Greek Spice Cake

This is recipe from Taste of Home.  I followed the instructions exactly - no fiddling this time, and no need to.

Greek Spice Cake

Baking spray
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup chopped pecans

Coat 10 inch fluted pan with baking spray (cooking spray with flour) - or grease pan with shortening and coat with 2 Tablespoons flour.
In a large bowl, beat sugars, eggs, oil, buttermilk and extracts till well blended.
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves and baking soda.
Gradually add flour mixture to wet mixture, beating till well blended.
Stir in pecans.
Pour into greased pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack to cool completely.
Can be dusted with confectioner's sugar (1 Tablespoon)

Turkish Zucchini Squares

This was inspired by an old Turkish Cooking book I picked up at Half-Price Books 10 yrs. ago. They're good at room temperature and reheat well.

Turkish Zucchini Squares

2 cups grated zucchini
2 eggs
handful of chopped mint
handful of chopped parsley
1 cup grated swiss or muenster cheese
1/2 cup feta
1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste
dash cayenne or hot sauce(optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grate zucchini - 2 large or 4 small in a large bowl
Add eggs, mint, parsley, cheeses. Add flour a little at a time, mixing well.
If mixture seems too thin, add a little more flour.
Add salt and pepper - start with 1/4 tsp. of salt and 1/4 tsp. of pepper. (remember the cheeses have a lot of salt.) Add cayenne if using.
Spray a square 9 by 9 inch baking pan with cooking spray.
Pour mixture into the pan and spread evenly.
Bake 45 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.
Cook into squares to serve warm or at room temperature.

Sweet and Salty Chocolate Oatmeal Bars

Another new recipe. Hard to go wrong with chocolate. I've only made this once and hubby's co-workers ate it. Still...
Some things I might try next time:
Maybe add some rice krispies to the oatmeal mixture.
A wee bit less sugar and less salt.
Different flavored chips

Sweet & Salty Chocolate Oatmeal Bars

2 cups quick-cooking or regular oats (NOT instant)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
4-6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
Chopped nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips.
Spread in greased square 9 by 9 inch pan.
Bake until bubbly, about 8 minutes, then remove from oven.
Immediately sprinkle with the chips.
Let stand until chocolate softens, about 5 minutes.
Spread evenly. Sprinkle with chopped nuts if desired.
Let cool for a few minutes then refrigerate for at least one hour.
Cut into bars. Best stored in the refrigerator.