Spring Break Recap

Spring break started with a wonderful Resurrection Sunday with family and the next day, Jenna left for a mission trip to Mexico with her school.  The rest of us had planned a fun trip to Sonoma with family but Little got sick and our plans fell through.  It felt a little Covid reminiscent to have plans cancelled and be stuck at home without much going on but we tried to make the best of it.

While our house was cleaned, I took my sick baby & her sister to the park to read for some vitamin D.

Middle's spring break wish was to go to Hot Pot and we tried Shabuya which did not disappoint!

We made a Easter themed "dessert board" one night . . . I don't think you need a recipe but feel free to use this as inspiration for making a fun seasonal board.

Once Little was feeling better, she wanted to bake.  We busted out her mini cupcake maker and tried a new recipe.  You can still see in this photo that she wasn't quite herself :(   I picked these recipes because they were simple enough for her to make herself and all the ingredients were things we had on hand.  The end result was really good so I wanted to include the recipes here on the blog.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream Frosting
(makes 1 dozen)

For the cupcakes:

2 large eggs (room temperature)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk

Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  For best results with paper liners, double them up.

Using an electric mixer (we used a stand mixer), mix together the butter and sugar until creamy.  Add the eggs one at a time and then the vanilla.  Sprinkle in the baking powder and salt and stir.  Alternate adding the flour and milk and mix until combined - don't overman.

Divide the batter evenly in the cupcake liners and bake 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

For the frosting:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
4-5 T lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest

Add the butter to a large mixer bowl and beat until smooth.  Add about half the powdered sugar and mix until smooth and well-combined.  Add the vanilla extract and 3-4 T of the lemon juice and the lemon zest and mix until combined.  Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.  Add additional lemon juice as needed until it seems like the right consistency & flavor.  Frost the cupcakes once they have cooled completely.

Citrus Blueberry Muffins

Winter is the time for citrus in So. California.  The kumquat trees are dripping with orange fruit and the girls pick more every day.  Today I saw some lemons that had fallen to the ground when I was running so I rescued a couple and then picked a few oranges off our own tree and wanted to make some muffins.  After glancing through my shelf of recipes books, I couldn't find anything like the idea I had in my head so I used an Alton Brown "Old-School Muffin" recipe as the basis for these.  The citrus was subtle but good and the blueberries were a nice addition.  

Instead of using the citrus juice in the recipe, I used the peel of the lemon and orange and put it in the food processor with the sugar until it looked like this: 

I maybe should have pulled them from the oven a couple of minutes sooner but they were delicious!

Citrus Blueberry Muffins

makes 1 dozen

Ingredients:

1 lemon

1 orange

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup plain greek yogurt

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

2 1/4 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup blueberries

Step 1:  Peel the zest of one lemon and one orange with a vegetable peeler (trying not to get too much of the white pith).  Combine with 1/2 cup sugar in a food processor or mini chopper and pulse until well combined.

Step 2:  Put that citrus sugar in a bowl and add vegetable oil, plain greek yogurt, 1 large egg, and 1 egg yolk.  Whisk together until smooth.

Step 3:  In a different bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda.  

Step 4:  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined (don't overmix).  Add  blueberries.

Step 5:  Put batter into a greased muffin tin (makes 1 dozen) and bake in a 375 degree oven for 18 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.

 

Non-traditional holiday dessert

Thanksgiving 2018

This year, we didn't have a traditional family Thanksgiving and we celebrated Christmas early with only one of my siblings since my sisters weren't able to come home this year.  Just the 5 of us were in Palm Desert for Thanksgiving.  While we had a wonderful day and made some new family memories (including turducken which we will definitely repeat!), the kids were disappointed not to be with cousins and extended family.

Our dessert choices reflected our non-traditional year . . . no-one really wanted apple pie or pumpkin pie so I made this gingerbread pumpkin dessert and Big made a new recipe - a lemon lava cake.  Big loves lemon desserts, is really into baking lately, and came up with this idea.  We read several recipes online before determining that we didn't want one that was mostly white chocolate.  A lot of these take a chocolate lava cake and use white chocolate and lemon instead.  What we came up with turned out delicious . . . especially with some of our orange cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving dinner on top!  In the future, we thought of incorporating fresh blueberries or a blueberry sauce as well.

Recipe notes:  You can make your own lemon curd, or buy it.  We used the Trader Joe's one.  These amounts are little funky because I was converting from metric weights.

Lemon Lava Cakes (makes 6)
from Seasons and Suppers blog

7 T unsalted butter, softened (plus more for greasing the ramekins)
5 T white sugar (plus 1 T for dusting the ramekins)
2 eggs
2 T whole milk
1 tsp lemon zest
3/4 cup + 1 T all-purpose flour
6 T lemon curd

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Butter six ramekins and coat them with white sugar.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Lightly beat the eggs and gradually add them to the bowl, beating all the time.  Add the milk and lemon zest.  Add the flour and incorporate well.

Fill each ramekin about 1/3 full of the batter.  Using a spoon, make a little well in the middle by pushing the batter away from the middle to the sides.  Place about 1 T of the lemon curd in the well you made, then cover the curd with more batter until the ramekin is 2/3 - 3/4 full. Repeat with remaining ramekins and place filled ramekins on a baking sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are golden and the cakes spring back when touched.  When you remove them from the oven, immediately run a knife around the edges of the ramekins before turning them out on to plates.  Serve right away.

Lemon Chicken with Olives

Chicken . . . it's a healthy protein, relatively easy and readily available but controversial in my house.  It's not my husband's first choice and because I make it often, my kids sometimes groan.  But, I've landed on a couple of dishes lately that are winners.

The first isn't a new idea, I think I've posted it before, but I put boneless skinless chicken thighs in the crockpot and smear them with pesto (lately Kirkland pesto from Costco), pour a little chicken broth over, and cook it for 3-4 hours until it's falling apart.

The second is this chicken pictured here.  My kids like olives but even if you don't, you could leave them out or chop them large enough to pick out.  I used a chopped Greek Olive tapenade from Trader Joe's so the red flecks are pimentos or roasted peppers.

In addition to the family liking it, the bonus was that it's super fast to the table - perfect for busy weeknights!


Lemon Chicken with Olives (serves 4)
from Skinny Taste blog


1/2 T olive oil
4 chicken breasts
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp flour (all purpose or gluten free)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice (fresh squeezed is best)
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp fresh thyme, minced
1 cup olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1 T chopped fresh parsley
4 thin lemon slices (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Season chicken with salt and sprinkle with flour.  Heat oil in a oven proof pan and sear the chicken about 3 minutes each side.   Add garlic, wine, lemon juice, zest, thyme, and olives to the pan.  Top chicken breasts with lemon slices.  Transfer to the oven and cook for 10 minutes.  Serve hot, topped with the chopped parsley.
7 sp

Happy Birthday to Me!

 

My birthday is the day before Valentine's Day and I often make myself a cake.  We had friends over for dinner on Friday night, so I did it early to celebrate with them.  It was a big hit - little kept telling me "you should always make this cake" or  asking "when will you make this cake again?" and ate most of the leftovers herself!  We have meyer lemons on our trees and if you have access to a few fresh lemons, chances are, you also have the rest of these ingredients on hand.  You could even pull this off for Valentine's Day today!  Don't skip the lemon syrup at the end!

How cute is my new spatula?!?

Lemon Bundt Cake
from Martha Stewart

For the cake:
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3 c. all purpose flour
2 T finely grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups sugar
6 large eggs
1 cup sour cream

For the lemon syrup:
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray bundt pan with baking spray (or coat with butter and flour).  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, lemon zest, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium high until light and fluffy (4-5 minutes).  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Mix in the lemon juice.

With mixer on low, alternate adding the flour mixture and sour cream (beginning and ending with flour mixture) until blended but do not overmix.  Spoon batter into prepared pan.  Smooth the top with a spatula and tap the pan on the counter to level the batter.

Bake until a tester in the center comes out clean (50-60 minutes).  My cake got pretty brown in the first 30 minutes so I tented the top with aluminum foil for the rest of the time.

Make lemon syrup by combining the lemon juice and sugar in a small sauce pan.  Whisk it over low heat until the sugar is dissolved.  Let cool to room temperature.

Cool the cake in the pan for 20 minutes and then turn out on a rack to cool completely.  Poke holes all over the cooled cake and brush with lemon syrup.  If it won't absorb it all, let it sit for about 20 minutes and continue to brush with the rest of the syrup.

Meyer Lemon Souffles

Family dinner birthday cake with my girls

12 kids between us . . . how did that happen?

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, I turned 38 two weeks ago.  Age and numbers are so strange sometimes.  I look in the mirror and I know I'm getting older but I don't feel 38 at all.  Two days before my birthday Little got sick - fever, sniffles, laying on the floor completely listless.  I was sad for her and a little sad for me and having to reschedule plans but on Friday night, we sent Big & Middle to their Friday night drop off anyways and after putting the sick baby to bed, I made myself a birthday dinner.  My husband and I learned long ago that going out to eat on Valentine's weekend (aka my birthday weekend) is not always a great experience.  Before we had kids and when they were very young, we'd cook an elaborate and fancy dinner at home instead, working together in the kitchen.  Resurrecting this tradition (with our only kid at home asleep) was really fun this year and I made a couple of new things.  Stay tuned for the risotto . . . 

I still had Meyer lemons and decided to make souffles for dessert.  You may need to adjust the recipe below for cooking time if you use big ramekins like I did but the recipe will yield enough for 6 small ramekins.  I forget how easy and satisfying souffles are and it was nice to have a different treat from cupcakes and cakes.  Not that I didn't appreciate them but I ate. too. much. cake.  My mom made me an awesome birthday cake for family dinner and my BFF bought Valentine's cupcakes on my actual birthday.  Did I mention that party?  It was going to be me, 3 of my girlfriends and our families.  We ordered pizza, drank wine, ate the cupcakes and had a really fun evening.  But when we lined up the kids for that photo above, it was amazing to see how some friendships between girlfriends have now grown to include 15 kids - one friend and her 3 kids weren't there :(.  I also got to see my two best childhood friends that weekend and have a rescheduled adult birthday dinner with my parents and all my siblings - I feel loved and celebrated!

One more recipe note:  If you've met my husband, you know he always has great ideas for improving any recipe.  I didn't make any sauce to pour in the souffles so he mixed together some lemon juice, simple syrup, cointreau and maybe a little brandy and poured it in the middle . . . it was divine!  So, you may want to make a sauce to go with these.

Meyer Lemon Souffles (serves 6)

from Sunset 3/97

1/3 cup Meyer lemon juice

2 tsp. finely grated lemon peel

4 T butter (plus more to butter the ramekins)

1/4 c. flour

1 cup half n half

2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided

 6 large eggs, separated

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Powdered sugar for serving

Begin by buttering your ramekins and coating with granulated sugar.  Once they're prepared, stick them in the refrigerator.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  

Melt 4 T butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour, then half and half, and then 1/3 cup sugar.  Whisk constantly until the mixture comes to a boil and then boil for 30 seconds before removing from the heat.  Use a little of this hot mixture to temper your egg yolks and then incorporate egg yolks and 1/3 cup Meyer lemon juice, and lemon peel.  Pour this mixture (it'll resemble a custard or lemon curd) into a large bowl and let it cool slightly while you beat the egg whites.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.  Beat in 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and continue to beat just until the egg whites hold glossy straight peaks when you lift the beaters.  I like to use the whisk attachment of my stand mixer and I take the whisk off to check the stiffness of the egg whites.

Stir about one cup of egg whites into the lemon/yolk mixture.  Then, very gently fold the remaining egg whites into the batter until you can barely see any white streaks.  Do NOT overmix at this point.

Scoop into prepared ramekins, filling them almost to the edge.  Bake at 375 degrees for 12-13 minutes.  The souffles should barely ripple in the middle if you gently shake them. This will give the souffles a creamy texture.  If you like a drier or stiffer texture, you can bake a few additional minutes.

Serve warm with a little powdered sugar dusted on top!

When your neighbor gives you lemons

One of the things I love about where we live is having great neighbors . . . the kind that say "hi" to my kids and put up with their antics, the kind that stop while out walking their dog to chat, the kind that have your back.  I'm not sure what the residents of our quiet cul de sac thought originally when we moved in with the kids, but we love it and are here to stay!

Our next door neighbor has been giving us citrus from her trees and I made a third variation on the lemon crinkles I've been making recently.  This time, I found a recipe that uses almond paste which is one of my favorite things ever.  You really do have to crumble or grate it from the tube or else the dough will be pretty lumpy and the cookies will be uneven.  I made a double batch  in my stand mixer and baked half of them the first day and refrigerated the dough for 2 days and then baked the rest to give some to my book club friends.

The verdict:  These Almond crinkles are my favorite but the cardamom ones are a close second!  Even though there's no photo of the end result, here's the almond paste you're looking for:

Lemon Almond Crinkles (4 dozen)
recipe from Odense website

1 (7oz) box almond paste
3/4 cup sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 T grated lemon rind (1 large lemon)
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. Confectioner's sugar

Put the sugar, butter, egg, lemon rind and lemon juice in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Crumble or grate the almond paste over the top.  Beat together until the mixture is light and fluffy.  Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Mix until well-combined.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  The original recipe said the dough would keep well in the refrigerator up to 5 days.

Line  baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll dough into balls and roll in confectioner's sugar.  Place 2-3 inches apart and bake for 10-12 minutes or until puffed up and lightly colored on the edges.  Cool on wire racks and store in an air-tight container.

Little Turns TWO!

I cannot believe this little thing is TWO years old tomorrow!! Remember how little she started out?  I still love her littleness and she is such a joy in our house.  When I picture her, it's pushing a stroller with her doll or Elmo along for a ride, carrying her diaper bag full of bottles, sippy cups, and doll diapers.  Like her big sisters, she likes skirts and accessories, and she often asks me to brush her hair in "two" (two ponytails).  She makes friends everywhere and people all over town know her name.  She loves music and sings to herself constantly, has a big imagination and takes care of her babies and stuffed animals like such a sweet little mommy.  Little always wants to know where everyone in the family is and what they are doing.  It's her job to call everyone to the table at dinner "time a deeno!" and wake up her sisters for school.  When she kisses me on the cheek, she asks, "happy mama?"  to which the answer is always, "yes!  you make me happy."

Big and Middle are obsessed with planning birthday parties and themes.  They talk about theirs all year round.  Even though theirs aren't until August and September, as of today, the themes will be "Wizard of Oz Slumber Party" and "Wild Kratts."

When we ask (somewhat jokingly) what kind of birthday Little wants to have, she says "cake."  When pressed or given choices, it's "Elmo."  So, Elmo Cake birthday it is!  Little doesn't share our affection for chocolate so I turned to my meyer lemon tree once again for inspiration and made her a lemon cake with vanilla frosting.  It turned out delicious!

 Lemon Birthday Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (makes two 8in layers)
from Cooking Light

2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1.5 c. sugar
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
2 T finely grated lemon rind
2 T fresh lemon juice

For frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3-4 c. confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 T vanilla extract
up to 4 T milk or cream

Preheat oven to 350 and spray 2 (8 inch) round cake pans with baking spray (or butter and flour).

 Measure flour and combine it in a bowl with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.  Set aside.

Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl.  Beat with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy (about 3-4 minutes).  Add eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition.  Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.  Beat in the lemon zest and lemon juice.

Pour batter into prepared pans.  I use a kitchen scale to make sure they're even.  Tap each pan sharply on the counter once to release air bubbles.  Bake at 350 for 28-30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.  Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack.  Remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

Make Frosting:

Sift the confectioner's sugar.  Beat butter for a few minutes in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed.  Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and turn on the lowest speed until the sugar has been incorporated.  Increase speed to medium and add vanilla, salt, and 2 T of milk or cream and beat for 3 minutes.  If the frosting needs to be more stiff, add more sugar.  If it needs to be thinned out, add remaining milk 1 tablespoon at a time.

Frost cake and serve!

Lemon Chia Seed Muffins

To start off February right after not much blogging in January, here are some pictures of my soon to be 2 year old!

Our Meyer lemon tree has exploded with ripe lemons and I stumbled upon this recipe as I was looking for ideas of how to use some of them.  Granted, 1 zested lemon and a few tablespoons of juice isn't going to get me very far, but these had a great lemony flavor and I liked the chia seeds (sort of like a lemon poppyseed cake).  I made mini muffins and got about 2.5 dozen.  I can't remember exactly how long they took, but I think around 13-15 minutes.

Lemon Chia Seed Muffins (1 dozen)

2 c. flour
3 T chia seeds
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
8 T butter, softened
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 lemon, zested
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. Greek vanilla yogurt (nonfat)

1/2 c. powdered sugar
1-2 T fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare muffin tin by buttering it or using liners.

In a small bowl, combine flour, chia seeds, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.  Set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Mix in lemon zest and vanilla.

Using a spatula mix in the flour an yogurt until just combined.  Fill muffin tins about 2/3 of the way full.  Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.  Cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool fully.

Prepare glaze by whisking the lemon juice and powdered sugar until smooth.  Drizzle a little over the top of each muffin and let the glaze set before serving.

Meyer Lemon Muffins

Let me help!  I want to mix too!

Well, at least I get to try them!

Not much to say - they were delicious and didn't last long around our house!

Meyer Lemon Muffins (makes 18)
adapted from LA Times

2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 Meyer lemons
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl and set aside.  Cut the lemons into 1 inch pieces removing the seeds as you go.  Put them in a chopper, blender, or food processor and pulse until the lemon is finely chopped.

In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs.  Add the milk, butter, and lemon.  Stir.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the lemon mixture.  Stir until all the ingredients are just moistened.  Spoon the batter into a lined muffin tin, filling about half way full.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack and serve warm.

*Half of the recipe makes 24 mini muffins.  Reduce baking time to 12 minutes.

Meyer Lemon Sugar Cookies

I love meyer lemons and recently was given some yummy ones.  I had to try new cookies although I still like the Meyer Lemon Cardamom Crinkles we made last year.  That last year's recipe and post was almost exactly a year ago and it's crazy to see how much bigger my girls look now.  As Middle helped me out in her Rapunzel dress, it also reminded me of baking with this other Rapunzel . . . ironically, we made a lemon meringue pie.

The verdict on the new recipe:  While these had less lemon in them, they were a delicately flavored and textured sugar cookie.  It actually reminded me of my Grandma's sour cream cookies with a lemon flair.  We all gave them 2 thumbs up and with 4 dozen, passed some out to teachers, our tennis instructor, and friends.

Before I share the recipe, here are some pictures to show you how huge my kids are these days!  How did I get to be the mom of 3 so beautiful, smart, and funny children?  Most of the time, I can't believe believe I'm the mom.

Meyer Lemon Cookies (makes 4 dozen)

from Patent & the Pantry

2 3/4 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. butter, softened

1.5 cups white sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

zest of one large Meyer lemon

4 T fresh Meyer lemon juice

1/2 c. sugar for rolling the cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with silpat or parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the egg, vanilla, lemon zest and juice.  Add the dry ingredients, beating until just combined.  

Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and then roll in sugar.  Place on prepared cookie sheets.  Bake for 8-10 minutes until delicately golden and and slightly cracked in the center.  Let them cool on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

Meyer Lemon Cardamom Crinkles

The dough

Monday was a holiday for me and Big and we did some fun things around the house - organized some shelves in preparation for baby sister, 2 trips to Target, went out for lunch with Daddy, finger-painted, and made cookies.  I was looking around Pinterest for Meyer Lemon recipes after the girls picked some beauties from our potted tree in the backyard and this one caught my eye.

They were great - not overly sweet, distinct cardamom flavor, and cakey texture.  We made a decent mess baking them although the recipe isn't very complicated.  I used this cool microplane zester thing that I got for Christmas (4 Meyer lemons is a lot of zest!).  The dough was pretty sticky for forming balls and rolling in the powdered sugar and maybe a little time in the refrigerator would help that (or dipping your hands in water keeps the dough from sticking too bad).

The cookies

Meyer Lemon Cardamom Crinkles (makes 2 dozen)
from Cooking Channel TV via Pinterest

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
zest of 4 Meyer lemons
1 stick (8 T) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cardamom, baking powder, sea salt, and lemon zest.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter for about a minute.  Add the granulated sugar and cream for 2 minutes more.  Add the eggs, one at at time, and the vanilla extract.  Carefully mix in the flour mixture, just until combined.  Don't over mix.

Sift the powdered sugar into a shallow bowl.  Roll the dough into balls (about 1 tablespoon each) and roll in powdered sugar before placing on a cookie sheet (leave about 2 in between the dough balls).  Bake at 350 degrees for 11-13 minutes or until the tops are cracked and puffed up.  They won't really get brown.  Cool on a wire rack.

Lemon Raspberry Muffins

Wow . . . over a week between posts this time.  In that time, I had a really bad day of throwing up and was unable to look at / prepare / eat food for awhile.  I also had an amazing trip to Washington (with Little, my travel buddy) to visit my friend and college roommate and then yesterday, fall quarter began I'm back to work.  No wonder I'm tired!

Before all that happened, I made some great muffins.  I've never done the sugar / citrus part like this before in a recipe and I'm a huge fan.  Our farmer's market had some yummy raspberries and I had looked at this recipe for awhile.  I can see this being the base for a lot of variations (different citrus in place of lemon, other berries instead of raspberries).  The unfortunate part was I didn't take the muffins out of the oven as soon as I should have and I had a lot of raspberry seeds stuck in my teeth but still, they were so worth it.

Happy fall (tomorrow) - are you ready for all the pumpkiny stuff I'm going to make this fall?  We're off to the beach for the last day of summer - enjoy your weekend!

Lemon Raspberry Muffins (makes 1 dozen)
from Eating Well July/Aug 07

1 lemon
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
1/3 c. canola oil
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup white whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1.5 cups fresh or frozen (but not thawed) raspberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line 12 large muffin cups with paper liners (or spray with cooking spray).

Use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest from the lemon in long strips.  Put it in a food processor with the sugar.  Pulse until the zest is very finely chopped into the sugar. I only have a mini chopper so at this point, I just whisked the rest of the wet ingredients into the sugar in a bowl.  If you have a regular food processor, add the buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla to the food processor and pulse until blended.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Add the buttermilk mixture and fold until almost blended (don't over mix).  Gently fold in the raspberries.  Divide among the muffin cups.

Bake the muffins until the edges and top are golden, 15 -20 minutes.  Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.  Best served warm!

Forgotten Food

It's not often that I make something that I consider to be ridiculously good and forget to post about it.  But, it happened.  I think I made it before our trip to Atlanta and got too excited about posting from that trip to return to this recipe. This grilled chicken was really, really easy and delicious and we all loved it.  Since it's still 100 degrees here, it's still grilling (and not-turning-on-your-oven) weather!

I think marinating it with yogurt really tenderizes the chicken.  I put it in the refrigerator around 9am but it would hold up fine if you wanted to marinate it the night before.  We grilled whole chicken breasts but I bet cutting them into chunks and then skewering the chicken before grilling would work really well. We ate the chicken sliced up with kalamata olive hummus, sliced cucumbers, tabbouleh and whole wheat pita bread.

Click here for a photo and nutrition information

Mediterranean Yogurt Lemon Marinated Chicken (serves 4)

In a large ziplock bag, combine the following and massage the bag to make sure it's mixed well:

1/2 c. plain greek yogurt
2 tsp. lemon zest
2 T lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt.

Add 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts.  Marinate 2 hours to overnight.  Grill and enjoy.

Meyer Lemons

• 
  
• We have a small Meyer lemon tree on the side of our house.  I don't often walk that way or see the tree and you know the saying, out of sight, out of mind.  The other day I was chasing baby girl around the backyard and I noticed that the lemons were really ripe and I wanted to make something with them.  These little lemon cakes were delicious.  Martha Stewart says to divide the batter amongst 6 jumbo muffin tins (like individual cakes) but I made 12 regular sized ones.  They didn't last 24 hours.  Baby girl was crazy about them (she loved any kind of baked good) and when I got home from my race the next morning, the last 2 had disappeared - sad!

We did have some help eating them - our Claremont friends and their two girls came over for supper.  When we first moved here (one year ago tomorrow!) I felt like it would take forever to make new friends but now we're lucky to have this other family that we like to hang out with.  

If you have extra lemons and want some ideas, you might also try these recipes:

Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon Sour Cream Pie

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Lemon Yogurt Cake

Lemon Sorbet

Glazed Lemon Cakes

• from Everyday Food 6/04
• 
  
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for muffin tin
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk or plain low-fat yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated, plus juice, 
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 12-cup muffin tin (or line with paper liners). In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, vanilla, and zest and juice of 1 lemon. Set aside.
2. With an electric mixer, cream butter and granulated sugar until light. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk mixture.
3. Divide evenly among muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cake comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in tin, then cool completely on a rack.
4. Set rack over wax or parchment paper. In a small bowl, stir confectioners' sugar with remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice until smooth. Pour over cakes, spreading to edges with a small knife. Let set 30 minutes.

Lemon Meringue Pie

When big sister got her very first library card and our new local library, she checked out Amelia Bedelia.  I was wondering if she would get the humor or not but with a little help and explanation, she was laughing and enjoying the jokes.  I had forgotten how funny the first one was.  Not all books in the series are as good (and I prefer the original illustration to the later books where the illustrator was changed) but this is a classic.  

After a few reads, big sister asked if we could make a lemon meringue pie.  She had me read the pages where Amelia Bedelia makes it a few times for the directions but I needed a better recipe than good ol' Peggy Parish provides (a little of this, a pinch of that, and mix it all together). Big sis put some muscle into juicing the lemons and liked to lick the rinds after she was done juicing.

The process was true to the Amelia Bedelia books . . . I cooked the yolks when trying to temper them although I've tempered eggs successfully dozens of times before!  

Yuck!

My first pie crust (premade TJs) totally flopped.  So, 8 yolks and 2 crusts later, we had a pie.  It got good reviews at family dinner!

Lemon Meringue Pie (makes one 9 inch pie)

Filling:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 c. cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 lemons, juiced and zested
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 egg yolks, beaten
• 
  
• 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked

Meringue:

4 egg whites

• 6 tablespoons white sugar
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
• 
  
• To Make Lemon Filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour filling into baked pastry shell.

• To Make Meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
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• Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.