Strawberry Lemon Quick Bread

I’ve said it before a million times that I am so blessed to live in Florida in the winter time…summer time not so much, and this year doubly so.  With our mild temperatures all of our food crops did amazingly well.  I found that I had an abundance of things that I love.  Two of them being lemons and strawberries.
This year the strawberry and lemon crops have been so plentiful that I had so many lemons and strawberries that I just had no way of getting them used up unless I made something with them.  I searched high and low for a recipe for that used both strawberries and lemons. Weird huh?  Not many out there.  So I adapted a strawberry bread recipe from Union Street Eats and it turned out perfect!

Strawberry and Lemon Quick Bread (adapted from Union Street Eats)
Preheat oven to 375F

Grease and flour a 9X5 inch bread pan

Ingredients:
2 Cups fresh strawberries, roughly chopped
1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
zest of one lemon
3/4 Cup granulated sugar
1/4 Cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 Cup vegetable oil
1/4 Cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

• Place chopped strawberries in a large strainer or colander and sprinkle with a couple of Tbsp of sugar.  Let sit for about 15 minutes
• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, lemon zest, both sugars, cinnamon, baking soda and salt
• In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, vanilla, oil and lemon juice.
• Stir in the strawberries.
• Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until combined.  Do not over-mix.
• Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.  Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
• Remove from oven and let cool before removing from pan.

**This is a moist and delicious bread.  It was gone in no time and I’m looking for another sale on strawberries to make it again!
I also want to give a quick shout out to the folks at The Food Channel.  They featured my blog in “Thing We Love”  So honored…Head on over and check them out.  They have some great stuff on their site (besides me!! LOL)

What We Ate with links and recipes…

So I posted a teaser the other day of all f the food that we ate over the Memorial Day weekend but right after that my computer developed a virus and it took me until Friday of last week to get everything figured back out.  I was so lucky and ended up not losing anything but some of the files are different and I had to reinstall some things.  Anyway as promised…

Starting from the upper right hand corner and going clock wise and finishing up in the middle:

  Tzatziki sauce – this is typically used with souvlaki and gyros but we used the leftovers all weekend sometimes even as a salad dressing!!!

 Greek Salad – Really simple dressing that is fresh and quick to make.

 Marinated Shrimp Salad – So simple and the best thing is you make it the night before and allow it to marinate all night.  Then just take it with you the day of the party.

Watermelon infused with watermelon Vodka:  Simply take a whole water melon and cut a hole in the skin just large enough for a funnel to fit in.  Do this about 12 hrs before serving.  Fill the funnel with watermelon vodka and allow the watermelon to absorb it.  Keep doing this until the desired amount is in the watermelon.  Chill and slice immediately before serving.  Place a cork in the whole for transporting to the party!

 Pork Souvlaki:  This is the souvlaki recipe that I got from my friend Peter over at Kalofagas.  It is the best I have ever tasted and made by me at home!

Bread – We bought it from our favorite German bakery and brushed it with garlic infused olive oil and grilled it…

 
Michelob Ultra – Yummmmmm!

Summer Berries with berry reduction and whipped cream (recipe to follow in a day or so)

Happy Summer!!!

Finally my computer is back to normal and “healthy” banana bread!

I have had some major issues going on with my computer and the bank for the past week.  My computer was attacked by a virus and then my bank account was compromised so they cancelled my access…been a fun week trying to get everything back to normal but at least my computer is up and working!!! 

Most of you know that I have been trying to eat healthier and lose some pounds that have been steadily creeping up. Well, I am proud to say that I am now down almost 20 lbs from what I was at the beginning of the year!!!  Feeling much better and liking the way that my body feels and looks!  One of the things I have been doing is not baking so much but when I do to substitute some of the fat for apple sauce, bananas or pumpkin puree.  So the other day when I had some oldish bananas I set to work…

Banana, Strawberry and Chocolate Chip Quick Bread

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup banana, mashed (about 2 medium sized bananas)
1/4 cup milk
2 cups all purpose flour (next time I will try 1/2 of it whole wheat flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup strawberries, hulled and diced
1/2 cup chocolate chips or chunks (I used semi-sweet but you can use what you like)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F

• In a mixing bowl mix the apple sauce and sugar.
• Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each one.
• Add the banana and the milk.
• In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking soda and salt and add to the wet mixture until just blended.
• Using a spoon mix in the strawberries and chocolate chips
• Pour into a greased 9X5X3 inch loaf pan and bake in your preheated 350 degree over for about 1 hr and 10 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
• cool for 10 minutes in pan then remove to cool completely on a wire rack.

***Based on 16 slices from the loaf of quick bread this is 3 WW Points

Watermelon and Blueberry Margarita!

To me the Memorial Day weekend marks the official start of summer!  I know, by the calendar we are still weeks away from the official start but I have always been a summer lover and it sure is stinking hot here already.  With all of the thought about summer and the long weekend I started thinking about drinks that I could serve over the weekend and I remembered one that I had made last year but could not for the life of me find the recipe for it again.

Finally success!  It is a Bobby Flay recipe and it is a true summer time drink…beautiful juicy watermelon, ripe plump blueberries and fresh from your garden mint!  How could it get any better?  TEQUILA!!!!

Watermelon and Blueberry Margarita (recipe by Bobby Flay)

This makes enough for about 8 drinks…

Ingredients

1. 1/4 cup water
2. 1/4 cup granulated sugar
3. 8 cups diced seedless watermelon (1 pound)
4. 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
5. 1 3/4 cups blueberries
6. 3/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, plus 8 sprigs for garnish
7. 1 1/4 cups silver tequila
8. Ice

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a simmer with the sugar and stir over moderate heat until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute; let the sugar syrup cool.
2. In a blender, puree the watermelon until smooth. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and strain the watermelon juice, pressing gently on the solids to extract as much juice as possible. Discard the pulp.
3. In a large pitcher, combine the sugar syrup with the lime juice, blueberries and mint leaves. Using a wooden spoon, lightly muddle the blueberries and mint. Add the watermelon juice and tequila. Refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
4. Pour the cocktail into tall ice-filled glasses. Garnish with the mint sprigs and serve.

Ricotta Pancakes with Strawberries and Syrup

So I woke up bright and early this morning as seems to be my M.O. lately and pulled some bacon out of the freezer.  My thought was that I would make breakfast sandwiches when everyone woke up.  This was one of those lazy Sunday mornings that I NEVER seem to get and I was just planning on enjoying it.  The girl’s woke up and crawled into bed with us (I was reading and Tony was still sleeping).  Dogs climbed in and it got way too crowded for me so I got up to tackle breakfast…

That’s when the plans all changed.  I wanted something fresh and light.  After the requisite 5 minutes of standing in front of my fridge wondering what to do (I know you do it too…), my plan came to me!

Light and Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes with Strawberries and Strawberry Syrup (adapted recipe from the kitchn)

Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes
makes 8

1 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
pinch salt
3/4 cup milk
3 eggs, divided
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Set ricotta in a fine mesh strainer about 30 minutes before you start cooking, to drain off excess liquid. We used fresh ricotta from Whole Foods that was pretty dry. If you are using a commercial brand that's runny, you may want to drain it longer (or make your own).

Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Combine ricotta, milk, egg yolks, and vanilla in a separate bowl.
Beat the egg whites in an electric mixer until stiff. Add the dry ingredients to the ricotta and milk mixture, stirring gently until just combined. Whisk in a small amount of the egg whites to lighten the batter, then fold in the remaining whites.

Heat a griddle over medium-high heat, and brush the surface with butter. Use a ladle or measuring scoop (we used a 1/3 cup measure) to pour batter onto the griddle. Cook pancakes for about 3 or 4 minutes, then flip, cooking until both sides are golden brown.

Changes I made: 

Less sugar. I was making syrup and strawberries for these so I reduced the sugar to 1 1/2 tsp.

Did not brush the griddle with butter.  I cooked them without any oil or fat and they turned out beautifully.

For the topping all I did was slice up some strawberries and add some sugar to them and let them sit.  How much sugar?  Not sure so just do it to taste (if you want them sweeter add more…).

The syrup I “made” was just a jar of Smucker’s Simply Fruit Seedless Strawberry micro waved for about 40 seconds until it was a syrup like consistency!

***The pancakes on their own are 6 Weight Watchers points add your topping to it and total it out for a total point value.

You may have noticed that it’s been a long while since I last posted.  I am really working hard to change this!  I spent an incredibly busy month doing things for BMX.  We travelled one weekend out of the past month but had another weekend of clinics and then the State Championship in which Kyra is now ranked 8th for 9 year old rookies in the state of FL.  I was just totally uninspired in my cooking through all of this and really didn’t think you would want to see the sandwiches that we were sometimes forced to eat for dinner!  Hopefully I am now back and feeling the inspiration!

You make your own birthday cake, right???

It was my birthday last weekend and I made a birthday cake for myself.  Never really thought about it but from the reaction I got from everyone who knew I was doing this, not everyone does it!  Control issues?  Maybe, but I know what I like and how to get it!  Do it myself.

My birthday always comes when strawberries are plentiful so naturally most of the cakes I have baked have strawberries involved.  This year they took center stage…along with some Limoncello of course!

I first made this cake almost 2 years ago, here, and absolutely fell in love with it.  It is a beautiful dense cake and the mascarpone whipped cream was the perfect compliment but I was not really keen on the sherry macerated berries so this year I decided to macerate the berries in Limoncello…good move too!

Mascarpone-Filled Cake with Limoncello Strawberries – adapted from Gourmet, July 2008

Ingredients:

For cake:
2 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon extract
2 large eggs
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk

For berries:
1/2 cup Limoncello
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups strawberries, quartered

For cream:
8 ounces mascarpone cheese (1 cup)
1 cup chilled heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

Make cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan (2 inches deep). Line bottom with a round of parchment paper, then butter parchment.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. With mixer at low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing after each addition until just combined.

Spread batter in cake pan, smoothing top. Rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles.

Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake to loosen, then invert onto a plate. Discard paper and reinvert cake onto rack to cool completely.

Macerate berries:

Pour the limoncello and the sugar over the berries and toss gently ( allow to satnd for about 30 minutes mixing periodically - or you can do it the real way and bring Limoncello and sugar to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Put berries in a bowl and pour hot syrup over them, gently tossing to coat. Let stand 15 minutes. make cream and assemble cake.

Beat mascarpone and cream with sugar in a large bowl using cleaned beaters until mixture just holds stiff peaks.

Halve cake horizontally with a long serrated knife. Carefully remove top half and reserve. Put bottom half on a plate, then spread evenly with half of the cream and replace top half. Use the rest of the cream on the top and serve with berries.

Cooks notes:
•Cake, without cream, can be baked 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic wrap once cool and keep at room temperature.
•Berries can macerate at room temperature up to 2 hours.

Lots of berries? Make Shortcake!

Florida is having a tough time of it strawberry wise this year.  Somehow the market has dropped and the farmers are selling berries at ridiculously low prices to just get rid of them.  Last weekend there was even a UPick in Plant City that was GIVING them away!!!

Needless to say we have lots of berries right now.  And that, my friends, is a very, very good thing…    
Strawberry Shortcake (Better Homes & Gardens)

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2  cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4  cup sugar
• 1  teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4  teaspoon salt
• 1/4  teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3  cup cold butter
• 1  egg, slightly beaten
• 1/2  cup dairy sour cream
• 2  tablespoons milk
• 5  cups sliced strawberries
• 3  tablespoons sugar
• 1  recipe Whipped Cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet; set aside. In a medium bowl combine flour, the 1/4 cup sugar, the baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl combine egg, sour cream, and milk. Add to flour mixture, stirring with a fork just until moistened.

2. Drop dough into 8 mounds onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

3. Meanwhile, combine 4 cups of the strawberries and the 3 tablespoons sugar. Using a potato masher, mash berries slightly; set aside. To serve, split shortcakes in half; fill with strawberry mixture and whipped cream. Top with remaining sliced strawberries.

4. Makes 8 shortcakes

Strawberry Scones

This isn't the first time I have made these scones and it will certainly not be my last. I love this recipe and cannot thank Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict enough!!! She came to my rescue one day when I tweeted looking for a good scone recipe for a school project that my daughter was working on.

Turns out to be the easiest and most forgiving recipe I have come across in a long, long time!

Scones – from "Tamasin's Kitchen Bible" by Tamasin Day-Lewis (converted to imperial measures)

Yield 12-24 (depending on how you shape them)

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cup (450g) All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup (50g) sugar (+ more for sprinkling)

6 Tbsp (85g) butter (cold)

and either

2 tsp baking soda + 2 tsp cream of tartar + 1-1/4 cup (300ml) buttermilk, sour milk, yoghurt or sour cream (mixed together)

or

2 tsp baking soda + 4.5 tsp cream of tartar + 1-1/4 cup (300ml) homo milk (full fat) (mixed together)

1/2 – 3/4 cup strawberries(100g) or other fruit or dried fruit

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425F/220C and line a baking tray with parchment
• Sift together flour, salt and sugar. Grate/rub in butter and quickly mix in liquid until spongy.
• Lightly knead until smooth and roll to about 1/2" – 3/4" (1-2 cm) thickness.
• Cut out scones with a 2" cutter...or whatever size you want, set on prepared tray for 10 minutes. Lightly brush with egg/milk wash and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until a nice golden brown. Cool for about 5 minutes on sheet pan then move to rack to cool.

***I have made these with blueberries and also dried cranberries with some lemon zest added in. Truly a wonderfully versatile recipe!

****For anyone following Weight Watchers this is a 4 Point item based on the 15 that I made using non-fat plain yogurt.

Big and Bold Blueberry Muffins

I made the best muffins I have ever made the other day.  This is another recipe that I have been meaning to try and just never got around to it.  Silly me. 

This recipe was pointed out to me by Kelly of Sass & Veracity.  She had  posted these muffins and told me they were the best.  If you haven’t been to her blog you really need to check it out.  Kelly is an amazing cook and baker but my favorite thing about her recipes is that she always adds notes on the end.  These are almost like her own personal notes that she has written along the side of the recipe in  the magazine or the cookbook.  Sometimes they are things she would do different the next time or reasons why she did what she did this time.  I have cooked many of her recipes and have never had a “fail”.

I can’t wait to make these again and again.  The possibilities are endless.  You can use just about any flavor combo that you can imagine with these.  When making these muffins Joanne Chang advises that if you want to add fruit or chocolate to the master recipe, do so in 1-1/2 cup quantities and if you are altering flavorings such as citrus zest, or spice, then 2 tsp. of zest is recommended, and/or 3/4 tsp. spice.  Also these are really easy.  You don’t need a mixer and only 2 bowls being dirtied.  Love that…

Joanne Chang's Master Muffin Recipe
Makes 12 big top muffins

3-1/2 c. all purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/3 c. sugar 
10 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 c. whole milk at room temp
1 c. sour cream at room temp
2 lg. eggs at room temp
1 lg. egg yolk at room temp
1 1/2 c. of blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and set aside.  In another bowl, combine sugar, melted butter, milk, sour cream, and eggs.  Add this wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix gently until nearly all the dry ingredients are moist and the batter is still lumpy.

Gently mix the additional ingredients into the batter being careful not to over mix.  Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper cups, and spray over the top of the muffin pan lightly.  Divide the batter evenly among the 12 cups, mounding it.  Bake in the center of the oven about 30 to 35 minutes or until tops are golden brown and centers set.

Cool muffins in the pan placed on a baking rack for about 20 minutes before removing them to a platter.

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com