Purple, Green and Blue

When I see the contrasting colors of purple and green together they immediately remind me of my two sons' birthstones- Amethyst and Peridot. I did not make this bread because blueberries are purple and zucchini is green, but rather because I like the two flavors baked into sweet quick breads. I've never had the two together, but I really liked it and the crumble sent it over the top. Besides having fruit and veggies baked into one thing, topped with oatmeal, actually convinced me I was eating something healthy. I printed the recipe awhile back and didn't note where I got it from. I tried googling it to find it's origin with no such luck. If this is your recipe, let me know and I'll give you proper credit.

I also wanted to share with you a little about the "secret" anniversary trip Mr. H and I took this past weekend. We spent 5 nights and 4 days in New Jersey. What the heck in is New Jersey you might be asking yourself? Well my new found miracle of a doctor is there. On Friday morning I had abdominal surgery. We didn't take this trip for romantic reasons, but because we're trying to save our family. I am 12 weeks pregnant. If you'll recall, I've had 2 second trimester pregnancy losses in 2006 and 2007. We've been trying to conceive for the past 2 years and in December it finally happened. I didn't find out til January 15th and I've been keeping a secret from you all, not because I didn't want you all to know, but because I was scared.

The procedure I had was for placement of a Trans-Abdominal Cerclage (TAC). I have an incompetent cervix, which means that my cervix gives out and dilates under the weight of a growing baby, thus causing me to go into labor too early. Generally a cerclage is a stitch that is sewn through your cervix to keep it shut. But for me, it didn't work. This cerclage (TAC) was much more invasive and I had to have my abdomen cut open to have it done. The procedure is done much like a c-section, except that the baby is still growing inside my uterus and there wasn't a stitch placed through my cervix. This time a Mersilene band was tied tightly around my cervix just beneath the uterus. As the baby grows, the weight will be supported by this band. It's a permanent fixture in my body and this baby, as well as any in the future will be delivered via cesarean.

So the title of this post suggest that I have two heavenly babies with birthstone colors of purple and green and another miracle baby on the way due in September with a birthstone of Blue Sapphire. The colors in this bread reminds me all 3 of them. The TAC is 98-99% successful so we are optimistically hopeful that we will bringing a live baby home with us in a few months. We've waiting this for this for years and our time has finally come. That's also part of the reason that I've been so quiet lately. I really was sick for a while there, but the rest was from lack of appetite and energy. I am recovering at home now and will be for the next few weeks, but I promise to keep you all updated as I learn about the status of our growing and thriving baby. In the meantime, we are doing just fine and taking it one day at a time. I thank you all for the support you've shown me and I ask that you keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We know that we are not in the clear and I certainly do not take this pregnancy for granted. If anything, I realize how precious life really is because of the loss of our boys. I just want this time to be different.

Blueberry Zucchini Crumble Bread

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For the Crumb Topping:

• 6 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 6 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 cup oatmeal
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. cold butter

For the Bread:

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup blueberries

To make the topping: In a medium bowl, mix brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and oatmeal. Using your fingers, blend the butter into the other ingredients until well mixed. Mixture will be crumbly but should stick together in clumps when you squeeze it. Set aside.

To make the bread: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9"x5" loaf pan. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs with a whisk until slightly foamy. Add the oil, sugar and vanilla to the beaten eggs, and mix til well blended. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet until well incorporated, but do not overmix.

Using a spatula, fold in the grated zucchini and blueberries. Stir by hand until thoroughly combined but try and not break up the blueberries.

Sprinkle a 1/3 of the crumble mixture into the bottom of the greased and floured loaf pan. Carefully pour the batter into the pan and evenly sprinkle the remaining crumble topping over the batter. It's okay to have some some larger pieces of crumble on top of the bread.

Place the pan into a preheated oven and bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes in pan before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

And now for the winners of the Frame By Frame Baking Cookbook Giveaway!

#40- Becky and #62- LeAnne!

Congrats ladies! I'll email for your addresses. Enjoy the books!