Tag Archives: lemon

When Life Gives You Lemons….

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Heck with just making lemonade. Find someone who has vodka and have a party. 😛 I believe it was Ron White who said that. Don’t care much for the man but I like the sentiment. Though being the weirdo that I am, I’d probably forgo the party and add the lemons to the vodka with some sugar, let it steep for months and make Limoncello. Then sit back with a good book and have a drink. THAT’S a party!

Wow… I’m old. And boring.

Oh well… youth and excitement wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. 🙂 My teen years, my twenties, even my early thirties, I was so unsure of myself or my importance in the scheme of things and so sure that “omg, I’m nothing! I haven’t discovered a cure for cancer… I can’t even get my son potty trained! I’m a failure!” was the way life would always be. I was fat, not very pretty, insecure and convinced that the world hated me. Now I’m middle aged, fat, not very pretty, still insecure at times (though it’s amazing what age does to that too) and not too worried about whether or not the world hates me hehehe. So long as I have my family, friends and all the people who actually seem to like to read my ramblings (hmmm, same thing as the friends really isn’t it? :-)  )  I think I’m doing pretty good, even on the bad days. They happen… we muddle through them and move on, hopefully a little wiser. So remember that all you young pups. The best years really ARE yet to come.

Damn. This post proves it. I really AM old and boring. *grins*. Love me anyway? 😛

Yesterday, I told you that today’s pie would be a lemon one. Bet you’re expecting lemon meringue or something like that. Nahhhhhhh. Much as I love it, that one is everywhere. So how about a Lemon Souffle Pie? Yep… Lemon Souffle Pie. I have been making this for years (again.. you have GOT to get yourself a copy of The Fanny Farmer Baking Book) and this is one I have not changed a bit. It is fantastic just the way Miss Farmer created it. This tastes just like what the name suggests. Basically because it IS just what the name suggests; just in a pie shell. It is light and fluffy and lemony and so darn easy it’s embarrassing. It has enough sweetness to be very satisfying but is light enough to be good served after a heavy meal (like Thanksgiving or Christmas…or even Easter) for those who want something but don’t want too much or maybe prefer something not chocolate (I know… weird people everywhere huh?). So give this a try. C’monnnnn …. don’t let the word souffle scare you off.

Lemon Souffle Pie

  • 1 unbaked nine inch pie crust
  • 3 large eggs, separated
  • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (takes about 2 lemons for that much)
  • zest from one lemon
  • 3 tablespoons hot water
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  1. Preheat the oven to 425.
  2. Prick pie shell over with a fork. Line it with foil and bake at 425 for 6 minutes. Remove the foil and then bake again until it is just lightly browned; about ten minutes.
  3. Reduce your heat to 325.
  4. Put your egg yolks in the top part of a double boiler (I have also done this part in the microwave on 60% power, stirring after every minute. But be careful to keep an eye on it and stir often if you do it that way.). Add the lemon juice, zest, salt, hot water and 3/4 cup of the sugar. Beat the mixture over boiling water until thickened. Remove from heat and let it cool.
  5. In a medium bowl, beat your egg whites & the remaining sugar until stiff moist peaks form.
  6. Pour the cooled lemon mixture into the egg whites until no streaks of white remain. Remember; FOLD… don’t stir. You don’t want to deflate your whites.
  7. Pour the mixture into the pie shell. Write mildly obscene words in the filling with a knife.  Make pretty swirls on top of the filling.
  8. Bake at 325 until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
  9. Let cool on a rack. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream. Or just hold the pie pan really close to you with a spoon and growl at anyone who gets too near.

Eating My Curds And…This Is WHEY Too Good!

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Don't worry about those drips on the edge. I...erhmmm... cleaned them up.

Yes, I know. that was really really bad. But admit it, you smiled a little as you groaned. And that is really all that’s important to me with this blog. If I can get just ONE person to maybe smile a little as they read my nonsensical posts, especially if they have had a bad day, then all the eye rolling and groaning is worth it. Because believe it or not, you only see the silly side of me in this blog. Well, usually. I guess I’m not being particularly silly right now. Other than the post title hehehe.

I think sometimes that people can a certain idea of what another is like and if that perception is challenged, they don’t like it. It’s rather a “stay in the box I put you in because it makes me nervous if you try and get out” sort of thing. And I’m not very good at being boxed. I tend to try to claw at the cardboard and make a mess or I bring really bad snacks into the box and it ends up smelling like old Cheetos.

I lost a handful of fans from my facebook page today. I can only guess it is because I brought up personal things on the page… i.e., left the box. I wasn’t silly Janet. I wasn’t cutting one liners or just talking about recipes. I was opening the box and letting you see the person inside of it; letting you see that I have worries and flaws and sometimes gets scared. Guess what? I’m human. I know the vast majority of you realize this. You’re the ones who have grown to care for me, silly jokes and all; sometimes serious and all, the same way I have grown to care for you and your lives.

But, contrary to urban myth and legend, I am a real person here on this side of the computer screen. I have bad days too. Mind you, I still tend to get through them with one liners and bad puns *glances at the post title* because that is simply my personality; laugh at things and you get through them… but every once in a while, the bad day wins.  Today, it’s winning. Tomorrow, I’ll be fine and probably follow this post with one chock full of idiocy because I’ll be embarrassed at my openness. But, while I know there are many bloggers and readers that are going through worse than anything I have experienced, I’m still human. Today anyway.

Thanks for listening. Now, on to the recipe! I made home made Lemon Curd. It had been a while since I had and I was craving it. I like the jarred stuff but it just can’t measure up to home made. I used a different recipe. This one is from Ina Garten and I love it. BUT… and this is a big but (no, not a big BUTT; that would be MY butt.) I made a double batch and I’m not sure if that is what caused the following issue, but OMG, my back STILL hurts. The recipe says that this will take about ten minutes of cooking with constant stirring before it thickens. Logic dictates that double the volume would mean double the cooking time, especially if you use a large enough pot so that there is more surface area and less depth. Right? HA! My back is still killing me today because I stood over that stove for an hour and ten minutes before this got to temp and thickened lol. AN HOUR AND TEN MINUTES!! I wanted a back transplant when I was done :-P. That or a taller stove. But… I’m full of buts today… it was worth it. I added some vanilla to this and the end result is a lemon curd that is sweet and tart and delicate and has a slight almost floral essence from the vanilla. Doing a double batch, I ended up with two pints of the most delicious lemon curd to put in my fridge… and take back out and eat with a spoon cook with. THAT btw, will be happening later this week. I have a pie idea in mind that involves this curd, mascarpone cheese and all sorts of yummies. But for now; here’s the curd recipe. The regular recipe; not doubled.

Ina Gartens Lemon Curd

  • 3 lemons
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 pound unsalted butter, room temp
  • 4 extra large eggs
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  1. Use a veggie peeler and cut the peel off of the lemons, making sure not to get any of the white pith. Put the zest and the sugar into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the zest is very finely minced and mixed with the sugar.
  2. Cream the butter in a large bowl and then add the sugar mixture. Add the eggs, one at a time and then add the lemon juice, vanilla and salt.
  3. Pour into a large saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, which will happen at about 170 degrees. In theory this will take about ten minutes. In reality, who knows lol. The double batch took me over an hour and I even upped the heat to medium at one point. Make sure you have a hot beverage near you and the radio on for company 😛
  4. One thing the recipe didn’t mention is straining this but if you don’t, you will have a LOT of teenie tiny bits of lemon zest in it and the mixture, while it still tastes fantastic, won’t be smooth and creamy. So I strongly suggest straining this through a fine mesh strainer ( I LOVE my strainer) by pouring about a cup or two in it (depends on the size of your strainer) and pushing it through with the back of a rubber spatula. Clean it after every time you finish with a cup or two or it will get clogged and take forever. But straining it like this is worth the little bit of extra effort it takes.
  5. When strained, pour this into a covered container (I use canning jars) and store in the fridge.
  6. Use on scones, biscuits, in recipes or just off the spoon hehe.

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Just An Old Fashioned Girl At Heart

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Until you surround it with juicy fruits and some pillowy whipped cream it can seem....

Although I’m sure if my kids had their way, they would delete the fashioned part and just say that I am old. But what do they know? What’s the old saying? Youth is wasted on the young. 😛 Let us old farts be young…or something like that. If I think of a way to put that logically, I’ll get back to you. Until then, I guess I’ll just stay old and feeble minded .

Seriously though, I really am an old fashioned girl. It took me forever to join the 20th century and get a cell phone because I thought they were silly. For the longest time, I only had a 20 pound Tracfone. You know the kind. You had to pull up the antennae to get it to work and even then it only worked on alternating Tuesdays in months with J in them. I still haven’t joined the 21st century when it comes to phones. My phone may be smaller now but it doesn’t have any bells or whistles. I can’t use it to go onliine, I can’t play games on it, I can barely make calls on it half the time. But hey, it’s not 20 pounds! I’m getting there!

I’m old fashioned in other ways too. Ways that make my teen boys still at home roll their eyes and give me the “but the other kids get to!” routine way more than is probably good for my eardrums. I limit TV watching, they aren’t allowed to watch anything over PG unless I’ve seen it myself or know from a reputable source that it’s ok. They are only allowed on the computer one hour one day a week and then an hour and a half each weekend day or vacation day. I’m so cruel. It makes me happy. 😀

I’m pretty old fashioned in many ways when it comes to food too. I absolutely love the recipes I find online from fellow bloggers or cooking sites or what have you and am constantly needing a bib to sop up the drool over so many of the desserts posted. But when it comes to cake, I’ve never been a big cake eater. My vice has always been more along the lines of ice cream. So unless I am craving gooey frosting like I was the other day with the Caramel Cupcakes I made and posted here, I prefer a simpler cake. One that always works for me is pound cake. You can do so much with it. It’s good warm, it’s good cold. It tastes great plain and it can be fancied up and made oh so fattening by adding creamy sauces and sugared fruits. You can change the flavoring in it and get an entirely different cake from the same recipe. Bottom line, pound cake is, in my opinion, the best all around cake when you want a cake but don’t want either a whole lot of trouble making it or something over the top rich and goopy. The one I am posting here has been my go to pound cake for about 15 years now. It has a fine tender crumb and a nice crispy crust; the quintessential pound cake assets. With the lemon flavor I post here, it is a mild sweet NOT tart lemon flavor. If you want more flavor just make a glaze of lemon juice and powdered sugar. So get to cooking!  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. 🙂 This is also excellent with the almond extract variation. In some ways, I almost prefer that one; depends on my mood. 🙂

SOUR CREAM POUND CAKE

  • 2 3/4 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 4 teaspoons lemon extract or 1 tablespoon Almond extract if you prefer an almond flavored cake (yes, you read that right. Four. If you’re not wanting lemon, just omit it and the zest and juice.)
  • 6 eggs
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • zest of one lemon
  • juice of half a lemon (again, omit the zest and juice if you’re not wanting lemon)
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease and flour a 12 cup bundt pan. Or spray with cooking spray that has both oil and flour.
  2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
  3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract, lemon juice and other extracts, if using.
  4. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest in a small bowl.
  5. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating it with the sour cream. Beat well after each addition.
  6. Bake at 350 for 55 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. A few teenie tiny baby crumbs are ok, but no loose batter and if’s it’s dripping, you may want to make sure you turned the oven on. 😀
  7. Let cool in the pan for ten minutes then invert onto a serving plate. Serve cold, serve warm, bury your face in the plate, smear it on your toes… whatever works. I won’t judge. 😀

...pretty unassuming can't it? But don't be fooled.

Memories Are Made Of….Candy

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Back when I was a kid when the dinosaurs still roamed the earth and we all wore Saber Tooth Tiger skins for clothing I used to love to go to the store and buy candy. Lots and lots of candy. It was fairly inexpensive then (we are so NOT getting into the “it’s all relative because people made less money” theory) and there were varieties that are either extinct (like those Saber Tooth Tigers) now or very difficult to find unless one wants to spend 3k online for a 5 ounce box of candy. One of the ones that I loved then and still adore that has made a comeback in recent years is Lemonheads. Little yellow balls of sugar that had a wonderful sweet tart flavor. Not like what they call sour candy today where if you eat it, you literally burn off your taste buds. I prefer to save my taste bud burning for curry thank you very much.

There was a method for eating Lemonheads. You had to nibble off the sour waxy outside coating and then suck on the little sugar ball inside until it was gone. My husband of course, who also has fond memories of Lemonheads, didn’t do this. He needs to be flogged. With a Fifth Avenue bar (which was my dads favorite and which he would eat 6 in a row of even after being diagnosed with Diabetes lol) or a Nerd Rope. I’m pretty sure he broke multiple laws when he just tossed them in his mouth and chewed. But then this is the same man who is shameful enough to eat a Ho-Ho by… *GASP*… biting into it, not eating off all of the outside coating, unrolling it, licking off the filling then eating the cake. I have said before, I love him in spite of his obvious flaws, but he makes it hard at times like that.

That sweet tart flavor of Lemonheads is always something I am trying to recreate but not in candy form because I am old (see Saber Tooth Tiger reference above) and my poor aged teeth can’t handle it. I will get into a “take care of your teeth” lecture at a later date. I originally got this recipe from a Yahoo group back in 2003. I’ve seen it many places since then claiming to be theirs, but rest assured, it isn’t. This has been around for quite awhile.  But being me, I had to change it. I said once that I think there is a chromosome that lets one follow recipes (or rules in general) and I am missing it.  I think it turned out awesome and the taste is reminiscent of those much loved candies. So here you go. Enjoy. But promise me that you’ll go floss after you eat half a pan of these.

Creamy Lemon Crumb Squares

  1. 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
  2. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  3. 1 teaspoon baking powder
  4. 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
  5. 1 cup brown sugar
  6. 1 cup oats
  7. 2 cans sweetened condensed milk
  8. 1/2 cup lemon juice
  9. 1/2 cup lime juice
  10. zest of one lemon
  11. zest of one lime
  12. 1 teaspoon of lemon extract
  • Preheat oven to 350
  • Mix butter and sugar until well combined.
  • Mix together flour, salt and baking powder
  • Add oats and flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture.
  • Press half of the crumbs (it actually took me a bit more because I used a 13×9 inch pan) onto the bottom of a 13×9 inch pan.
  • Mix together the sweetened condensed milk, lemon and lime juices, lemon and lime zest and lemon extract. Spread onto the oatmeal crust. Sprinkle the reserved crumbs evenly over the lemon filling.
  • Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for about 30 minutes then cut into squares but don’t take them out of the pan yet. They will dissolve into a pile of goo. Trust me. 😛 Put them in the fridge overnight THEN take them out of the pan. They will come out very easily if you do that.
  • Eat half a dozen. Floss. Eat more. Get out the Anbesol.

*Gives you the “mom look”* Have you flossed yet?

Honey, I’m Home

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When I was a kid in the late 60’s and early 70’s (I was born in ’64 so I guess I can claim kid-dom up until about 82 or so but I mean little kid here) the music that was around was much simpler and dare I say much more innocent most of the time. I grew up listening to country or “Country and Western” as it was known back then. In those days, it wasn’t the trendy music it is now. You listened to it because you loved it. I also was exposed to AM Pop music; artists like Gilbert O ‘Sullivan, Simon And Garfunkel, Carly Simon, James Taylor and Bobby Goldsboro. They are still singers that I love to be honest. I remember Bobby Goldsboro having a song called “Honey”. It is the worlds saddest song (with REM’s “Everybody hurts” still in first place for worlds most depressing song) about a man whose wife dies while he is at work and how he misses her. The romantic child I was then thought it was so cool that she died and he loved her enough to nurture some stick of a tree for her and I just knew I would grow up to have that kind of love. I conveniently forget about the part where she dies. Alone. By herself. No one there to help. Dead as a doornail. You get the point. I still love the song though. My dad always told me that it reminded him of my mother and made him think of her when he heard it.

I heard that song today on my media player. No, you do not want to know what other songs are on there. It would simply clarify my extreme old age and senility for you. I prefer you believe I have all sorts of modern songs with the modern attitude that goes with them and that I spend my days getting cool tattoos and having people come up to me and say “I just had to tell you that I hope I look as good as you when I’M 25!”. I do not, I repeat do NOT, have Donny Osmond singing “Go Away Little Girl” on my media player. I swear I don’t. If it is there, my husband must have put it there.

As I was saying though, I heard the song Honey today and decided to make something with honey in it in honor of the worlds saddest song. So I made cupcakes. Lemon Honey cupcakes with a lemon honey frosting. The recipe originally comes from Womans Day I took the liberty of making some changes to the batter because when I tasted it (Hey! It’s quality control!) it had minimal lemon flavor. To be honest, it had minimal flavor period. No offense to Womans Day. They do however have a nice tart sweet lemony frosting that I loved. perhaps too much since I ended up with three cupcakes with no frosting. Oops. If you like Lemon, you’ll like these. :-D  While you’re cooking these you should go to youtube (*points to link below) and listen to the song Honey.  You can listen to it and weep while you wish you had a love like that. Minus the dead part. The dead part sucks.

Lemon-Honey Cupcakes Recipe

  • Cupcakes-
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp each baking powder and baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
  • 3 Tbsp grated lemon zest
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • Lemon-Honey Frosting
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
  • 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 7 to 8 tsp lemon juice
  • Few drops yellow food color

1. Cupcakes: Heat oven to 350°F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl to blend. Whisk sour cream, milk, lemon extract, lemon zest and juice in a small bowl until well mixed.

3. Beat butter, honey and sugar in large bowl with an electric mixer 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until blended.

4. With mixer on low speed, beat in half the flour mixture, then the sour cream mixture. Beat in remaining flour mixture until just combined.

5. Spoon about 1/4 cup batter into each muffin cup. Bake 18 to 20 minutes until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove cupcakes from pan to wire rack to cool completely.

6. Frosting: Beat butter, honey, lemon extract  and lemon zest in large bowl with an electric mixer until creamed, about 2 minutes. On low speed, beat in confectioners’ sugar until blended. Beat in lemon juice and a few drops food color until mixture is fluffy and pale yellow.  Taste about 47 bites of the frosting to make sure it’s lemony enough. Vow never to eat sweets again. Eat more anyway.

7. Spoon into a large ziptop freezer bag, snip off one corner and pipe onto cupcakes, or just spread frosting onto cupcakes. Or just eat it all and tell everybody that the cupcakes are really lemon muffins thus they don’t need frosting.

*Points down to song link*

 

Honey

 

 

 

Livin’ La Vida De Limón

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When my dad was alive, he loved anything Lemon flavored. I swear, I could have given him Lemon flavored liver (yes, I loved him even though he loved liver. We all have our flaws 😛 ) and he would have eaten it, especially if I also covered it in a stick of butter and a pint of ice cream. My dad kinda loved his fats.

On the 23rd of this month, he will have been gone for five years. I still miss him. He was my best friend and my biggest fan when it came to my cooking. He would have loved the idea of this blog. So when I saw a jar of lemon curd in the cabinet that I had forgotten about (yes, I do that often) I thought of him. I will probably make something else in his honor many times but today, for him, it’s this easy lemon pie. If allowed, he would eaten all of it in one night lol. Ok, who am I kidding…. one hour and even if I protested. Did I mention he kinda loved the bad stuff? He was diabetic and one of his favorite things to say was that it was the Diabetes that made him want the sweets even more. Though my memory has the man eating a pound bag of Bridge Mix (I blame him for my bridge mix habit) way before he got Diabetes 😛

Dad, this ones for you. I Hope everyone else enjoys it too. It’s creamy and rich, sweet and tart; all in one bite.

WORLDS EASIEST LEMON CREAM PIE

  1. 1 graham cracker crust (homemade or store bought; either is fine.)
  2. 3 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
  3. 1 12 ounce jar lemon curd (usually in either the baking aisle with the pie fillings or the jam section) or 1 1/2 cups homemade lemon curd
  4. 1 can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated)
  5. zest and juice from one lemon
  6. 10 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
  7. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  8. 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • In a large bowl, whip 2 cups of the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Add the sweetened condensed milk, lemon zest and juice, food coloring if using and the lemon curd. Beat mixture until well blended and thickened, about five minutes. The longer you beat, the fluffier the final mixture will be.
  • Spoon into your graham cracker crust; cover and refrigerate.  Chill for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
  • About ten minutes before serving, whip the remaining 1 1/2 cups cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla. Spoon or pipe over over the pie, leaving about an inch edge for the lemon filling to peek through.. Garnish with lemon slices, real or fake 😛

Wish you were here to enjoy this, dad