Summery Lemon Bars

"Do you know where the lemon trees flower?" - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Lemon bars are a quintessential summer dessert - no matter what time of year you make them! I discovered a recipe for them this past winter, when snow and ice was everywhere. They gave a delightful breath of summer, life and color to an otherwise dreary season.

What better time of year to make them than the season which they represent?

Recipe:

Makes: one 8" x 8" pan

Crust:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/8 tsp. salt

Filling:

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. lemon zest

Garnish:

• powdered sugar
• lemon zest and/or fresh raspberries (optional)

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter or spray with cooking spray an 8" x 8" pan.
In the bowl of an electric mixer or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the flour and salt and beat until the dough just comes together. Press into the bottom of the pan and bake for about 20 mins. or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
To make filling: with electric or hand mixer, beat sugar and eggs until smooth. Add the lemon juice and zest and stir to combine. Fold in the flour. Pour the filling over the crust and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the filling has set. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
Once cooled, cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar. If desired, garnish with extra lemon zest or with fresh raspberries.

Eat them under a flowering lemon tree with a friend.

Diaries of a Desperate Novice Bread Baker, part 2

"In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread." - Genesis 3:19

Now I know why being pregnant is referred to as "having a bun in the oven."

Baking bread is (I imagine) very similar to having a child - time, preparation, patience and sacrifice are required. When I pulled my first-ever bread loaf out of the oven and realized it had come through successfully, I was about as happy and proud as a new mom :-)

The bread I made is a Universal Rustic Bread from this simply marvelous book.

The day before baking, I mixed a "Biga" pre-ferment dough to mix in with the regular dough for the loaf:

this is the Biga, after it had risen.

The day of baking, I got up at 8am to start getting the dough ready.

Bread dough, pre-rise

I covered it in a bowl and let it sit to rise for 4 hours.

bread dough, post-rise

Once it had risen, it was rolled in flour, shaped, and left to rise for another hour.

shaping the dough

While it was rising, I prepared my bread peel to receive the loaf. Once it had risen, I laid the loaf on the peel and placed the whole thing in a large plastic bag for a couple of hours to (you guessed it) rise some more.

bread dough, third rise

While it was on the final rise, I prepared the oven for baking - baking stone on top rack, jelly-roll pan on the rack immediately below it to hold water for steaming, close the door and preheat the oven. Finally, I slipped the dough onto the hot baking stone, poured water into the hot jelly-roll pan, and spritzed water into the oven and onto the loaf before closing the oven to bake - at around 5:30pm.

dough going into the oven

dough in the oven, being spritzed with water

Finally, it was time to take it out of the oven.

bread coming out of the oven

As my mom called to my dad when the bread was done, "you've got to see this - she's making bread like they do at Panera!" :-)

Bread cooling

Like I said, you feel like a new mother when it comes out right.

Inside of the bread

I plan to make three loaves total out of this batch. As I experiment with new breads, I will record the results here.

Diaries of a desperate novice bread baker, part 1

"A book of verses underneath the bough/ a jug of wine, a loaf of bread - and thou" - The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

I've never baked bread before, and just recently decided that it was time to learn.With the help of this marvelous book, I plan to become a skilled, experienced bread baker. Homemade bread (done properly, of course) tastes better and is better for you, anyway.
I will be keeping a photographic diary of my bread-baking attempts. Using the above book, some specialized tools and my baker's intuition (as well as frequent, fervent prayer!), I hope to bring off my first ever bread loaf successfully.

So, here we go. Among other ingredients, utensils and things needed for this endeavor, I will need:

unbleached bread flour (King Arthur brand is my favorite)

Fresh and Instant Yeast

A Bread Peel - this one is $10.00 from Bed, Bath and Beyond

A Baking Stone - this is $20.00 by Oneida (yes, I have used it once or twice)

An Apron - this one is made of heavy Denim, my favorite for baking

Now to head to the kitchen!

To be continued...

Vive le France baked brie

"How do you govern a country that has 246 varieties of cheese?" - Charles de Gaulle

Good question, which is why France will never be a world power in anything besides delicacies - like Brie. Make no mistake - this baked brie will have you marching on your stomach like Napoleon's army before you know it.

Recipe:

You will need:

• 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry
• 1 egg
• water
• 1/2 cup apricot preserves
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup chopped almonds
• 1 brie wheel

 Thaw the puff pastry sheet until it's easy to handle. Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix egg and water in a bowl.
Unfold the puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 14 inch square, but be sure it's not too thin. Cut off the corners to make a circle. Spread the preserves on the circle to within 1 inch of the edge. Spread the mustard on top of the preserves in the same way. Sprinkle the cranberries and almonds on top of the mustard. Place the cheese wheel in the center of the circle. Brush the edge of the circle with egg wash. Fold 2 opposite sides over the cheese, one at a time. Fold the remaining two sides onto the cheese. Press the edges to seal. Place the brie seam-side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Decorate the top with the pastry scraps, using egg wash to secure the pieces, if desired. Brush the entire brie with egg wash.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. Let stand 1 hour before serving.

Vive le Brie!

Betsy Trotwood's bulky triangle shawl

"When I had bathed, they...enrobed me in a shirt and a pair of trowsers belonging to Mr. Dick, and tied me up in two or three great shawls. What sort of bundle I looked like, I don't know, but I felt a very hot one." - David Copperfield, Charles Dickens

If you live in a colder climate, and wish you had a nice heavy shawl to wrap yourself in like David, but aren't very skilled at knitting (or you just want a pattern that's hassle-free), you can't go wrong with this Triangle Shawl pattern.

Hint: it's a good idea to make this around the beginning of fall, so that you have it for when the cold weather sets in.

You will need:

• About 640 yards of bulky yarn (I recommend yarn from the Brown Sheep Company)
• Circular knitting needles, U.S. size 15

  
Directions:

Cast on 2 stitches. Knit one row and begin increasing as follows: knit into the front loop, and then into the back loop of the same stitch. Turn, knit to last stitch, and increase the same way as before. Continue this pattern until there are 120 stitches. Bind off very loosely.
With the remainder yarn, attach a fringe along the two shorter edges (see picture).

(If you don't understand any part of the pattern, you can go here for free knitting tutorial videos.)

Tie around yourself, or any long-lost nephews that turn up on your doorstep!

Variation on a Theme: Cheddar Cayenne Chives Biscuits

"Variety is the spice of life" - American Saying

How true this is. While visiting Texas for a friend's wedding, I tasted some spicy cheese biscuits at a restaurant. When I got home, after a brief perusal of Allrecipes.com, I pulled on my apron and headed to the kitchen. The result was this tangy cheese biscuit recipe:

Recipe:
Makes: about 55 biscuits

You will need:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup chopped chives (dried work just as well)
• 1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 cups rice crispy cereal

 In a large bowl, mix butter and cheese until well blended. Stir in flour, chives, cayenne, paprika and garlic powder until thoroughly mixed. Stir in cereal. Divide into 4 parts, and roll each part into 6" logs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Unwrap the logs and cut into slices about 1/2 to 1 inch thick. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges are crispy and very slightly brown.

Not spicy enough? adjust the amount of spice you put in accordingly. (As I found out, Texans love their food on the spicy side :-))

Enjoy!

Summer's Pride Cocktail Napkins

"How sweet I roamed from field to field/ And tasted all the summer's pride." - How Sweet I Roamed, William Blake

 Summer is the perfect time to have parties with cold drinks. And pretty homemade cocktail napkins give a perfect finishing touch.

These cocktail napkins come from the July/August 2010 issue of Victoria Bliss magazine.

Here is a picture of the napkins I made:

Directions:

You will need:

• Cotton fabric (about 1 yard makes 1 dozen napkins, with a little left over)
• Scissors
• 1/2 inch double-fold bias tape in complementing color
• Needle and thread (or, if you have a good eye and a deft hand, a sewing machine)
• Straight pins

Cut fabric into 10-inch squares. Baste or pin bias tape to the edges, sew.

Provide at any event where tasting summer's pride is in occurrence.