Scott's famous Zucchini Bread...Scott shares his original recipe...finally!

Ths is one of the reasons (other than Scott's sweet kisses) why I love San Jose! Scott's Zucchini Bread is not only so soft but also so moist...just perfect, just like Scott.


By Scott Dieter
QueerGasm Guest Blogger
Apparently, there has been some interest in my zucchini bread. It is quite yummy, if I do say so myself. As much as I like to cook and bake, it’s immensely more fun when you can share the fruits (and vegetables) of your labor with others. I have been making the zucchini bread, along with anything else I can think of utilizing zucchini, quite regularly lately. We have a little garden here and a couple of zucchini plants yield enough to feed an army. It’s been an effort to keep up with all of the produce as it ripens in the garden and those who know me can attest to the fact that I hate to let anything go to waste. Since I have been so kindly and so flatteringly asked to share my recipe, I’m providing it for you here. I have this bad habit of accumulating books, which extends to the kitchen where I have an ever expanding collection of cookbooks. The recipe I started with comes from a cookbook from The Junior League of San Antonio, which I picked up used from Community Thrift Store; my favorite second-hand haunt in San Francisco .

As with any dish you are going to prepare, the outcome depends largely on two things: the love and care you put into your efforts. And the recipe you start with. (Ambrose and I had an unfortunate experience lately trying to prepare flan using what turned out to be a very poor recipe). The recipe I have is a good jumping off point, but I’ve refined it over the years to end up with yummy result that everyone is clamoring for. So...without further ado...

Below is my Zucchini Bread Recipe. Good luck!

WHAT YOU NEED:
3 eggs, beaten
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup oil
3 teaspoons cinnamon
3 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups grated zucchini
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup raisins (optional)
1 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional)

HERE'S HOW I MAKE IT:
Combine eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla and zucchini in large mixing bowl. Sift together remaining dry ingredients in a separate bowl and stir into egg mixture. Stir in raisins and nuts. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Fill greased and floured loaf pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaves tests clean. Remove from oven and turn out loaves to cool on a bread rack (see pic).

Does anyone actually grease and flour pans anymore?

I use cooking spray with flour which is so much easier and faster and produces the same result. For those of you who are health conscious, I use cholesterol-free safflower oil. The recipe yields 2 loaves for standard-size loaf pans, in which case the baking time is 1 hour. I prefer to use 9 mini-loaf pans. In this case, the cooking time should be reduced to 37 minutes. I place the mini-loaf pans on a cookie sheet which makes it easier to get them in and out of the oven. Once fully cooled, wrap the loaves in saran wrap so they don’t dry out. The bread freezes very well.

When measuring the zucchini, it should be firmly packed. My bread turns out super moist. In large part, this will depend on the amount of zucchini you use. The recipe is quite forgiving, so the measurements don’t have to be exact, but should be close. Try this recipe, but make sure you share the results with those you are close to. It’s sure to be a hit and brighten someone’s day!

And my reward? A kiss...

Another lovely weekend with Scottie at his apartment on Williams north of San Jose, a small tree-lined neighborhood that charms even as it overreaches

This is Scottie looking all cute...handsome, smart, sexy, and classy

This weekend couldn't have started off more smoothly. Scott took the day off on Friday and picked me up at the Diridon CalTrain Station in San Jose that afternoon. I was off early that day as well, so it worked out very well for us. We spent the afternoon cooking and listening to music. It was so hot out -- around 100 degrees! Thank God his building has a pool to count on on very warm summer days. And the pool is right infront of his door. What else can I say? As usual we went grocery shopping after we made out. We bought all the stuff we needed for the weekend -- orange and cranberry juice for the cocktails and other stuff that Scott needed for his dishes...later that afternoon, at the poolside, we joined his neighbors, Jose and Paul, chilling out and soaking in the sun...they had Corona and we had our "QueerGasm" cocktail! By the way, QueerGasm cocktail is affectionately named after this blog. Scott and I mixed Blood Orange Juice with Passion and Raspberry vodka into a big jar and complete the taste with Sprite. A perfect cocktail for summer. A perfect name, too! Hey, it is late August after all, and summer is heating up -- it is the perfect time for cocktails and BBQ. Before fall's rainy season sets in...let's not talk about that...

Here's our "QueerGasm Cocktail"...sometimes we make flavored ice cubes from the same cocktail. We filled our ice makers with the cocktail and viola! -- flavored ice cubes.



Scott and Julie...sharing a good time at the BBQ party. Julie, who is one of Scott's favorite people, invited us to her BBQ party last night. Her loved ones, Jennifer and her partner Crissy threw large and thick pieces of steaks to the grill -- enough to feed the crew of an armada...and the taste? Fantastic.

Now, listen...what I am about to tell you is true. Their grandma baked the BEST sponge cake I've ever tasted in my whole life. The best. I am not kidding. I am saying that probably because I am not a cake person...and since I am not a cake guy and don't eat cake all that much, I guess I am not qualify to say that, but, for me, personally that is, that was the best cake I've ever had. Ever. The funny thing is, the cake has no name! No kidding. It has no name! And that is the end of the story. Scott did ask Julie to give us the recipe. That cake was soooo delicate, soooo soft and soooo moist and...indescribably delicious. I didn't know there was a cake hidden in the kitchen because, again, I am not a cake person. I did see a birthday cake (by accident) on the dining table when we passed by the kitchen. But I ignored it. My eyes don't look at cakes (other than wedding cakes on wedding magazines). But, after my first small bite of the "no-name cake", I heard Scott yelled out a loud "WOW!"...and then it hit me. It was sooo good I almost fell off my chair! I'll definitely remind Scott to call Julie again and remind her to give us the recipe. All in all, Scott and I had a wonderful evening, sharing a lovely time with his dear friends. That night, under that warm starlit sky, I kissed Scott tenderly. It is so good to be gay and to feel that way. It is so hard not to kiss Scott, I find. This weekend, like previous ones, I must have kissed him every minute whenever we are together in the same room. The taste of his tongue and his lips still drives me crazy, makes me dizzy and breathless -- it is always tasting so lovely and sweet. I just can't get enough of kissing him. And he knows it.

Earlier that day...
For lunch, I cooked us Udon noodle in spicy Indonesian rempah...cooked in claypot and served on banana leaves...it was too spicy for me. Scott handles spicy food really well (for a white boy) because he is so used to eating very spicy Asian food.


Here's us...after eating the "no-name cake".


And the next day...more QueerGasm!

Whitney! Class is back! New CD out this Monday, Aug 31st 2009...Still gorgeous, still fabulous, still the best...

Stream Entire Whitney's Album now: http://www.whitneyhouston.com/us/front-splash

QueerGasm's favorite: Salute, A Song For You, I Look To You, Worth It, For The Lovers...and Like I Never Left, A Million Dollar Bill...
Whitney today...looking so fabulous, so gorgeous, so classy...so healhty...so Whitney

On Sept. 14, she'll sit down with Oprah and rehash the past eight or nine years of her life, when her well-publicized drug addictions and marriage to R&B troublemaker Bobby Brown didn't just derail her career but nearly killed her. Fans will have to decide if they're ready to forget about the emaciated "crack is whack" Whitney of 2002 and embrace her attempt at relevancy.

Zucchini caserole...sweet kisses...and a great weekend

Tiger sleeping on his daddy's lap...priceless!


Scott rearranged his furniture last week. He did a small floor move. I have to say it looks really good, very tastefully done. His cat, Tiger, is also very happy with the small changes here and there in Scott's living room and bedroom. Tiger now has its own little playhouse in Scott's bedroom. Watching TV has also become a more pleasurable experience for the boys. Their two leather sofas are now strategically placed across the living room facing the TV...the living room now seems a lot bigger...as a matter of fact, it is bigger...and more space for the boys (and me) to hang out...also it is a lot easier to vacuum.



Scott's delicious garlic bread...he made this specially for me...


Our weekend started with Scott cooking my favorite food -- his Zucchini Caserole. He made me the most delicious garlic bread and a Thai salad. I cooked "lap cheong" fried rice for him (thanks to all my Malaysian friends for helping me)...Scott loves it. The weekend come and go very quickly. We didn't do much this weekend other than pampering each other...Scott didn't spend a lot of time in the kitchen, either. He cooked on Saturday night and we ate the leftovers last night. We also watched "Big Brother" and "Miss Universe Pageant 2009" last night. I predicted correctly -- Miss Dominican Republic and Miss Venezuela as the top two with Miss Venezuela as the new Miss Universe 2009. Scott predicted Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Ausralia as three of the five finalists. Not bad. Miss Kosovo in the top five? That was a surprise. Should have been Miss Czech Republic. You can blame Andre Lion Tally for that:)!

It is so true -- a good weekend come and go very quickly when you are having so much fun, pampering each other with good food, good cocktails, hot massages, sweet kisses and...

Sometimes this blog just rolls off my fingertips...

...but other times, it doesn't. Today, as I was riding the J Train, I decided to eavesdrop on my fellow rider for inspiration. There! "...but we never have bonus night anymore...one night of just sex, or cooking in, nothing else...yes you keep saying it...when was the last time we cook together?"

When was the last time we cook together...when I heard that, I quickly looked at the picture of me and Scott on my phone and thanked God we've have been spending quality weekends pampering each other with great food, cocktails, kisses, massages...and sweet sex. It is like that with Scott...maybe we are two lucky gay boys -- enjoy being boys spending great weekends with the cat and the neighbors. In Scott's arms, I feel dizzy and breathless, drowning in sensation, my entire body -- alive. Every kiss is like the first. I never get over the wonder of it -- kissing his lips. The taste of Scott's sweet Marlboro stenched mouth, the feel of his lips and his soft slick tongue, is becoming very familiar. It makes me feel sexy, warm and content. And his simple home cooked meals match his personality and his uncanny ability to make me feel at home around him...

I am no Dr. Phil...but I do believe that they (the guy sitting next to me) have to start making time for each other...one of them has to initiate...and take the lead in their relationship...if you are reading this and having the same problem with your guy...think about it...make a list of what to do next weekend...as for me, after watching "Julie & Julia" last Friday, I think cooking for two (grocery shopping together, etc) is a very good way to start...it takes the pressure away knowing he is going to cook you a great meal and you are going to make him a cocktail...knowing he is thinking of the sensual massage you are going to give him before bed...

Scott and I love grocery shopping...we are lucky that way...he is a bargain hunter and a great shopper (buy-1-get-1-free...he looks at the unit price, etc)...I like the drinks section. I make cocktail while he cooks...we sip our cocktails and kiss each other tenderly...again every kiss is like the first -- sweet, soft and tender.

Equality California says wait for 2012 to overturn Prop 8...now what happens?

After months of debate, Equality California has concluded that the LGBT community should wait until 2012 before launching a campaign to repeal Prop 8. The decision was announced in a conference call with the press last Wednesday...mweanwhile, Courage Campaign says it is gearing up for a 2010 repeal...we can expect nothing less than a full out intra-community war of words that will rival the spectacular outbursts we all exchanged after the Nov election. Complicating matters is the fact that there are excellent arguments on both sides...now what happens?

How good it is to be pampered...by a sweet, sexy, classy guy

Are you also being pampered with good food and sweet kisses on weekends? By a really sweet and classy guy? If you are, lucky you...I know how you feel...It is so wonderful to be pampered with good food and sweet kisses especially by a guy you like a lot. Whether he is someone else's husband, a boyfriend or just a good friend (or a friend with benefits, I don't judge), it feels really wonderful to be with someone you adore -- even better if he is someone who loves to pamper you with good food. And it doesn't have to be complicated or dramatic...just like the story of Christian and Ollie on "Verbotene Liebe", we want to go there, too -- to a special place where two men pamper each other so lovingly with sweet kisses, cocktails and wonderful home cooked meals -- having fun and enjoying each other in the kitchen...cooking for two. We forget how nice it is to let ourselves go and get crazy in the kitchen...

Scott and me in his kitchen...


In my little corner of the world, Scott and I spent the entire weekend cooking, eating and enjoying each other...we watched "Julie & Julia" on Friday evening. We enjoyed the movie. It's another one of those feel-good movies acted brilliantly but brilliant actors...I like it not because Meryl Streep and Amy Adams are in it. I like it because it is a movie about mastering the French cooking and "servantless cooks". As I have promised you earlier, I did check out one of Julia Child's recipes and found the recipe (see recipe below) that I want Scott to try...next weekend.

On Saturday night, after our BBQ, I slipped my arms around Scott's waist as he washed the dishes. "I had a really good time today...I am so full, sweetie" I told him. Scott smiled. His eyes stared at me passionately. I lifted his chin and he gently pressed a light kiss to my lips.

Later that night Scott showed me his old stuff and his albums. He is a macho and private, passionate, sensitive guy in his own very special way. He loves the blues...like a lot...and he knows all the songs. It didn't take me long to know enough about Scott and to think he really is that great guy-next-door. He took out his photo albums and shared his life story...It was so nice to hear his backstory and the people he loves dearly. Everytime he paused and looked at me, I pressed my lips to his. And he kissed me back so softly and so tenderly. I will tell you more later...Let's get back to cooking...Here is one of the recipes I found online by Julia Child. I learned that on the first show of her series "The French Chef," Julia Child taught viewers to make this staple of French bourgeois cuisine. Roasted garlic, baby vegetables and wild mushrooms bring the dish right up to date. Below is one of her many great dishes...enjoy.

Boeuf Bourguignon Recipe

Ingredients:
1 whole head garlic
2 tablespoons plus 2 cups dry red wine
4 thick bacon slices, cut into 1-inch-wide strips
3 1/2 pounds boneless beef cross-rib roast, trimmed, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3 large fresh thyme sprigs
3 large fresh sage sprigs
3 large fresh rosemary sprigs
2 bay leaves
3 cups (or more) canned beef broth
12 ounces pearl onions
3 bunches baby carrots, trimmed, peeled
12 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, quartered


Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Place garlic on large piece of foil.
Pour 2 tablespoons wine over garlic.
Wrap foil around garlic to enclose.
Roast garlic until soft, about 40 minutes. Cool.
Press garlic between fingertips to release from skins
Set aside.

1) Cook bacon in large pot over medium heat until brown, about 10 minutes.
Transfer to paper towels. Pour drippings into small bowl. Return 2 tablespoons to same pot; reserve remainder. Increase heat to high. Working in batches, add beef to pot and brown, about 7 minutes per batch. Using slotted spoon, transfer meat to large bowl.

2) Reduce heat to medium-low. Add chopped onion and chopped carrot to pot; sauté 5 minutes. Mix in flour. Return beef and accumulated juices to pot. Stir in tomato paste. Add herb sprigs, bay leaves, roasted garlic and 2 cups wine; simmer 15 minutes. Add 3 cups broth. Cover; simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Uncover; simmer until meat is tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 1/2 hours longer. Discard herb sprigs and bay leaves.

3) Cook pearl onions in large saucepan of boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Using 4- to 5-inch-diameter strainer, transfer onions to medium bowl; cool slightly, then peel. Return water to boil. Add carrots and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Drain. Transfer to bowl of ice water to cool. Drain. (Bacon, stew and vegetables can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)

4) Heat 2 tablespoons reserved bacon drippings in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; sauté until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add pearl onions to mushrooms; sauté until onions are golden, about 4 minutes. Add carrots; cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Bring stew to simmer, thinning with more broth, if desired. Stir bacon and 2/3 of vegetables into stew. Transfer to large bowl. Top stew with remaining vegetables.

Anyways, over the weekend, Scott and I kissed a lot, cooked a lot, and ate a lot...As promised, I gave him a long sensual massage as his reward. His back is a lot softer now. It was supposed to be an easy, sensual weekend...but we ended up spending a lot of time in the kitchen -- cooking. And it is not a bad thing. Scott loves cooking and I love eating his simple food. I made us one big bowl of cocktail (recipe: I used 4 small cans of Mandarin nectar, Orange juice, cranberry juice, peach schnapps and added some Passion and Raspberry vodka...enough for 10 servings). I also made ice cubes from the mix...yummy.

Scott's Zuchini Bread: I hope Scott is willing to share his recipe with us. Over the weekend, before taking me to his company's annual picnic in Saratoga Springs, Scott made me the most yummy potato salad and coleslaw, and his zuchini bread is, well, as expected and as always, beyond yummy. We shared the food and drinks with his neighbors Lisa, Jose, and their little boy, Donny, who live upstairs. It was such a good weekend. And it ended so soon. Scott surely knows how to use his food (and his kitchen) to make me feel at home in San Jose. I hope you were also pampered with good food and sweet kisses last weekend by someone so dear and so sweet. If yes, I know how you feel. Wonderful.

Below is one of Julia Child's recipes that I really want to cook for Scott next weekend...if you cooked it first, let me know. Good luck, queers!

Choux de Bruxelles a la Milanaise
(Brussels Sprouts Browned with Cheese)

These cheese-coated brussels sprouts are good with steaks and chops.

1 1/2 quarts brussels sprouts braised in butter
1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese mixed with 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons melted butter

Follow the master recipe for braising the brussels sprouts (below), but when they have been in the oven 10 minutes, turn them into a bowl. Reset set oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of cheese in the casserole or baking dish to coat the bottom and sides. Return the brussels sprouts, spreading the rest of the cheese over each layer. Pour on the melted butter. Place uncovered in upper third of oven for 10 to 15 minutes to brown the cheese nicely.

Serve braised brussels sprouts with roast turkey, pork, duck, or goose; steaks, chops, hamburgers, or sauteed liver. You may dress up braised brussels sprouts with cream, cheese, or chestnuts, as suggested in the variations at the end of the recipe.

For 6 people

1 1/2 tablespoons softened butter
A 2 1/2 quart, fireproof, covered casserole or baking dish large enough to hold the brussels spouts in 1 or 2 layers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and smear butter inside the casserole or baking dish.

1 1/2 quarts blanched brussels sprouts (partially cooked)
Salt and pepper
2 to 4 tablespoons melted butter
A round of lightly buttered waxed paper

Arrange the blanched brussels sprouts heads up in the casserole or baking dish. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, and then with the melted butter.

Lay the waxed paper over the brussels sprouts. Cover and heat on top of the stove until vegetables begin to sizzle, then place in the middle level of preheated oven. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the sprouts are tender and well impregnated with butter. Serve as soon as possible.

Butter. Butter. And more butter! We love butter.

Tiger and me...Scottie's big boy

Scott and I agree with Julia Child -- there's nothing better than butter when it comes to cooking...today's cooking uses a lot of butter -- inches and inches of butter for his zuchini caserole, potato salad, coleslaw and his delicious zuchini bread...the smell of chopped garlic, onions, and fresh herbs sizzling in thick buttery sauce...yummy...As you all know, butter is made from the fat of cows' milk. It's not pure fat, however. Because of its rich, creamy mouth feel and its sublime flavor, which no other product can come close to matching, butter is by far the preferred fat to use for nearly every preparation in the culinary arts. That includes everything from sauce making to baking. It also adds complexity to the flavor of our everyday cooking...



Right now, Scott's entire apartment smells like butter and tomato sauce...as his neighbors, Jose and Lisa, grill the meat outside, enjoy fresh oysters and sip cocktails...buttery sweet smell of butter emanates in the air...


Scott is about an everyday gay guy...like you, he cooks as he is gay...and tho there is nothing gay (or straight) about his food, the presentation is definitely on the gay side...and that is gay. I think Soctt has found a way to make cooking casually understandable. With no fancy equipment. No fuss. No lobster jumping out of the pot like what happened to Julie in "Julie & Julia". What I love most about him being in his kitchen is that he surely knows what to cook for a foodie gay guy like me...He is sort of the everyman of home cooking. Right here in the comfort of his own home, he cooks with his kitty, Tiger, and me. And when I am not around, he cooks with the cat...There's no fois gras, no white truffle oil, no ‘Peruvian mountain-raised squab in sesame-lime-soy marinade stuffed with braised forest turnips and wild inoki mushrooms in a hand pressed plum and raspberry glaze'. None of that.


Probably like your boyfriend or your husband or your date, Scott is just a regular guy in his regular kitchen, using regular ingredients showing me how to cook easy, great food...food that's "big in taste and small in effort" (again...thanks to butter). It's only a handful of ingredients and a few steps – that's it. I may sound a little bias...but I think Scott is a fantastic cook. He knows the value of spending his time with his loved ones in his kitchen. He knows his ingredients and he knows what to cook...and most of all, he knows how to please my taste buds. Scott doesn't need a ton of ingredients and a ton of steps just winds up with people saying they can't cook. And it's not that they can't cook – it's that they don't because they think it's too hard. I still think it is hard.



So isn't it time someone made cooking easy? I am so glad Scott is cooking for me again this weekend. And his reward for cooking this weekend? He doesn't know it yet...but I am going to reward him with the most mind blowing sensual massage with an erotic egde tonight:)

Bonjour! Streep provides the charm, Adams adds an edge, Ephron brings it to the table...

Bonjour! Hello queers...have you seen "Julie & Julia" yet? I just saw it with a very sweet and loving guy in San Jose tonight...What a charming, delightful, flavorsome movie it is...It is defnitely one of my favorite movies this year. Yes, it is a foodie's dream movie. And just like many of you, I am a food lover and the movie makes you want to ask a guy to cook you something really nice:)

I have to say that I am totally inspired...the minute Julie wrote this on her blog in the movie -- The Julie/Julia Project "Nobody here but us servantless American cooks...", I knew I wanted to get back to my own blog, "QueeGasm - Giving gays something to talk about"...and write again. I started this blog three years ago, hoping to make friends and I did. Some of you still email me and still ask me to write about anything, anything at all just as long as it is true and gay (at least a little bit about us gays being just that - gays). Keep doing that because that is inspiring. I am just so happy to write this tonight after seeing the movie with a guy I really like a lot...and his name is Scott.

Though the movie shares its title with Julie Powell's blog-turned-novel "Julie & Julia" which chronicled her attempt to cook all of the recipes in Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", the narrative is doubled. What we like about the two women -- they were restless wives with very devoted, patient husbands, find self-fulfillment through cooking. And cooking. And cooking some more.

I suspect the double stuffed film will be easiest to enjoy while leisurely digesting.
Scott didn't think it was that good (he had great expectations especially when going for a Streep movie, who doesn't?)...as for me, Adams outshone Streep on many levels. She had to act very very well. Not just well. Well is not good enough when you are acting alongside Streep. So yes, she did. Streep had to just be Julia Child, which had to be an easier character for her (with her calibre) to play (she certainly had played many many serious characters in her life as an actress...recently, she acted her butt off in "Doubt" and got nominated for it)...

I asked Scott to cook me something special like the one that got burned in the movie...:) He smiled beautifully -- it might or could be a yes, I don't know yet. We'll see. I’m going to choose to believe that another good American gay boy like Scott can cook something like that...when you believe, you can also imagine you’re eating sole meunieré, with Julia and Paul, and you’re lifting a glass to toast whatever comes next.

If there's a missing ingredient in the movie's fun recipe, it's Scott's unnamed beef and Chinese string beans cooked in coconut milk...and his delightful Zucchini bread...that is something I want to share with you later...I promise.

Before writing this, I checked out the menu from Julia Child's cookbook. And the item that got burned in the movie, is her "Pièce De Boeuf Braisée" or
Beef Braised in Red Wine with Parsley Potatoes, Leeks, Glazed Turnips and Carrots. Doesn't that sound just divine? I hope Scott will cook it for me...but first, I have to find the recipe from the book for him...have a good weekend queers...whoever you are, wherever you are...

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