I was packing up my kitchen this afternoon and I got to thinking.

I got to thinking about my box grater… which is totally weird.

As if thinking at length about my box grater weren’t odd enough… I’m now going to shovel my box grater thoughts onto your lap.

There’s butter.  There’s cheese.  There’s roots and veggies.  All the drama and intrigue you could want from one little box grater.

aaaand… seriously… thanks for playing along.  I realize I’m ridiculous.

First things first: carrots.

These are Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Frosting.  These are best when unwrapped and shoved into your face.

Cheese.  Just say yes.

Homemade pizza and a movie rental with your honey… just the best night ever.  Take note.

Cheddar Black Pepper Biscuits.  Because biscuits are the answer to every problem.

Grated greens and roots for Zucchini Sweet Potato Bread.  It’s the goodness.

While we have the zucchini out.   Pancakes.  Zucchini Pancakes.

Take frozen butter to the box grater.  It’s a wonder in pie and scone dough.  It’s a secret weapon from me to you.

This No Roll Pie Crust recipe I came up with… it’s dang amazing!

Is it just me, or are there butterflies everywhere?

Maybe it’s butterfly hatching season…. that’s a technical term: butterfly hatching.  Obviously.

Exhibit A:  On a particularly rough day at work, a butterfly just about the size of my hand fluttered around me showing off its black, yellow and red wings.  Absolutely gorgeous.

Exhibit B:  Just this morning a butterfly whizzed past my nose as I rode a bike through the Oakland hills.  High speed butterflying.

I don’t even need an Exhibit C, I’m tellin’ you… there’s something in the air:  butterflies.

So, all of this beautiful fluttering action has lead me to, well… look for a little meaning in all of it.

I know… totally cheese ball, right?  It’s just that I feel something in the air.  Maybe it’s the change of season, or maybe it’s my sun sign doing God knows what to my moon sign.  Who knows?  I just feel a flood of change coming my way.  I think that’s what all these butterflies are trying to tell me.  Change is a’comin’, in more ways than I might already think.  That… or it’s just butterfly hatching season.  I don’t know.

In other news:  I have a fridge full of zucchini and I made zucchini pancakes.

You probably know me well enough by now to understand my lengthy and well documented affection for pancakes.

That being said… these pancakes aren’t the sweet breakfast treat that you might expect from me.  Think of them more like a potato pancake… the kind you might top with sour cream or apple sauce.  These are the zucchini version of potato pancakes.  They’re super easy to throw together and all sorts of fun to eat.  I topped mine with a bit of sour cream and sweet paprika.  Dinner, made so easy.

Did you know that they sell quick bread box mixes in grocery stores!?  I think that’s so strange.  Fake flour, loads of sugar, and ultra dehydrated blueberries in a box to be mixed with water and eggs.  This concerns me… deeply.  Exactly how quick does a quick bread have to be to make it in this world?

I think homemade quick breads are dreamy.  With enough creativity and guts, you can throw just about anything into a quick bread and call it delicious.  This go around I tried zucchini and sweet potato.  The combination produced a full and unique flavor:  not too heavy on the zucchini or sweet potato flavors.  And of course, because I’m me, I also loaded the bread with spices, nuts and cranberries.  You can modify if to your taste, I make room for that in the recipe.  Because, yes, I care.

What’s your favorite kind of quick bread?  If you say the boxed kind, I swear, I’ll scream.