Watermelon Lemonade

As you know we have an over productive lemon tree so I'm always searching for recipes that'll help me use up some lemons. I started the day thinking I was going to make lemonade, but apparently leaving ripe lemons in the tree dries them out.  Who knew??  So I was suddenly left with a bunch of lemons with hardly any juice!!  I managed to squeeze a cup full from 7 lemons!  Good grief, how was I suppose to make a drink with 1 cup of lemon juice?  Now I don't normally post drink recipes up, but this one was so tasty, it's gotta be shared.

Watermelon Lemonade

ingredients
1 cup lemon juice
2 cups
3/4 cup simple syrup
3 cup water

directions
Stir together and served chilled.

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Lemony Chicken Saltimbocca

Another lemon recipe to add to the list.  I wasn't too sure how this dish was going to come out since I ended up straying a lot from the original recipe.  It couldn't be helped, we were missing ingredients and I needed to improvise.  The result was still a delicious meal, perfect for a hot summer day. It's a dish that taste light, but feels deceivingly heavy.  The initial bite is a punch of lemony tartness, but then you find yourself hankering for another bite.

Lemony Chicken Saltimbocca
(adapted from cooking light)
ingredients

• 4 (4oz) chicken cutlets
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Italian seasoning
• 4 strips of bacon
• 4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1/3 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• linguine

directions

1. In large pot, cook linguine. Drain and set aside.
2. Dice the chicken and sprinkle evenly with salt & italian seasoning
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add bacon & chicken to pan. Cook until done and then remove chicken from pan; keep warm.
4. Combine broth, lemon juice, and cornstarch in a small bowl; stir with a whisk until smooth. Add cornstarch mixture and the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil to pan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook for 1 minute or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly with a whisk. 
5. Combine pasta, chicken and sauce.  

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lemon bundt cake

We have a lemon tree in our backyard that produces lemons like crazy so I'm always on a look out for lemony recipes.  I would like to eventually make a list of 101 things to make with lemon, so far I think I only got 5. This recipe is from America's Test Kitchen and they proclaimed it to be "the best" lemon bundt cake.  The problem they were addressing with this recipe is...  lemon bundt cake tend to lack the lemon flavor and a lot of people try to compensate for it by adding more zest; more zest, however, can make the cake taste a bit... bitter. I think ATK really got this recipe right.

Lemon Bundt Cake
(adapted from ATK)

ingredient: Cake

• 3 lemons , zest grated and saved, then juiced for 3 tablespoons juice
• 3 cups flour 
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp table salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 3 eggs , at room temperature
• 1 egg yolk , at room temperature
• 2 1/4 sticks (18 Tbs) unsalted butter
• 2 cups sugar

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Brush 12-cup Bundt pan with mixture of 1 Tb flour and 1 Tb melted butter. 
3. Mince lemon zest to fine paste, combine zest and lemon juice in small bowl; set aside to soften, 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Combine lemon juice mixture, vanilla, and buttermilk in medium bowl. In small bowl, gently whisk eggs and yolk to combine. 
5. In standing mixer fitted with flat beater, cream butter and sugar at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes; scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula. 
6. Reduce to medium speed and add half of eggs, mixing until incorporated, about 15 seconds. Repeat with remaining eggs; scrape down bowl again.
7.  Reduce to low speed; add about one-third of flour mixture, followed by half of buttermilk mixture, mixing until just incorporated after each addition. Repeat using half of remaining flour mixture and all of remaining buttermilk mixture. Scrape bowl and add remaining flour mixture; mix at medium-low speed until batter is thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds. 
8. Remove bowl from mixer and fold batter once or twice with rubber spatula to incorporate any remaining flour. Scrape into prepared pan.
9. Bake until top is golden brown and wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into center comes out with no crumbs attached, 45 to 50 minutes. 

ingredient: Glaze

• 2 - 3 Tbs fresh lemon juice 
• 1 Tb buttermilk
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar

directions

1. While cake is baking, whisk 2 Tbs lemon juice, buttermilk, and confectioners' sugar until smooth, adding more lemon juice gradually as needed until glaze is thick but still pourable (mixture should leave faint trail across bottom of mixing bowl when drizzled from whisk). 
2. Cool cake in pan on wire rack set over baking sheet for 10 minutes, then invert cake directly onto rack. 
3. Pour half of glaze over warm cake and let cool for 1 hour; pour remaining glaze evenly over top of cake and continue to cool to room temperature, at least 2 hours. Cut into slices and serve.  

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raspberry-topped lemon muffins

Our lemon tree is still producing lemon so my search for more lemon recipes continues. This unassuming muffin really packs a lot of flavor. Not too sweet and so delicious and dare I say... healthy tasting.

Raspberry-topped Lemon Muffins
(adapted from epicurious)

ingredients

1 1/8 cups sugar, divided

4 tsp finely grated lemon peel

2 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg

1 cup buttermilk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 1/2-pint containers (about) fresh raspberries

directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line 14 standard muffin cups with paper liners. 

2. Mash 1/8 cup sugar and lemon peel in small bowl until sugar is slightly moist. 

3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. 

4. Using electric mixer, beat remaining 1 cup sugar and butter in large bowl until smooth. Beat in egg. Beat in buttermilk, then vanilla and half of lemon sugar. Beat in flour mixture.

5. Divide batter among muffin cups. Top each muffin with 3-4 raspberries. Bake muffins until lightly browned on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.

 

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Seared Scallops with Lemon Orzo

I went looking for steak, but instead found fresh wild caught jumbo scallops. This meant a change in the dinner menu, but I'm not complaining since it was a great opportunity for a new recipe. 

Seared Scallops with Lemon Orzo
(adapted from Cooking Light) 
ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup prechopped onion
• 1 cup uncooked orzo
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 2 Tbs chopped fresh chives
• 2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds sea scallops
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

directions

1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; sauté 3 minutes.
2. Stir in pasta, broth, wine, and thyme; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and pasta is al dente. Stir in chopped chives and lemon juice. Keep warm.
3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle scallops evenly with salt and pepper. Add scallops to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.
4. Serve with pasta mixture.

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Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Glaze

Inspired by my friend, I recently purchased a mini bundt cake pan and was looking for a healthier cake recipe.  Since our lemon tree is still producing like crazy, I was immediately drawn to this recipe...


Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Glaze
(adapted from foodnetwork.com)


ingredients
For the Cakes:

• 1 tbs unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tbs grated lemon zest
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup evoo
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp finely minced fresh thyme, plus sprigs for garnish

For the Glaze:

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tbs lemon juice
• 2 tbs melted butter

directions

1. Preheat to 350 degrees. Brush a 12-cup mini Bundt pan with the melted butter and lightly dust with flour and shake out the excess.

2. Pulse the granulated sugar and lemon zest in a food processor until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, then gradually pour in the olive oil and milk, pulsing until emulsified into a thin batter, about 30 seconds.
3. Whisk 1 cup flour, the baking powder, salt and 1 teaspoon thyme in a small bowl. Add to the blender in 2 batches, pulsing lightly until just combined. 
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the cakes just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and spring back when lightly touched, about 22 to 25 minutes.
5. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then loosen the sides with a small knife and invert the cakes onto a rack.

6. Prepare the glaze: Whisk the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and butter until smooth, adding more lemon juice if the mixture is too thick. Drizzle over the warm cakes and garnish with thyme sprigs.

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Puff!

i love beard papa, but i can't afford to eat it everyday, pocket-wise and waist-wise, nonetheless they are one of my guilty pleasures. since my lemon tree has been growing like crazy, it was time to make my own puffs...lemon cream puffs.

ingredients

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs

 lemon filling

• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons butter, cubed
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• confectioners' sugar

directions
1. in a saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil. add flour all at once, stirring until a smooth ball forms. remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. continue beating until mixture is smooth.
2. drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 3 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 400F for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. remove to wire racks. when cool, split puffs.

for filling
3. in a small heavy saucepan, combine the egg, sugar, lemon juice and butter. bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 5-7 minutes or until mixture is thick enough to coat a metal spoon.
4. remove from the heat. cool quickly by placing pan in a bowl of ice water; stir for 2 minutes. transfer to a bowl; press plastic wrap onto surface of filling. chill for 1 hour or until partially set.
5. in a mixing bowl, beat cream and sugar until stiff peaks form; fold into lemon mixture. fill cream puffs & dust with confectioners' sugar.


note: for a stronger lemon flavor, add a little lemon zest to the filling and dough

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