Tangerine Refresher

 

I always find citrus to be very refreshing. Whether it’s a squeeze of lime juice in a bowl of guacamole, slices of lemon on top of broiled chicken or fish, or the juice of tangerines in cocktails or other beverages. This summer, when the heat is on, you are going to want a tasty cool down, and this is your answer. Be sure to lay in a big supply of Melissa’s Ojai Pixie Tangerines so that you can turn a good majority of them into ice cubes. Tangerine juice ice cubes are used in this beverage, of course, but they are also delicious when placed into a tall glass of lemonade, iced tea, or cola. 

Tangerine Refresher

 The flesh of 1 Ojai Pixie Tangerine

1 c. milk

½ t. vanilla extract

1½ T. sugar

5-10 tangerine juice ice cubes*

 Place all ingredients into a mini high-speed blender, and blend for 30 seconds.

 *5 regular ice cubes, 10 mini ice cubes

 This is the ice cube tray that I use the most, and I love it! It makes both large and small ice cubes, but I far prefer the small because they are so darned cute. This set also comes with a handy scoop and ice tongs. It makes a great gift, so keep it in mind come Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.

Photo: Amazon

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Lemon Cake with Lemon Buttercream and Raspberry Filling

 

Have you ever come across a recipe over which you become completely obsessed? That happened to me a couple of weeks ago. I had spotted a lemon cake with lemon buttercream frosting that I could not get out of my head. I decided that a thin layer of raspberry preserves would be superb between those layers of frosting, and I became obsessed with making it; it haunted my every waking hour. Despite my obsession, I couldn’t bring myself to make it because I knew it was going to be a project. Over the weekend I simply could not take it anymore, so I made the cake. It took me five hours! FIVE!  It is a good one, I was right about the raspberry filling, but never again am I going to make this cake. In fact, I don’t think I’m ever going to make another cake again. There are four bakeries within a 5-mile radius of my house. Why should I make cake? But if you want to, here…

Lemon Cake with Lemon Buttercream

and Raspberry Filling

Adapted from sprinklebakes

 3 c. sifted flour*

2½ t. baking powder

½ t. baking soda

½ t. salt

1 c. butter, room temperature

1¾ c. granulated sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

2 t. vanilla extract

1 c. whole milk, room temperature

1 heaping T. lemon zest (about 2 lemons)

1/3 c. fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

Raspberry Preserves

Lemon Buttercream Frosting (recipe below)

  Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray the heck out of three 8-inch cake pans with Baker’s Joy; set aside.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

 In stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping down as needed. On high speed, beat in eggs and vanilla until combined, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients just until combined. With the mixer still running on low, add the milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice and mix just until combined. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be a little thick.

 Pour batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for around 21-26 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling. The baked cakes are fluffy, but they are not thick—about 1 – 1.5 inches.

 *Sift before measuring

 Lemon Buttercream Frosting

1 c. butter, softened

1 heaping T. fresh lemon zest

¼ c. freshly squeezed lemon juice

5 c. confectioners’ sugar

2-3 drops yellow food coloring

 In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest until thoroughly combined (about 2 minutes.)

 Scrape the mixture down from the sides of the bowl before setting it on the low speed and adding the 5 cups of confectioners’ sugar, 1 cup at a time.

 Once combined, increase the speed to medium-high and mix for another 30-45 seconds until the frosting becomes light and fluffy. Add the food coloring and mix until combined.

 If the mixture is too thick, add more lemon juice; if the mixture is too thin, add more confectioners’ sugar, 2 T. at a time until desired (spreadable) constancy is reached.

 To assemble:

On whatever plate you intend to proffer your cake, place one layer top side down. Spread a layer of raspberry jam on top of this layer. Then, on the top side of your second layer, slather on some frosting. Carefully invert one layer over the other, so that the frosting and jam “kiss.” Continue this process with the remaining layer, and then frost top and sides of your cake. If you intend to pipe rosettes on the top, or do other type of decorating, you will make need to make one and a half times the recipe for frosting.

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Frozen Creamsicle Crush

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On Tuesday I told you about my charcuterie breakfast and gave you the recipe for Baked Eggs for One, today I am going to give you the recipe for that wonderfully delicious Frozen Creamsicle Crush. It’s not as easy for us to enjoy ourselves these days as it has been in the past, so I say get likker’d up early. Start at breakfast. It makes a whale of a difference in how you look at the rest of your day. I’m teasing of course…or am I? At any rate, whenever you decide to enjoy this, I think you’ll find it quite delicious.
 

Frozen Creamsicle Crush

1/2 of 6-oz. can frozen orange juice concentrate
½ c. water
½ c. whole milk
3 oz. Whipped Cream Vodka
¼ c. sugar
½ t. vanilla
5 - 6 ice cubes

Blend all ingredients in high-speed blender for 30-45 seconds. Makes 3 cups.

Deck Gardening: CARROTS

I have huge issues with holidays, I think I always have. It goes back to when I was a little girl, and had to be good on holidays. Frankly, I thought I was good all of the time, so the fact that there was a certain day that I had to be extra good was a bit stressful. Being an only child was stressful as well, particularly when my mother told me that I was a difficult baby (I never slept — I still don’t), and that, after me, she decided she had had enough. Yeah, that made me feel great. It also meant that I was the whole show, and had no one else with whom to share the joys…or burdens. Then, as I got older, and my mother expected gifts from me on every holiday, even the less celebrated ones, it became stressful as well, because back in the lean years, I couldn’t afford to buy a gift for someone who could have easily enough afforded to buy anything she wanted. So that was stressful.

Mother’s Day was the absolute worst! Eventually I became a mother myself, but that didn’t mean that I ever got to relax and enjoy the day, no, it just meant that my burden was compounded. I still had to buy a gift for my mother, only as an adult, I also had to provide a home-cooked meal. That meant that from the moment my feet hit the floor on Mother’s Day morning, I not only had two young boys to take care of, but also a house to clean, and a dinner to prepare. It was a nice day for her, but it was always a nightmarish one for me, something she never understood.

My husband Jim was always very sweet to me on Mother’s Day, giving me a lovely card, and generally buying me one of my favorite things, lots of plants for the garden. Now that he’s gone and my mother is gone, my day is mixed with anger and sadness. To compound things, today would have been Jim and my 23rd anniversary. So, today, I am ignoring it as much as I can, and focusing my attention on what I hope will be a successful deck vegetable garden.

Today I am planting carrot seeds. I bought a nice variety of organic carrot seeds in various colors from white, to scarlet, purple, and yes, orange. I think carrots are beautiful when they grow because the lacy tops, swaying in the breeze are so tranquil and pretty. I also love carrots both raw and roasted; a variety of colors is going to make for some beautiful dishes. I have no idea what I’m doing here, I have never grown carrots before, but I’m giving it a whirl using this wonderful Guinness galvanized bucket that son Andrew gave me a couple of years ago. I love this bucket, generally it just hangs out in the garage, and I was thinking today that I really should enjoy it as a part of my garden. So, here goes.

The first thing I did with the bucket was to drill a large drainage hole in the bottom. Then, in order to keep it from getting too heavy, I wadded up a little bit of bubble wrap and put it in the bottom, probably about 2 inches up. Then I filled it with an organic indoor/outdoor soil mixture that contains both a slow release fertilizer, and moisture-grabbing medium.

I intend upon planting these carrot seeds throughout the summer, in order to stagger my harvest. They mature in 60 to 70 days, so they have to be planted early to avoid the winter frost. I love the names of these varieties, as well as the cuteness of the seed packets. I am always sucked in by cuteness. In studying the varieties, today I have chosen to begin with the carrots called Red-Cored Chantenay. According to the information that came with these seeds, these are carrots that have wide shoulders, a tapered root, a blunt rounded tip, fine-grained texture, and a red core. Don’t they sound beautiful? We’ll see.

If you love carrots as much as I do, this recipe for Amaretto Carrots is a real winner!

This post is linked to:

Cooking & Crafting with J&J

Amaze Me Monday

Busy Mondays

Over the Moon

Make it Pretty Monday

Celebrate Your Story

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Reader Tip Tuesday

Tuesdays with a Twist

The Scoop

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Wine’d Down Wednesday

Dishing It & Digging It

Thursday Favorite Things
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Funtastic Friday
Best of the Weekend
Pink Saturday
Snickerdoodle Create Bake & Create

Grace at Home

Friday at the Fire Station
Create, Bake, Grow and Gather

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Romantic Breakfasts

It's the sweetest of all days, and what better way to spend your morning than with your special someone and a special breakfast. Whether you're making it for yourself and your sweetie, or the whole family, these dishes are always welcome. Click on the links to get the recipes.

 Fluffy Meyer Lemon Yogurt Pancakes 

People have a lot of different ideas as to the perfect pancake.  I’m a light and fluffy gal myself, but Mr. O-P (from NJ) likes them thinner and with more body, but the cook gets her way and this morning these delicious pancakes graced the breakfast table.

Cream-filled Strawberries

If you've let time slip away and have nothing to serve, these strawberries are delicious, easy, and can turn any occasion into something special.

Bing Cherry Crepes 

If you are the cherry fan that I am, then you will love these crepes. They are easy to assemble, particularly when using Melissa's Ready Made Crepes (something I always keep in the freezer just for such an occasion).  The filling recipe is from Magpie’s Café in St. Charles, MO, and can be made the day ahead and stored in the fridge; the Bing Cherry Sauce is my own creation and the recipe can be found here. When it is time to serve, just fill and roll the crepe, and spoon the warmed jewel-toned sauce on top.

Chocolate Waffles with Fresh Strawberries

If your idea of breakfast does not include something chocolate-y, this may just change your mind. While it is indeed chocolate, it is the rich, dense, deliciousness of chocolate and not something that is cloyingly sweet. Based on an Alton Brown recipe, I lightened up the cocoa, added a pinch of espresso powder, and used mini chocolate chips to better spread the joy. Topped with fresh strawberries it is a decadent breakfast treat.

 

New York-Style Coffee Cake Muffins

One of my most viewed recipes is this one for New York-Style Crumb Cake, and with good reason, it is delicious.  So when I spotted this recipe for the same type of cake in muffin form, I had to try it.  The same delicious coffee cake in a small, portable form is absolute perfection!

Banana, Coconut and Ricotta Pancakes with Ginger Syrup

 I found a decadently delicious recipe that is full of complex tastes and will make you feel that you’re breakfasting on a tropical isle.  The beauty of this recipe is that it, like the ginger syrup, can be made ahead, so you won’t have to labor in the morning to put a fantastic meal on the table.

This post is linked to:

Create It Thursday

Full Plate Thursday

The Weekend Social

Foodie Friday