Lemon Blueberry Bread Recipe

yum, again!

this lemon blueberry bread is really more of a blueberry cake baked in a bread tin, but hey, i don’t judge. it’s nummy, and nummy and did i say nummy? it’s from all recipes, and was super quick.  i read that it stuck to the pan in a few reviews, so decided to line the pan with parchment paper and that worked swell.  enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
• 1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup white sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8×4 inch loaf pan.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat together butter, 1 cup sugar, juice and eggs. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; stir into egg mixture alternately with milk. Fold in lemon zest, nuts, and blueberries. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool bread in pan for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine lemon juice and 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl. Remove bread from pan and drizzle with glaze. Cool on a wire rack

seafood (crabmeat) pasta salad recipe

this one is from the body for life cookbook.  i can’t tell you how much i love the simplicity, quickness and darn right yumminess of all the recipes i’ve tried out of that cookbook. if you don’t own it- you should!

anyway  i modified it a bit because i lacked some of the ingredients but who cares it was SOOO good with what i did have and took minute to throw together 😀

(If you’d like to make it as the recipe states, remove the onions and add 1 celery stalk, sliced and 1 carrot, peeled and chopped)

Serves 4

8oz bow tie pasta

16oz cooked crab meat (i used canned and it was DE-licious.

1/2 – 1c low fat italian dressing (suit to taste basically)

1/2c red onion

1 lemon

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 bag spring salad mix or 2 head romaine lettuce

Directions:

1) Prepare bow tie pasta according to direction

2) while pasta is cooking combine crab meat, italian dressing, lemon juice onions and black pepper in a large mixing bowl

3) add cooked pasta to crib mixture and toss to combine

4) divide romaine lettuce leaves between plates. top each with a portion of pasta.

enjoy!

raspberry buttermilk cake recipe

i saw this recipe on a few sites and after a recent trip to the store realized i bought a LOT of raspberries. i also realized i had some buttermilk that was on its last leg, so i looked for a recipe that used both and voila, this one came up a lot (smitten kitchen, gourmet, etc). 

so, here you go. one more place that has it. it is simple, the cake texture and light sweet flavor is a great compliment to the raspberries.  this one is a keeper.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
• 1 cup fresh raspberries (about 5 oz)

• Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes, then beat in vanilla. Add egg and beat well.
• At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined.
• Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter raspberries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar.
• Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate.

lavender lemonade recipe

i went to a lavender festival on a farm in capay valley this weekend.  it was a cozy farm,  with a few different types of lavender nestled in the woods and valley.  they made lavender lemonade that was so refreshing and nice, I couldn’t get over it.  so i bought some food grade lavender (very important- you don’t want pesticides on your lavender picked from the yard) and whipped up some lemonade.  it’s fresh and refreshing and a pretty shade of pink- perfect for a shower, brunch or other beautiful spring/summer gathering.

Recipe- Amy’s from allrecipes.com:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tray ice cubes
• 1/4 cup dried lavender
• 2 cups boiling water
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 8 lemons
• 5 cups cold water, or as needed

    

DIRECTIONS

1. Place ice cubes into a 2 quart pitcher. Place the lavender into a bowl, and pour boiling water over it. Allow to steep for about 10 minutes, then strain out the lavender and discard. Mix the sugar into the hot lavender water, then pour into the pitcher with the ice.
2. Squeeze the juice from the lemons into the pitcher, getting as much juice as you can. Top off the pitcher with cold water, and stir. Taste, and adjust lemon juice or sugar if desired. Pour into tall glasses, pull up a lawn chair and a good book, and relax!

 

fresh cherry pie recipe

you can’t NOT sing Warrant while making this pie, you can’t… and to be honest i think it makes the pie THAT MUCH BETTER 🙂

i’ve never had an inkling to make a cherry pie from scratch before… and by “from scratch” i mean, with fresh cherries. not canned. nope. no how. but i bought some cherries this weekend and thought it’d be neat.   the task of pitting the cherries seemed mildly daunting, but honestly once i got to it it took no more than 10-15 mins. it was really easy.  i just cut the cherry almost in half and squeezed the pit out.  in a pie, who cares what they look like (and by the way they looked totally fine)

so i bought a crust… that’s my weakness but it tasted delish either way so i wasn’t complaining.  after pitting the cherries it took another 10 minutes to mix the ingrediants and then they went into the  pie- so easy!

once you mix the ingredients, pour them into the pie shell and dot the top with butter.  then, instead of making a pie pastry for the topping, i take the second pie crust from the package (crusts usually come in pairs), thaw it out enough so it is pliable and lay it on top of the pie.  i pinch the ends together and voila- a pie! with a top crust! no rolling or trouble.  i love it.

anyway… i’m glad to say i’ve made one from scratch. it was pretty delicious. you should give the pie some time to set before eating (i know, i didn’t)  🙂  but then you can impress friends and family with your deft skills!  the recipe is from allrecipes.

PREP TIME	25 Min
COOK TIME	50 Min
READY IN	1 Hr 15 Min
Original recipe yield 1 – 9 inch pie

Ingredients

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
• 4 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white sugar
• 4 cups pitted cherries
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Place bottom crust in piepan. Set top crust aside, covered.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine tapioca, salt, sugar, cherries and extracts. Let stand 15 minutes. Turn out into bottom crust and dot with butter. Cover with top crust, flute edges and cut vents in top. Place pie on a foil lined cookie sheet — in case of drips!
3. Bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown.

PREP TIME	25 Min
COOK TIME	50 Min
READY IN	1 Hr 15 Min
Original recipe yield 1 – 9 inch pie

SERVINGS

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Servings
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INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
• 4 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white sugar
• 4 cups pitted cherries
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter

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DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Place bottom crust in piepan. Set top crust aside, covered.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine tapioca, salt, sugar, cherries and extracts. Let stand 15 minutes. Turn out into bottom crust and dot with butter. Cover with top crust, flute edges and cut vents in top. Place pie on a foil lined cookie sheet — in case of drips!
3. Bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown.

martha’s banana bread recipe

martha's banana bread

i took a cupcake making class this week and really wanted to put my new fangled baking skills to the test.  since part of the class involved getting 2 dozen cupcakes to take home with you- i certainly wasn’t going to be baking any cupcakes or cakes anytime soon.

i got to test the new sugar+butter creaming technique i learned on this recipe.  i didn’t know that butter needed to be creamed at least 5-6 minutes! that’s a lot- for someone still using a hand mixer (gasp!). anyway, i trudged through it and it worked out just fine.

the recipe called for 1 loaf - but i used two loaf pans (hence the shortness)

i found the recipe on all recipes, but someone commented that it was originally a martha post. so i used martha’s instead- but apparently this is a pretty standard (and delicious) version.  the sour cream adds moisture.  it is more light/cake-like than my previous favorite- and i like this one more.  so, enjoy!

Ingredients

Makes 1 loaf

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and beat to incorporate.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.

sharp cheddar macaroni and cheese

i’ve been intimidated by roux for a long time. being from louisiana it’s a rite of passage to be able to make it (or so i thought) for a good gumbo.  so when i saw this recipe that called for a roux i had a mild panic.  little did i know how EASY it was to make one.

this dish took a very short time to make and was a hit at the bbq. i highly recommend it for any of you wanting to branch out from the tinny-artificial tasting boxed mac & cheeses… and cost wise, you aren’t paying that much more to do it from scratch!

mixing the cheese and breadcrumbs for the topping

this recipe is from Gourmet magazine, Aug 2007

yield: Makes 20 servings

active time: 35 min

total time: 1 1/4 hr

INGREDIENTS

For topping

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 2 cups panko (coarse Japanese bread crumbs) or 3 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs (from 6 slices firm white sandwich bread)
• 1/4 pound coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar (1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

For macaroni and sauce

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 5 cups whole milk
• 1 pound coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar (6 cups)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1 pound elbow macaroni

Preparation

Make topping:
Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle.

Melt butter, then stir together with panko and topping cheeses in a bowl until combined well.

Make sauce:
Melt butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat and stir in flour. Cook roux, stirring, 3 minutes, then whisk in milk. Bring sauce to a boil, whisking constantly, then simmer, whisking occasionally, 3 minutes. Stir in cheeses, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper until smooth. Remove from heat and cover surface of sauce with wax paper.

Make Macaroni:
Cook macaroni in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (2 tablespoons salt for 4 quarts water) until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water and drain macaroni in a colander. Stir together macaroni, reserved cooking water, and sauce in a large bowl. Transfer to 2 buttered 2-quart shallow baking dishes.

Sprinkle topping evenly over macaroni and bake until golden and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.

Cooks’ notes: · Topping can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
· Half of dish can be baked in 10 (6- to 8-ounce) ramekins for children (with remaining half baked in a 2-quart baking dish for adults).

gingersnap cookie sandwiches with lemon buttercream filling recipe

i don’t know if you’ve ever had the carr’s ginger cookies with lemon filling but they’re a delicious combination.  i wanted to try to make them at home and couldn’t find a good one on-line (high rated), so i instead tried to find two separate recipes- one for the ginger cookies, one for the lemon butter cream.  i think it worked out quite fine!

all in all this is a pretty simple recipe to make- all i needed to buy (that i didn’t already have on hand) was molasses.  cardamom is an expensive spice, but unnecessary if you don’t have it on hand. it adds a little kick to the cookie, but the cookie really has a nice bite as is

so, i guess the big question is, do these taste as good as the carr’s? do they replace them?  yes, in my book yes.  carr’s has trans fats, number one.  their cookie is harder, number two.  if you like yours crispy, bake them a bit longer and it will all work the same.  i specifically avoided recipes with shortening as well…. i wanted them as natural as possible. the cookie recipe is from allrecipes, the frosting from food and wine.

so, here you go- i hope you enjoy!

cookie ingredients

• 3/4 cup margarine
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/2 cup white sugar for decoration

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. In a medium bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and molasses until well blended. Combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; stir into the molasses mixture to form a dough. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and roll the balls in the remaining sugar. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely

Lemon Buttercream frosting:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter with the confectioners’ sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the lemon juice.

To fill the cookies:

Arrange the cookies in pairs on a large work surface. Spoon or pipe 1 rounded tablespoon of the lemon filling onto the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with the remaining cookies, pressing them together so the filling spreads to the edge

banana pudding recipe

lining the dish with 'nilla wafers

we had a bbq the other day and one our friends requested banana pudding.  so, how could i not make it?  I’ve been on this kick lately to make things completely from scratch (it really does seem to taste better that way), but with limited time, i decided this wouldn’t be one of those occassions.  instead of doing the old standby banana pudding recipe, i searched for one slightly unique, with a few extra ingredents (but no more time investment which is key) and boy did it pay off!

layer the bananas over the wafers

this recipe took, about, 3 steps total and about 15-20 minutes to put together. it needs to set for a few hours (or should, but it probably tastes just as good if you can’t wait).  i had a big debate with myself about making it the night before because, day old banana pudding is supposed to be even better, but i have to say i was glad i made it same day. it was definitel better then to me!

i did this in a simple 9×13″ pan, but thought it would be cute to do in individual ramekins, or decorated creatively. in a rush, i went by the old standby… and well since this IS an old standby, i am jst fine by that!  this recipe is from the allrecipes.com website

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 3 cups cold milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 4 bananas, sliced
• 1/2 (12 ounce) package vanilla wafers 

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk, pudding mix, cold milk and vanilla until smooth. Fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping.
2. Line the bottom of a 9×13 inch dish with vanilla wafers. Arrange sliced bananas evenly over wafers. Spread with pudding mixture. Top with remaining whipped topping. Chill.

caprese appetizer skewers – cherry tomatoes, mozzerella and basil recipe

yum on a stick!

so this is my first savoury post! proof that i can (and sometimes do) do more than bake. but since this doesn’t necessarily involve COOKING, i guess i shouldn’t brag too much.

i was looking for something quick, something striking visually and something easy for a bbq we had this weekend.  i had, at the last minute forgotten about noshes for the crowd while the meat and veggie dogs grilled up.

i flipped open an old recipe book and saw a picture and said, ‘that’s it!’…. it was perfect for an early spring day- colorful, fresh, cool to the taste and best of all easy to make.

for what it’s worth, here’s the recipe but i think you can figure these out on your own!

Ingredients

• 1 packet Cherry Tomatoes
• 1 container Fresh Water Mozzarella – boccocini is what it was called but i found small mozzarella balls at my local safeway and this worked great
• 1 bundle of basil
• chopped parsley (2 tbsp)
• olive oil (2 tbsp)
• splash balsamic vinagrette
• sea salt & pepper to taste

Drain the mozzerella

Mix the olive oil, chopped parsley, balsamic vinagrette, salt and pepper in with the mozzerella and let it marinate at least one hour, overnight if possible

When ready, cut the cherry tomatoes in half and tear the basil leaves into half (or use small leaves)

Skewer a mozzerella ball on a toothpick, then add a basil leaf, put a cherry tomato half on each end

voila! thats it- repeat on your remaining mozerella balls!