Sunday, July 31, 2011

Lemon Lime Bars


Looks good, right? I'm a fan. I'm a fan of all things lemony. Actually more of all things citrusy. Yummy, yummy lemons.

Especially in the summer. I like really tart things. I can drink plain lemon juice and enjoy it. I think some people might think that's a little odd. 


Oh, can I tell you something else that's a little odd? The boyfriend's 8 year old niece is spending the night at our place and just performed a dance for us.  Now this wouldn't be odd in general. What was odd about it was the fact that she performed it to the song "Crank That" by soulja boy. Odd, right? I'm trying to figure out why her dance teacher chose this song. If you don't think it's a little strange look up the lyrics. 


But I guess we probably all do things that seem a little odd to others from time to time. I drink plain lemon juice and eat lemon slices. The boyfriend yells out "Teleport successful. Fuck yeah, bitches!" in the middle of the night (this is another story...) His 8 year old niece can dance to "Crank That" like one of Soulja Boy's baggy clothing and bling wearing 20-year old background dancers.  


What's odd about you? Tell me. I want to know. Maybe you can do odd things with your face? Or you like odd food combinations? Or maybe you just want to read about lemon lime bars. That's not odd. I'll let you read about lemon lime bars now. And you can look at all the pictures, too if you want. And then you can make some lemon lime bars. Since you'll probably get hungry anyways. Just saying...


At first you should grease your pan. With butter. Lots of butter. Everything is better with butter. Everyone knows that. Seriously, though. Make sure you cover every part because otherwise it'll be hard to get the lemon bars out. And they might fall apart in the process of getting them out.
Now, get your dough ingredients. Flour, sugar, sea salt and butter. The dough is almost like a shortbread dough. Very few ingredients. And fairly light.
The butter needs to be softened. So that means either taking it out of the fridge about an hour before the actual baking process or taking it out, melting it in the microwave for about 30 seconds and popping it into the freezer for about 10 minutes. Add the softened butter to the sugar. 
Measure the flour and have it ready next to the sugar-butter mix. 




























Start mixing the sugar and butter until the mixture gets very light in color and creamy in consistency.
Slowly add the flour in about three parts. The dough will seem crumbly at first but will come together eventually. 
When the dough comes together and can be formed into a ball stop mixing and start pushing it into a  9x13 inch baking pan. Then put the whole thing in the fridge for about thirty minutes.
While the dough chills you can make the lemon lime filling. Here are all the things you'll need for the lemon lime filling: limes and lemons, sugar, flour, and eggs.
Add the eggs and the sugar to a bowl. For some reason I decided to use half brown and half white sugar. Don't ask.
Zest all your lemons and limes. That's a lot of work. I know. But it's worth it. I promise. 
Now squeeze all your lemons and limes until you have a cup of juice. 
Now add the lemon juice to the zest and add a splash of vanilla extract to the zest-juice mix. Measure the flour and then put the two bowls next to the egg and sugar mix. Start mixing with an electric mixer until the eggs are well incorporated.
Add the lemon lime juice and zest mix and the flour to the sugar mix and keep mixing.






Preheat the oven!
Get the pan with the dough out of the fridge and put it into the oven for about 15 minutes so that the dough can bake up a little before you pour the lemon lime filling in. I had some left over dough which I used to make some lemon lime mini cupcakes.
When the dough is done baking take it out. Mix the lemon lime filling again to make sure everything is still blended together. 
Now pour the mix onto the dough and put the baking pan back in the oven.
When the lemon lime bars are done baking, take them out of the oven and let them cool down to room temperature. You can cut them into squares or triangles or little pieces and serve them as lemon lime bites. 




Guten Appetit!


Lemon Lime Bars
Shortbread Crust
- 2 sticks of softened butter
- 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
- 2 cups of flour
- 1/8 teaspoon of salt


Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
Cream the butter and sugar together until light.
Add the flour and salt and combine with the butter mix until dough comes together in a ball. 
Press the dough into a greased baking sheet and let chill in the refrigerator for at least thirty minutes.
Bake the chilled dough at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes. 


Lemon Lime Filling
- 6 large room temperature eggs
- 2 and 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
- zest of 3 limes and 3 lemons
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon and lime juice (about 3-4 lemons and three limes)
- 1 cup of flour


Whisk together the eggs and the sugar with an electric mixer. Add the juice, the zest and the flour.  
Make sure you mix the filling right before filling to avoid a separation of the lemon juice from the egg mix.
Fill the lemon lime filling into the pre-baked crust and put the baking pan back into the oven for about 35 minutes.
Let cool until it reaches room temperature and cut into squares/triangles or small bites.




Traditional Basil Pesto



Pesto is just another summer recipe. It's quite versatile. Pasta, pizza, bruschetta, as the base for a salad dressing or just on top of crunchy bread accompanying a green salad. 
Pesto is easily one of the simplest things that can be homemade. It pretty much can't be messed up. And it only has 6 ingredients (including the salt and pepper).
I love green foods. Green things are good for you. I like eating things that are good for me so that I can eat dessert for dinner frequently.
Oh, aaaand I like making things that I can then use in other things. Like barbecue sauce or pesto or liquor infused strawberries. Did you know that you can make Eton Mess or a dessert trifle with bourbon infused strawberries? 
Let me tell you about this pesto now, though. I bought three bundles of basil when we went to the farmer's market. Oh and I only got charged for one because I put them in a bag and the lady at the register thought I only had one bundle.
The basil smelled fantastic. It looked nice, too. Especially after I washed it.
Before getting the rest of the ingredients together you should wash your basil so that it will have some time to dry.




























Lay the basil out on some paper towel or on a kitchen towel so it can dry while you get the rest of the ingredients.
Let the basil dry for a while and get the rest of the ingredients together. Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, garlic and pine nuts (toasted hazelnuts work well, too). Oh, and you'll need a grater if you have fresh Parmesan cheese that comes in one piece.
Grate about 1/3 of a cup of the Parmesan cheese.
Toast the nuts either in the oven or in a frying pan over low heat. 
Peel the garlic and then start the fun part. Pushing the blender button=fun part. Smush all the basil in the blender.


Drizzle some olive oil on the basil and start blending it. If you just have a blender (like me) and not an actual food processor, this will take some patience and pushing basil leaves down on the sides of the blender towards the blade. If anyone has connections to Santa, let him know that I could use a food processor. Thank you!!
Basil and olive oil mush. Pretty, right? So, what's left? Parmesan Reggiano, garlic and pine nuts. Oh and salt and pepper.  Add all that into the food processor or blender. Process some more and then get it out and clean up your mess. I usually try to save leftover glasses from Pasta sauces, jams, olives etc. for potential sauce making.  So if you happen to have an empty glass pour your pesto in that. Otherwise you can get glasses with tops at walmart, target or ikea.
And that's it, now make some pasta or smear it on some crusty baguette or ciabatta. Delicious.


Guten Appetit!


Basil Pesto
- about three cups of fresh packed basil
- 2/3 of a cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 a cup of toasted pine nuts
- 2/3 of a cup of grated parmesan reggiano
- 2 cloves of garlic
- salt & pepper


Combine 1 tablespoon of the oil and the basil by pulsing in a blender until the mix has the consistency of a paste.


Add the rest of the oil, the pine nuts, the parmesan cheese, and the garlic to the blender. Pulse until it reaches te desired consistency and season with salt and pepper.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Visiting the Farmer's Market


Yesterday, I went to the Farmer's Market. I had planned out dishes and baked goods that I wanted to make this week and weekend and had a list and the best intentions. The plan was to go to the Farmer's Market and get exactly the things that I had written down. Nothing else. Because I knew what I wanted to make and had already written down everything I needed. 
Well, it didn't work that way. Usually I'm pretty good about only buying list-items. Well, not 100%, but I  generally don't get more than three or four non-listed items. 
The Farmer's Market though is a whole different story. They just have so many delicious fresh AND organic foods. It's too hard to resist. And all the fresh herbs. I already want to go back. Just to smell the herbs...
The boyfriend and his niece accompanied me to the Dekalb Farmer's Market and took some pictures. Said pictures I'll now use to get everyone else tempted to go to the Farmer's Market as well. (If you plan on going, call me! I want to go with youuu!) 
Oh, if you d want to go be prepared!
1.  Come when you have at least an hour of time, you might get lost in the oil and vinegar section, as I did...
2. Bring a sweater. Even if it's 100 degrees Fahrenheit outside, you'll need it inside. Trust me. Just do it. 
3. Eat before you go. Another option would be to eat something at the bakery at the Farmers Market. Just eat before you shop. 
4. Bring your own bags. They do have some, but they rip easily and you can save the world. One grocery bag at a time. 

So, this is a little glimpse into our Farmer's Market visit.  
At one point, I got a little lost in the oil and vinegar section.

But who wouldn't? Just look at what they have! 
I had good intentions. I really did! See that grocery list in my hand? I meant to just cross things off the list. I swear! But then there were all these other good things... Fresh oregano, thyme, basil, parsley... And they weren't expensive either. 

Oh, and then I came across extra virgin cold pressed coconut oil. See that white tub? On top of the lemon? That's it. Extra Virgin Coconut Oil is fantastic. Not only does it add a nice flavor to anything baked or cooked, it also has a very high heat stability and can therefore be used for stir-frying or other types of frying foods without burning. It has a lot of health benefits as well. But this isn't really a health blog. If you want to know more about it, though, look it up! There are plenty of informational sites about EVCO. 

But anyways, I got excited because I have this one recipe for a chocolate cookie cake that calls for shortening. And I really didn't want to use shortening. So, finding this oil kind of made my day. Seriously.




























Well, and then there was the fruit and vegetable area. I REALLY got lost in there and spent wayyyy too much time looking at everything and picking out wayyy too many things. I'm going to have guests for dinner every night for the next few days... 
It just looked so good! All the fruits and vegetables looked so much fresher and richer than they do at other grocery stores. Will you look at that? Beautiful, right? 

Oh, the boyfriend caught me while I was contemplating buying $18,- organic tahitian vanilla beans. See those wrinkles on my forehead? I got busted with my hands on the vanilla beans. Kind of like a little girl with her hand in the cookie jar... 

And no, I don't always wear cute polka dot dresses when I go grocery shopping. 



























After about thirty minutes the boyfriend and his niece lost interest. Weird, I know! It's the Farmer's Market! There is so much to look at that you could drop me off for a week and I could still find things to look at and be fascinated by.
Oh, here is a picture of the boyfriend's niece who came with us to the Farmer's Market.



























The dairy section is also always quite tempting. I'm not really all that much into dairy products, but when I walk through the Farmer's Market's Dairy section I always remember all these recipes that I've wanted to make for a while but never had all the dairy ingredients for... Like Flammkuchen or buttermilk muffins or parmesan basil pesto. So, there are some of those non-list items... I don't have any pictures of the dairy section. I do have some pictures of fresh fish though!



























Or maybe you like shell fish? Crab maybe? We saw some of those, too. Check it out!
Oh and then there is the meat section, too!

They have german sausage, bologna, salami and lots of other delicious goodies.
And that ends the Farmer's Market Pictures. Because for some reason picture taking isn't allowed in the register area. Actually, that's probably a good thing. Otherwise everyone could have seen how much I bought... And that would have made me look like I shopped for the fat person inside me that I usually try to hide...
Let's go Farmer's Market shopping sometime!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Lime Coconut Sugar Cookies

Summer is all about citrus fruits and berries, right? In Atlanta, the temperatures frequently reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit and I don't know many people who enjoy eating heavy meals if it's that hot. So, these lime cookies taste like summer. I mean that. Lime and coconut. Summer, right? 

They are kind of like a key lime pie cookie if you will. And if you feel like having some chocolate, these can be drizzled with melted chocolate to create an even more delightful summer treat. Coconut, lime, and chocolate. Yes, please. 
Let's start. Let's start with flour, sugar, lemon extract, vanilla extract, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, limes, butter and an egg. 
I forgot to put the coconut flakes into the picture. Because I was busy toasting them and while I took the picture of the ingredients, the coconut flakes were in the toaster oven. Toasting. Making the kitchen smell delicious, turning golden brown and making me want to eat the coconut flakes with some vanilla yogurt (great combo, by the way...)
Oh and here are all the things you'll need to make the dough for the lime cookies: Measuring cup, grinder, bowls, electric mixer (or a kitchenaid if you wan to make me jealous), and a lime/lemon juicer.
To start with the dough making, combine the baking powder, baking soda, and salt with the flour. 
In another small bowl combine the lime zest and lime juice.
Add the softened butter and sugar to another medium sized bowl.
With an electric mixer beat the butter and the sugar together until smooth and well combined. 
Beat in the egg, lemon extract, and vanilla extract. Then slowly add the lime juice and zest.
Add the toasted coconut flakes and then gradually beat the flour mix into the sugar mix.
Tadaaa, that's it. There is your dough. Time to preheat the oven. Pump it up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Well don't pump, just set the temperature. 
Now what do you do with the dough? You set up a little work area. Since these are sugar cookies, it would be nice to roll them in some sugar. If you're into nuts, you could also roll them in some slivered almonds. Almonds work well with citrus-y things. 
For the rolling any kind of sugar will do, except for powdered or liquid sugar. White sugar, cane sugar, raw sugar or even brown sugar will work. I did half of my cookies with organic raw cane sugar and the other half with organic white sugar. Obviously  organic sugar isn't really necessary, but if you care about what you eat even in the slightest it may be something to consider. I am trying to mainly buy organic fruits, vegetables, milk, and meats and am starting to also restock my baking supplies by buying organic flour, sugar, eggs, etc. 

But as I said, if you don't have the organic kind, just use the regular sugar. 

Oh, and here is a little side note, sometimes Trader Joe's organic fruits/vegetable/flour/sugar etc. are cheaper than the non organic kind. It's weird, but I've noticed it more than once, so I'm fairly convinced it wasn't just an accident. 

Alright, back to the cookies. Form them into little balls, roll them in the sugar and place them on a baking sheet.
Put the cookies in the oven and wait, or if you feel like it, you can start rolling more sugar covered cookie dough balls.
By the way, those brownish red things in the dough are the toasted coconut flakes. Just in case anyone was wondering as I was when looking at the pictures... It's been five days since I made these, gee. 
This is what the cookies look like when they come out of the oven. Tasty.
Now you can get fancy and throw some chocolate on them or you can just eat them plain. Some Chewy Lime Coconut Sugar Cookies. with a glass of milk. 
Sounds pretty good, right? 
That tray came from a garage sale. Isn't it pretty? 
Make some! They are really easy and pretty much mess up prove. Oh and if you don't have limes you can use lemons, or oranges or even grapefruit. They all work and make for delicious citrus cookies. It would make me happy if you made some. Or even if you came by and ate some. But they are really easy to make. You can do it. I promise!

Guten Appetit!


Chewy Lime Coconut Sugar Cookies
adapted from My Baking Addiction

- 2 and 3/4 cups of sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking poder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup of butter, softened (not melted, but at room temperature)
- 1  1/2 cups of sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
- zest of 1 and 1/2 limes (grated or finely minced)
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 cup (preferably unsweetened) toasted coconut
- about 1/2 cup of sugar for rolling cookies

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or Aluminum Foil.
In a small bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 
In a second bowl beat together the softened butter and sugar for about three minutes.
Add the egg, the vanilla and lemon extract and the lime zest and juice.
Slowly blend in the dry ingredients and the toasted coconut.
Roll teaspoonfuls of dough into small balls and roll them in the sugar. Place them on the cookie sheet.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
Let the cookies stand on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack or put them on a layer of paper towel to fully cool down.