Zona 78, West Tucson

On vacation a few weeks ago, our innkeeper recommended Zona 78. It's close, and it's Italian, so we said, "Why not?" Little did we know what a treat we were in for!

Zona 78 makes most, if not all, of their cheeses and noodles in house. How sweet is that? Plus, they try to use local produce. It might not all be organic, but they sure seem to be health-conscious to those who are trying to make good choices. Beyond that, the aesthetic value was pleasing. While it's located in a strip of stores, which first made me wonder about the atmosphere, we were greeted at the door and shown right to a seat without a wait. They have a bar area, tables, or booths, whichever your preference. We sat at a booth, and the lights weren't too bright, but they weren't too dim either. (I personally hate it when it's so dark that I can't see the food I'm eating. Read: What are they trying to hide?) Families as well as couples filled the restaurant, and I could quickly tell that it was a popular place, even for a Thursday night.

When ordering, we decided to try their BBQ chicken pizza, by recommendation of our server. We soon found out why:  a thin crust with chicken, crispy bacon, caramelized onions, and fresh mozzarella cheese in perfect combination. We easily ate the whole thing!!

But I get ahead of myself. We enjoyed an appetizer too- Local Tomato and Mozzarella Bruschetta. They have a different take on it, because the slice the cheese and tomato, and bring out this great creamy balsamic vinegar sauce. It was tasty!!

On our way out, the door was open for us again, and the attendants were very conversational. As we were about to pull away, the manager came up to give us a coupon for a free appetizer when we returned the next time. We explained that we were just vacationing, but really enjoyed ourselves, and left.

Well, well, two nights later, we easily decided to go back. And guess what? The manager actually remembered us and made a point to come to our table and say thanks for coming back. Now that is good customer service, right? I was impressed. So we used our coupon to order the Bianco Pizza, an appetizer, and then split the Rigatoni Bolognese. It was plenty for both of us, and the homemade ricotta was very good. I only wished I lived in Tucson so I could make it a regular stopping point!!

A Growing Garden

My first garden is doing quite well! We put up a chicken wire fence to keep some of the small animals out a few weeks ago, and everything is growing well. It looks even better than this picture that I took a few days ago!

The corn is about three feet tall, and my tomato plants are a little shorter than that. I even have a few blooms on the tomato plants. (Thanks dad for the stakes). My beans are really starting to expand, and I can't wait for fresh green beans!! Oh, it just sounds so good! And my peas are looking tasty as well. I've counted several pods forming, though they aren't ready to pick yet.

I have only weeded twice or so, and even then the weeds weren't too bad. I'm so thankful for that! I did have trouble with bugs getting the bean plants early on, but they seem to be doing better now. That diatomaceous earth stuff must work, and it's supposed to be organic too. Needless to say, I always rinse things really well before we eat or preserve them.

I am hoping that by the end of the month, I will have fresh peas at least, and maybe green beans soon after. Yum!!

Making Strawberry Freezer Jam

Making strawberry freezer jam wasn't as hard as I thought. Of course, they probably have to test the directions on a bunch of people before they print them, but still, I was pleasantly surprised that all of my jam set up like it was supposed to in the 24 hour waiting period before I put it in the freezer to store. The hardest part (or most tiresome) is actually cutting and mashing the berries up. Mine were freshly picked from my parent's patch, but they had a few spots to work around and you are supposed to mash them with a potato masher, one cup at a time. (My arm is now sore, but for the record I did two cups at a time and it worked fine)  Still, it was worth the effort and I did four batches. Not all of them are even in the picture.

 

I also tried the less-sugar needed recipe, which calls for Splenda. But it's not a freezer recipe, it is a cooked recipe. I personally don't like that as much, but it is a ton less sugar (twelve small packs of Splenda compared to four cups of sugar). So it does help in that aspect. All in all, I will stick with the freezer jam, or maybe look up another recipe for less sugar that is a freezer jam recipe. Those just seem fresher when you actually use them.

Thanks for a successful canning session, Sure Jell.