Valentines day! (Our weekend part 2)

After church on Sunday we left to go out of town for a quick overnight trip! We went to Lake Geneva in Wisconsin - it's about an hour and a half north of Chicago. The lake was frozen and you could actually drive on the lake! There were all these shanty's out there where people were fishing - just like this scene in Grumpy Old Men!

I got this picture of a fisherman as we drove by - notice the blue manual drill! I think it is about time my dad and all his fishing buddies try this out!

We spent a lot of good time with Will. He had a great time just playing on the bed…

Matt took Monday off work and we drove back in the afternoon. When we got home, I had these waiting for me from my Valentine!!

Tulips are my favorite! And Matt made a fantastic dinner - steaks with a demi glace sauce, lemony garlicky zucchini that he made up (I'll post his recipe below), and twice-baked potatoes. It was the best I've ever had - I am SO blessed to have a husband that is such a good cook!

And for dessert I made a coconut cake! It was in the same gluten-free baking cookbook that I've been using. I've never made a coconut cake but it was SO good! Matt and I agreed it was the best gluten free cake that we've had.

It was a great weekend and a great Valentine's Day!

By the way, you may remember awhile back I mentioned the Sullivan's blog - this guy's wife died a few days after their first child was born. I've been following his blog ever since. Well, be sure to check out his blog today for an update!

Lemony Garlicky Zucchini

1-2 T olive oil
2 or 3 zucchini, cut into quarter inch half circles
1/2 onion, cut into end to end strips that are then cut in half lengthwise
5 cloves garlic, minced
juice from 1/2 a lemon

I needed bacon for my potatoes, so I cooked a couple slices and left
the grease in my enameled cast iron skillet (nonstick pans won't work
as well to brown the zucchini, so use stainless or enamel if you can).
Turn up the heat on the grease (or olive oil if you prefer) and add the
vegetables when it is quite hot - you want a good sizzle when they hit
the pan.  Ideally, they would be spread to where the vegetables are
not stacked on top of one another (if they are, they will release
water quicker than the pan can cook it off, resulting in boiled
zucchini instead of sautéed zucchini).  After stirring initially, stir
only periodically every minute or two to allow browning to occur.
After the zucchini and onion look cooked and browned in spots, add the garlic
and stir to incorporate.  Let it cook for a minute or two and turn off
the heat.  Add the lemon and season with salt and pepper to taste (if
you're using plain cast iron, do not add lemon directly to the pan -
it will react to the iron and give off "off" flavors).