Limoncello Lemon Cake

Lemon throws a ray of brilliant sunshine into our lives.  Spring at its best, a dazzling lemon cake brightens up even the worst of days.

Using a dash of our freshly made Limoncello in the batter along with the zest of a lemon, Liv and her friend gobbled up the glazed slices as we made our way to their afternoon dance class.  With much of the fat replaced by yogurt I felt as though they were getting a treat I could feel good about.  For an adult version Limoncello is used in the sugar glaze as well as the cake, easily subbing out plain lemon juice and zest for the kids.

The smiles on the girl's faces flashed a bright spot into my somewhat dark day.  With comments of "like cake from Heaven", this bright Lemon Cake is dedicated to Monet (Anecdotes and Apple Cores), my friend Annie and their families.  Monet's sister, Pam, rose to heaven yesterday, joining her 13 year old son after a heart wrenching recent tragic auto accident.  In addition to Pam, my friend Annie lost her mother, Yoshi, to cancer on the same day.  Such painful events, yet we know the heavens shine a little brighter with their presence.

Bright with zesty lemon, this light and tender cake won't last long on your table.  One batch makes three smaller loaves or one large.  Topped with a sweet lemony glaze the cake is nearly irresistible!  Limoncello or lemon juice may be used interchangeably with equal heavenly success.

Beans a la Charra

Long ago I have memories of my parents saying, "Remember when we did that, what was it, 20 years ago?" and me thinking, "Wow, 20 years ago?  I've not even been alive that long!".  Well, more and more often I'm finding myself reminiscing about events from 20+ years ago...

For example, some 20 years ago my "bff", Gail, and I spent a good many evenings at a local Mexican restaurant, Chevys (a chain, we were in Northern CA).  They served up the most mouthwatering flour tortillas fresh for "La Machina", tender, almost buttery tortillas that seemed to melt in your mouth.  I began my love of the Margarita during those years as we sampled our fair share while pouring out our hearts to each other.  We shared our dreams, dating frustrations, and general chatter as we dipped our warm tortillas into the freshly made salsa and guacamole while sipping our "ritas".

A few years later had me married and moving away to Kentucky for a short time.  No Chevy's there, however as I began my trek into the food world I learned to make my own Mexican inspired dishes.  I grew my own tomatoes and cilantro for the salsa, whipped up a mean guacamole and even learned to mix a darn good Margarita.

While Chevy's has lost some of its appeal now that I've "matured"  (the margaritas are too sweet for my taste and the salsa... well, I think mine is better) I jumped at the chance to place the Chevy's & Rio Bravo Fresh Mex Cookbook on my shelf.  I have to admit that in the last few years I've sort of forgotten about the book, but recently took it off the shelf and thumbed through the familiar recipes.  

Trader Joe's Carne Asada with grilled onions and peppers

With a Trader Joe's Carne Asada thawing in the fridge I needed a bean recipe to round out the meal.  Beans a la Charra jumped off of the page reminding me of another favorite from Tiffany at I Don't Cook, But My Boyfriend does.  Her Pinto Beans that Rock have become a family favorite (highly recommended!!), and I've made them so often I almost don't need to refer to the recipe.  Beans a la Charra is nearly the same, but changes it up with a different spices.

A couple of cans of Pinto Beans start us off when they are combined with flavorful diced onion and chopped bacon.  With my winter jalapeños bright red on the bush I eagerly diced one up for a little added spice.  Garlic, chili powder and cumin round out the flavors giving these tender beans a Fresh Mex appeal.

 

---------------------------------------

Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Monet, Anecdotes and Apple Cores, and her family as they struggle with a tragic auto accident which struck her sister's family recently.  Chef Dennis has written a beautiful guest post on her blog which sums up our feelings about the lovely Monet.

---------------------------------------

Limoncello

Living in Southern California, and more particularly near my dad, we have an abundance of citrus.  Dad's "groves" (he has a small plot of land but lots of trees!) include lime, orange and lemon.  His mature lemon tree produces nearly year around and supplements the baby tree that we have growing in our own "groves".  With literally hundreds of the yellow fruits ripe at any one time we try to find recipes to use them up as it just breaks our heart to toss them if we can't find an eager recipient.

Limoncello is just the type of recipe that makes you feel good about using lots of the produce.  Using a vegetable peeler, my husband peels strips of rind as thin as he can from the lemons and places them into a jar.  While the peeling does indeed take a bit of time, the completion of this section of the recipe simply calls for "pouring vodka over to cover".  The citrusy jar then goes into the closet for a rest until we remember it is there, usually about 4 weeks or so.

I'm always amazed how quickly the liquid takes on a brilliant yellow hue and emits a most lovely lemony scent.  Within 24 hours the oils from the rind have already begun releasing into the vodka giving the color and scent.  After a good 4 week or so rest, the vodka is ready to be "cut" with a simple syrup of water and sugar.

A quick internet search will turn up dozens of recipes, all somewhat different.  I found one recipe calling for a steeping time of 4 days and another asking for 44+ days.  I also found great variations in the amount of simple syrup used as well as the water/sugar ratios leading me to believe that this beverage is a bit of an imprecise science and that you really can't go wrong.

Next year's lemon crop!

Cutting the Lemon Vodka is indeed imprecise involving variations and personal taste.  My husband has made the Limoncello twice with the lemons being riper the second time.  The riper lemons seemed to release a more citrusy flavor requiring less of the simple syrup than the first batch with less ripe lemons.  His advice was to mix up the simple syrup and add in batches rather than all at once, adjusting to suit your taste and making sure that you haven't gone too sweet.

Brilliant in color and rich with a delightful scent this Italian beverage makes a special treat over crushed ice on a warm summer day (or even a cold winters day, for that matter...).  Limoncello can also be a tasty addition to baked goods and glazes adding a lovely lemony boost to the finished product.

Irish Oatmeal Bread

Steel Cut Oatmeal makes for a wonderful, satisfying, warm-you-to-your-toes, breakfast.  The 1 cup of dry oats, however, cooks into far more than I can eat in one sitting, and if I'm the only one partaking on any particular day I have leftovers.  My Great Aunt Betty makes oatmeal and reheats it for a day or two afterward, which I have successfully done, but with the return of winter-like weather to our soggy San Diego coastline I found myself reteating to the kitchen to bake.  

Oatmeal Bread is one of our family favorites, and the addition of the leftover steel cut oats gives this loaf a slightly nubby texture.  Without giving me a chance to even get a single photograph my husband hardly let this loaf cool before he sliced it up and followed me into the laundry room with a couple of toasted pieces saying, "Wow... this bread is awesome, I meal absolutely awesome!  We should have it more often."

Toasted and slathered with butter or topped with sweet honey (we have some special Macadamia Hawaiian Honey from Felice, All That's Left are the Crumbs, that we have been rationing!) this oatmeal bread with added flax meal gives not only a dose of fiber and nutrition, but a delightful flavor.  The loaf does not last long, and I'm here to say it makes a darn good PBJ as well!

-------------------------------------------

On a side note, our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Monet, of Anecdotes and Apple Cores.  Her sister's family has been in a tragic auto accident and our prayers for them continue. 

-------------------------------------------

Slow-Cooker Spicy Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

After a total of nearly 18 hours at the theater in two days, Liv and I returned home Saturday night around midnight utterly exhausted.  Our girls rocked the stage!!  I saw most of her solo through my tears of emotion, but what I saw was enough to know that she had done well.  My husband had flown across the country and made it just in time to see her take the stage.  My dad called my mom in rehab (hip replacement) so she could listen on the cell phone and the laughter and applause from the audience was carried across the Verizon phone network to her little room 30 miles away, bringing tears to her eyes as well.  An hour later as they announced awards we were thrilled to hear she scored well that evening and received a second in her category. 

Liv's Solo - she dances to Sarah Jessica Parker's "Shy" from Once Upon a Mattress

The next day had us heading back to the theater for the group numbers where the girls once again lit up the stage.  I feel a bit of "ownership" for each of the girls and my heart was bursting with pride as I sat behind an older couple during the small group tap number and listened to them laugh out loud, comment that they loved the costumes and say that this was one of the best numbers they had seen all day.  Yep... those were MY girls!

In less than two weeks we get to head out and do it all over again.  Liv is ready to start packing her bags!!

With both Liv and myself a bit limp the following day we spent a good amount of time sitting on the couch watching tv together.  My son joined us for a while and soon our stomachs were grumbling.  With Daddy back on the travel road, I had earlier turned to the slow cooker, filling it with chicken, onions and spices and let it "do its thing" while we got our energy back.

Before I knew it the house was aromatic and dinner was ready.  Tender chicken was shredded and returned to the somewhat spicy tomato based sauce flavored with Frank's RedHot Sauce, cider vinegar, and garlic.  Served with a bowl of sliced oranges and a side of slaw we all enjoyed the meal and decided to leave the dishes for the next day.  An early night was had by all...

Irish (Steel Cut) Oatmeal with a Ginger-Orange Cashew Topping

An Irish Blessing

May the road rise to meet you

May the wind be always at your back

May the sun shine warm upon your face

and rains fall soft upon your fields

And until we meet again 

may God hold you in the palm of His hand

Six years ago my beautiful friend Annie crossed my path, and my world has been a better place ever since.  Her nearly 5 foot frame literally bursts with happiness and occasionally erupts with the most contagious laughter that has graced this earth.  We don't see each other very often as a few years ago life led her to Colorado.  Leaving behind her little town by the sea our busy lives leave little time to chat, and some of her short visits don't even allow enough time to see each other.

However, every year, about 2 days before St. Patrick's Day an envelope arrives in the mail with some sort of Irish best wishes.  Annie is a beautiful mix of Japanese and Irish, looking more Polynesian than anything, but always signs it "To my favorite Irish Friends".  She nicely includes me with my German blood, but my 100% Irish husband always feels that the card is really for him!  This years card included the above blessing, however, my husband's favorite was the one that told this Irish joke:

Front of Card: "So these two Irish guys walk out of a pub..."   

Inside of card: "End of joke!  But I suppose it could happen..."

Viewing all of the beautiful Irish recipes in my blog travels this last week has led me to the realization that I don't really know much about Irish food.  Pulling out my only "Irish" recipe and tweaking it just a bit, we present our St. Patrick's Day contribution of Irish Oatmeal with a Ginger-Orange Cashew Topping.

I am surprised at how many of my friends won't make Irish, or steel cut, oatmeal as they say it "takes too long".  Many of them love it, but buy it frozen at Trader Joe's or simply don't make it at all.  I have a trick!

Before you go to bed heat 4 cups of water in a sauce pan.  When it boils, add the steel cut oatmeal and turn off the heat.  Cover, go to bed.

When you wake in the morning the oatmeal simply needs a quick heating and maybe a few minutes of cooking, but your prep time will be cut down considerably making this healthy bowl of goodness an easier start to your morning.

Needing something to spice it up, we topped our oatmeal today with ginger and orange enhanced cashews finding the orange permeating nearly the entire bowl giving it a lovely fresh flavor.  Finishing off with diced banana and mango (just what we had on hand, any fresh or dried fruit will do!) the kids started their St. Patrick's Day morning with a nutritious and somewhat Irish breakfast.

Macadamia Coconut Granola Bars

We did it!  The show was a resounding success.  Our last post detailed the last minute sewing, rhinestoning and general chaos that led up to the big day, the beginning of Liv's Competition Dance Season, and I'm here to say that it was all worth it.  

Liv and Molly ready for the Magic number!

My girl hit the stage a-glitter with all those beautiful (hand applied) sparkling rhinestones (I have currently have a great amount of appreciation for sparkle), the sash with my less than perfect stitches that didn't fall off and the hats and headbands that stayed together with large amounts of hidden gorilla glue and red duct tape.  She and her dance team members rocked the stage and brought many of us moms to tears in the process.

Liv and Ellie ready to hit the stage.  Liv's sash almost looks like a pro sewed it on!

Now that the costumes are complete, the real fun begins.  The team will travel the region in hopes of a trophy or two between now and the final competition, Nationals, on the stage in Vegas in early July.  Friday they will hit the road again with costume bags and makeup kits in hand as the first competition sets off.  They are ready!

Yesterday's performance was sort of a dry run for our studio and the girls danced for the community.  In between shows our tireless Booster Club put on a BBQ for the dancers and their families asking each family to provide a side or dessert.  Our assignment was dessert and I had it all planned - Macarons from Jill Colona's book Mad About Macaroons.  However time slipped away and the macarons didn't happen (coming soon!), but thankfully Carolyn of All Day I Dream About Food posted the ideal treat.  Wanting to provide the girls with something a bit sweet, but also something that would fuel them for the next show Carolyn's Granola Bars fit the bill.  Her description, "These are to die for", had me more than comfortable making them without a dry run.  She was right.

Macadamia nuts, crystallized ginger, coconut and dried mangoes brought a tropical flair to our grain filled bars while the rolled oats and golden flax meal provided much needed energy producing nutrition.  Honey and brown sugar lent the perfect amount of sweetness bringing us the ideal dancer treat.  Easy to toss together and filled with nutritional goodness along with a touch of sweetness these bars will be a regular in our household.  Thanks Carolyn, these bars are indeed to die for!!