Eat Together, Make Life Delicious...

Lemons always brighten me up during the cold winter months. My kids also like it with a small glass of chocolate milk and even grated chocolate bits sprinkled over the tart. I like it with a hot cup of tea or coffee. The savory yet sweet flavor just hits the spot. Lemon Curd Tarts can also be made with just about any fruit and is great assembled ahead of time. Other fruits to consider are: strawberries, cherries, peaches, apricots, blueberries, and raspberries.

Lemon Curd Tart
Makes 4 mini tarts

For the Press-in Pie Dough:
¾ cup unsalted butter
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

For the Homemade Lemon Curd:
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon Lemon zest
¼ cup freshly squeezed Lemon juice
5 tablespoons refined sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, sliced up into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Prepare the press-in pie dough. Combine the butter, sugar, vanilla, flour, and salt and mix until thoroughly blended. Once the pie dough is formed it is ready to be pressed into a pie pan. Begin pressing as neatly as you are able into a 9-inch fluted tart pan and should be no thicker than ½-inch. Dock the pie crust with a fork (gently poking the bottom crust). If you have baking weights, place them in a cheese cloth and over the crust.

Place the tart pan in the oven to blind bake for 15 minutes. Turning it halfway through the baking process, when its done, the pie crust should be golden brown. If it is not, simply even it in the oven for another 5 minutes.

While the pie crust is baking, prepare the lemon curd. If you want to use store-bought, that's fine. Homemade is just tastier.

Prepare the homemade lemon curd. In a small sauce pan (not over heat) whisk together the eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar. Turn the heat to medium and stir with a wooden spoon until it becomes thick and coats the back of a spoon. Remove the sauce pan from the heat and add in the butter while constantly stirring. The butter will melt and be incorporated. Set it aside.

When the pie crust is out of the oven, set it aside and scrape the lemon curd into the pie shell. Cover the entire pie with plastic wrap and place it into the refrigerator to rest for 20 minutes. Serve at room temperature with a cup of your favorite tea or coffee.

Labels: Comfort Food, fruit topping, lemon curd, tarts

Making homemade yogurt requires overnight patience, but the results are well worth it. I prepare this recipe every few weeks to keep my frig stocked. Everyone eats it here...the kids like it with a vanilla based and then sprinkled with blueberries, strawberries, and sprinkles. And pound for pound, homemade yogurt is far cheaper than what's available at the store, especially if you use powdered milk - just double up the powder to water ratio, and the homemade taste is beyond reproach. It's just so delicious and creamy...

Before making homemade yogurt, it is important to remember a few basic rules: always clean all the utensils and bowls thoroughly as germs can interfere with the yogurt’s natural bacteria growth and when finding a safe place to heat your yogurt, make sure it never gets too hot, or above 120 F. High temperatures can kill the live yogurt cultures resulting in very watery yogurt. To make great homemade yogurt, it takes a little practice and patience. However, it’s worth all the effort for the money it saves, the taste it produces, and the healing qualities it processes.

Homemade Yogurt
1 gallon 2% milk
1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt (IMPORTANT: must contain a live culture, check the ingredients to be sure)

In a saucepan over medium heat bring the milk to an ‘almost boil’ and then transfer it to a non-reactive bowl, such as ceramic and let it cool to about 110 to 120F. Gently stir in the plain yogurt.

Set the bowl in a warm place (about 90 F air temperature), such as next to the heater or by the stove and surround it with kitchen towels, so to make a nest. Drape one towel over the bowl or cover it in plastic wrap with holes to release the moisture. Let the milk sit out over night or about 8 hours. The yogurt will start to thicken during the night and should be left completely alone until it does. The yogurt is not done until it is thick.

If you wake up the next morning and you don’t think it worked, turn your oven on 200 F. and place the yogurt above it (not actually in the oven). Usually if the yogurt is still very runny after setting it out, the issue is probably that the yogurt wasn’t warm enough and simply needs more time to set. Refrigerate it for up to one week.

Places to warm your yogurt
The oven can be an ideal place to warm your yogurt, I use two options:
1) The pilot–Place the yogurt in the oven overnight with simply the pilot light on to keep it warm. 2) Preheating—heat the oven to 200 F. and then turn it off. Place the yogurt inside the oven once it reaches about 120 F.

Labels: fruit topping, healthy, homemade yogurt

I like to make cupcakes for the holidays verses a big jumbo cake. That's not to say I don't make cakes or pies, I do, but I prefer the cupcakes myself for dessert. Why? Well, it's a known quantity and as I stuff myself with turkey and cranberry dressing it is reassuring.

This recipe is based on my grandmother's pound cake, but made healthy. It makes about 14 to 16 regular cupcakes and about 30 mini cupcakes. I like the minis, but they are a little more labor intensive because it is just more poring and hovering over the stove.

Here I give you two topping options: fruity topping or orange icing. For the fruit topping just pick a fruit of your choice.

Holiday Cupcakes
Makes 14 to 16 normal sized cupcakes

4 ounces unsalted butter
4 ounces cream cheese
3 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 cup whole or skim milk
½ teaspoon salt
olive oil cooking spray

Place three oven racks equally apart in the oven and preheat to 350F.

In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip the butter, cream cheese, and sugar on high speed until it turns a pale yellow. Reduce the speed to medium and carefully add in the eggs one at a time. Beat until the mixture is well combined. Reduce the speed to low and add in the oil and vanilla. Add ½ cup of the flour into the butter mixture. Interspersing it with ¼ cup of the milk. When all the flour and milk has been added, increase the speed to medium and beat until everything is well combined. Reduce the speed and beat until the batter is smooth. Lastly sprinkle in the salt.

Spray a cupcake pan with the olive oil cooking spray. Carefully pour in the batter and gently tap it on the counter so the batter settles. The cupcakes should be not more than two-thirds full.

Place the cupackes in the oven to bake for 25 minutes, rotating half way. The cupcakes are done when a toothpick or cake tester is placed in the center and comes out clean.

Pick a Topping and Prepare:

For the Orange Icing:
½ cup confectionary sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 tablespoon orange juice

Combine the sugar, orange zest, and juice in a small bowl and mix until well combined and smooth. Drizzle the icing over a cooled cupcakes and serve.

For the Fruity Topping:
2 cups of your favorite fresh fruit washed and pat dry
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons refined sugar

In a standing blender, add the fruit and pulse until smooth. If the fruit-usually berries-have lots of seeds, use a sieve to strain the mixture. Also, you can skip this step if you like your fruit chunky. Simply dice them instead. Add the fruit mixture into a sauce pot and pour the sugar and maple syrup and cook over medium heat. Gently stir until the sugar dissolves and the sauce thickens slightly, or about 5 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat. Drizzle the fruit sauce over the cupcakes at the time of service and not a minute before!

Labels: cupcakes, easy holiday desserts, fruit topping