Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

When I lived in Cincinnati I worked at a Catholic nursing home run by nuns. There was one particular nun in charge of the food. She made a ton of baked good for a bake sale they were having. Not everything sold so they gave the extras to the residents. Being in charge of the 4th floor pantry I just had to try some of the zucchini bread that was sent up for breakfast. It was seriously the best bread I had ever eaten. Although I don't know her recipe, I knew one day I would have to make some of my own. Then one of my co-workers at my job now mentioned how he really liked chocolate chip zucchini bread, so I figured now was a great time to try.

What you need:

• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup plain apple sauce
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 2 cups grated zucchini (about 2 large or 4 small zucchinis)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven 350 F. Spray a 9x5x3 in. loaf pan.
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a large bowl combine olive oil, apple sauce, sugar, eggs, grated zucchini, and vanilla.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the large bowl and mix until all ingredients are combined.
5. Pour mixture into greased loaf pan and cook for about 1 hour-1 hour 10 minutes. Test with a tooth pick or fork to make sure bread is cooked completely. I cooked mine for additional time. Checking every 10 minutes after the initial time was up.
6. Let the bread cool on a wire rack.
7. Enjoy! 

Teacher Talk Tuesday

I didn't mean to post twice today! Pure accident! But I'm happy to announce that I have joined the monthly teacher talk hosted by Nicole of Bloom and Jamie of Southern Simplicity. Every Tuesday I will post about teaching, and it is a way for teachers in the blogging community to stay encouraged in their teaching endeavors. I can definitely use all the encouragement I can get!

Tell us about yourself: What you teach. Why you teach. Where you live.

Well, for those of you who may have stumbled across my blog, my name is Jasilyn. I am currently a substitute teaching in the suburbs of Cleveland because I haven't been able to land a full time job. I received my dual degree from the University of Cincinnati in history and secondary education social studies. I am licensed for 7-12 social studies. I am able to sub for all grades, but I usually prefer to stay with the 6-12 graders. I'm just not good with little kids. I am currently going to Cleveland State to receive my ESL endorsement.

The why I teach question is kind of tricky. In some way I always wanted to be a teacher. When I was younger I'd dream about having a class of my own. In high school that kind of changed. I loved design and wanted to become an interior designer. I'd watch HGTV and fill notebooks full of ideas. It was until I went to visit the University of Cincinnati that my mind was set on teaching again. UC has an amazing design program. I knew without a doubt that I wanted to go there, but I didn't think I was good enough to get in (story of my life). Afterwards, I decided that I really wanted to be a teacher. I knew I liked older kids, so high school was where I knew I would be, but I was really unsure of whether to go the English or social studies route. I always loved both subjects, English a little more, but again, I didn't think I was good enough to teach English. See a pattern here?

Throughout my time at UC I knew that God had placed me where I needed to be. I absolutely loved my classes. My Schooling & Teaching in America professor my second year of college really got me to believe that teaching was where I needed to be. There was nothing my entire time in college that told me I was pursuing the wrong profession. It truly was God's plan for me.

I student taught in Cincinnati public. It was definitely a culture shock in a way. I grew up in a very white middle class suburb. There was little to no diversity. But I absolutely loved it. I had an amazing mentor teacher who encouraged me every step of the way. I learned so much from him. The students were a challenge at times, but I would be lying if I said I didn't cry on my last day. My student teaching experience was actually the reason I started this blog. You can read about it all here.

When I couldn't find a job I moved back home to the Cleveland area. I dislike subbing, but it's a good way to keep me in the classroom. By chance, I happened to pick up a 3 day subbing job for an ESL teacher in one of the districts I was subbing for. I really had no idea what was in store for me when I chose it. To be honest, I had no idea what ESL was. If you are unfamiliar with it it stands for English as a Second Language (or ELL -English Language Learners if you want to be politically correct). They are the kids whose native language isn't English. I absolutely loved the kids in her classes and I loved being there. She actually requested for me to come back and sub for her classes because the students had such a positive experience. After being with her students I inquired about being an ESL teacher and ever since she has given me a lot of support.

Although I am constantly in a state of war with myself and not happy with where I am at, I believe God put me in a subbing position to be introduced to ESL. I have to trust that it is His plan.

Watercolor Experiment: Night Sky

I've been meaning to blog a lot, but I just bought a mac and I have yet to put Windows Live Writer on it. I also had a hard time figuring out Photoshop (I upgraded from Photoshop Essentials! yay!) and how to put pictures onto this Mac. Whoever said Macs were easier than a PC has never actually used a PC. I knew how to work a PC like it was my job. But I'm getting better at learning this Mac, thanks to my friend, Rosendo!

If you can think back to that my 24 before 25 blog post, which I feel like I wrote ages ago but actually didn't, I had make a watercoloring down as number 15. Mackenzie, one of my really good friends, who lives on the other side of the country, sent me an e-mail saying we should send each other a watercoloring based on the same theme. I thought it was an awesome idea! I have a really hard time motivating myself, so this was a great way to get me going. Plus, who doesn't love old fashioned snail mail. Honestly, I'd prefer a handwritten letter over an e-mail or Facebook message any day. But, alas, times have changed. Also, it's a good way to stay in contact and be intentional with friends in a world where a text message takes almost no time to compose.

Anyways, I chose the theme "night sky" because I love the night sky and have wanted to make this watercoloring for some time based on an item I saw in an Etsy shop. (Top: Mine, Bottom: Mackenzie)

One thing I really love about this idea is how different our ideas can be for the same topic. I love the uniqueness in how we look at the world. Not just me and Mackenzie, but just in general. Mackenzie and I had the same exact theme but chose almost drastically different ways to express that theme. I think that's why I like being a teacher so much. I love seeing the different ways students can interpret information. We aren't made to be robots.

What do you think of this idea of sending watercolorings? Do you do something similar with friends or family?

24 Before 25

As you may or may not recall I made a list of 23 things I wanted to do before I turned 24*. I didn't even get through half the list. This year I made another one. I already know there are plenty of things I'm not going to get through. Plus, I'm posting this about, um, 4 months too late. Better late than never!

1. Go on a trip

2. Read one book a month

3. Finish rug

4. Pay off car

5. Run a 5k

6. Sew a skirt

7. Save for Asia trip

8. Eat a macaron

9. Watch "Catching Fire"

10. Make homemade pizza

11. Visit James A. Garfield's House

12. Go swimming

13. Learn 10 new Spanish words

14. Reorganize craft cabinet

15. Make a watercolor painting (Read the post here)

16. Sub every day for a month

17. Get a tattoo

18. Go to a Cleveland Indian's game

19. Do work at a coffee shop

20. Learn a new hairstyle

21. Send Jillian a package

22. Memorize a Bible verse

23. Continue going to Bible study (even when times are tough!)

24. Go stargazing

Keep up to date with my challenge in the link under my picture to the right titled "Birthday Bucket List."

*You can visit my past 23 before 24 challenge here.