More planning. Make sure your oven is completely preheated before putting in baked goods. This also helps ensure more even and thorough cooking.
– The icing recipe below is also great for red velvet cakes!

Zucchini Sandwich Cookies

Cookies:
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 ½ sticks of butter, divided and room temperature
½ cup sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup grated zucchini
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup walnuts or chocolate chips (if desired)

Sandwich Filling:
8 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix together flour, cinnamon, baking soda and powder, and salt in bowl.
Beat one stick of butter and sugars until combined and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
Beat in dry mixture into the sugars. Mix in the grated zucchini, oats and nuts and/or chocolate chips.
Refrigerate for one hour.
If making sandwiches you want the cookies to be similar in size, so use an ice cream scoop to place on a greased or parchment paper lined cookie sheet at least one inch apart.
Bake twenty minutes, until edges are golden brown.
Cool completely on a wire rack.
To make sandwich filling, mix cream cheese and powdered sugar together. Spread on cool cookies to create sandwiches.

Check back often the next few weeks for many more recipes as we make our way through the freezer!

It’s 95 Degree’s Out and I am Freezing…

July 17, 2013 by theblogbloom.com 3 Comments

For the last week or so we have had HUGE takes from the garden every day. While this is exciting, it’s also a tad overwhelming. I finally had the feeling of, “Oh, geez… How are we ever going to eat all this food?”

The baby shower was great timing last weekend because I was able to use plenty of produce from the garden. I made a big salad with the mixed greens and just had different toppings and dressings so people could make it their own. I also prepared this great cucumber salad we have already made multiple times this summer. It’s really simple to make and only requires a few ingredients. That’s always a win for me.

Recipe: http://www.takingonmagazines.com/cucumber-salad-from-all-you/

Another recipe that we made for the party is also a go to in the summer is this sautéed zucchini side dish. We have been making this recipe for two years now; I pretty much know it by heart. The flavors go together so well and compliment any meal.

… Sorry no awesome iPhone picture. But, there is one at this link to the recipe: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Garden-Zucchini—Corn-Saute

Thanks to the bounty of produce accumulating on my counter top, I decided it was time to do some freezing. Freezing is a great way to preserve fruits and vegetables and is much simpler than canning. Frozen veggies are good for about twelve months.

Or, so I read.

I, of course, had never done this before, but it really didn’t seem too bad.

I started with snap beans because ours were towering and full of peas. I have been picking them for about two weeks. They make great additions to salads and even serve as a great snack with some hummus or without. The flavor of these peas has been incredible.

After work I spent about thirty minutes picking as many of the larger beans that I could find (…in the massive heat wave that is hitting the Midwest currently) I headed in to get to work in the kitchen.

I cleaned and snipped the end of the beans with a knife.

Next, I got everything set up to blanch the beans.

Blanching is when you heat up veggies and then quickly cool them to lock in flavor and nutrients. I actually had not blanched anything since lab courses in college, but it is, fortunately, really easy.

I set a pot on the stove top to bring to a boil, a big bowl full of ice and cold water, and a cookie sheet lined with paper towels. The beans were put in boiling water for two minutes. I then lifted them with a large straining spoon and dunked them into the ice water.

The instant they hit the water they turned a bight, beautiful green, just like I remembered would happen from that early morning lab. The beans were in the ice water for two minutes as well. I then strained them out and placed them on the cookie sheets. The paper towels quickly absorbed their moisture.

I repeated the process until my many snap beans were blanched and drying on the cookie sheets. I took another paper towel and pressed it on top of them to pick up any remaining water.

Next, you can put them directly into a ziplock bag to freeze or you can freeze them on the cookie sheets, then put them in ziplock bags after they had frozen. I choose the put them in the freezer on cookie sheets because it will prevent the beans from freezing stuck together.

I am so looking forward to using a handful of these summer beans throughout the winter in side dishes or stir fry’s.

Next, it was onto the zucchini. I thought I was in the clear with zucchini after the shower. I had sliced the nine zucchini’s I had in my kitchen to serve the crowd. After all that I was certain I wouldn’t have to worry about zucchini for little while.

Silly me…

Today- two days later- there were already six on my counter top.

You can blanch sliced or diced zucchini and it is great for stews and casseroles, but my poor little refrigerator ice maker needed to play catch up after the ice bath for all the snap beans. Maybe some other day.

Instead, I grated two zucchini’s and portioned them into ½ cup servings.

I wrapped each portion in saran wrap, put them into a zip lock bag, and placed them in the freezer. (Helpful Tip: Be sure to date and label whatever you freeze. This will help you out nine months from now when you cannot remember what you did today!)

This grated zucchini will be great for all sorts of baked goods, like zucchini cakes or muffins. I put them in half cup portions to make it easy to add to any batter. I was able to get eight cups out of two zucchini’s.

All in all, not bad and it really didn’t take too long. Now I can combat that feeling of panic that we will never be able to eat everything by knowing we will be eating from this garden all year long.

I already cannot wait to use these frozen items on a day in December, when I am feeling frozen myself, and remember how HOT it was today.