Meyer Lemon Cake

This is from Saveur and it is baked in a loaf pan lined with butter and breadcrumbs. You glaze it hot out of the oven and let the glaze absorb and then unmold. It is full of flavor and has a wonderful texture. I did not have the lemon extract so I omitted it.

9 T. butter-1 T. for greasing the pan and melt 8 T.

2 T. fine dry breadcrumbs

1/2 cup blanched almonds

1 1/2 cups flour

1 t. baking powder

3/4 t. fine salt

1 1/3 cups sugar-divided 1 cup for cake and 1/3 cup for glaze

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk, room temp.

2 T. lemon extract (see note above)

zest and juice of 2 Meyer Lemons

Preheat oven to 350. Grease loaf pan with butter and dust it with bread crumbs. Invert and tap out the excess crumbs, set aside. In a food processor, grind the almonds until fine. Combine dry ingredients and sift together. Combine melted butter and 1 c. sugar in electric mixer and beat on low 1 minute. Add eggs one at a time , beating just to incorporate. Alternately add the flour and milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix in the lemon extract, lemon zest and almonds. Fold together and turn into pan. Bake for 65 minutes, until cake tester comes out dry. Prepare the glaze by combining 1/3 cup sugar with the juice of two Meyer Lemons. Cook until sugar is dissolved-about 2 minutes. Do not boil. Brush the glaze over the hot cake. Allow to soak in and then turn cake out of pan and finish cooling on a rack.

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Tomato Mozzarella Risotto

Another winner from River Cottage Veg! Sorry about the picture but it is an easy and delicious recipe.

Serves 4

3 cups vegetable stock

1 generous T. butter

1 onion, finely minced

1 1/4 cups risotto rice, arborio or carnaroli

3/4-1 cup roasted tomato sauce, see previous blog

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 oz. buffalo mozzarella, torn or cut into chunks

extra virgin olive oil to serve

handful of arugula (optional)

Bring stock to a low simmer in a small saucepan, keep warm over low heat. Heat butter in a large saucepan over medium low heat. Add the onion and cook for 10 minutes, until soft. Add the rice and cook, stirring for a couple of minutes. Start adding the hot stock, one ladle at a time. Cook but stir often, adding stock as it is absorbed. After 20-25 minutes, the rice should be cooked with just a hint of chalkiness in the middle and you should have used all of the stock. Add the tomato sauce and cook for a couple of minutes, until piping hot. Remove from heat, stir in salt and pepper and add mozzarella. Cover pan and leave for a few minutes, then stir through the melting mozzarella but not too thoroughly!

Serve topped with a trickle of olive oil and a tangle of arugula on the side, if you like.

Zucchini Bread with rosemary, orange and pecans

This is straight from Food 52-a fabulous food blog! Loved the idea of no butter, olive oil instead and the rosemary and orange with zucchini. Makes 2 loaves.

3 large eggs

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup olive oil

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 cups zucchini, shredded

2 t. fresh rosemary, finely minced

zest from one orange

juice from 1/2 orange

3 cups flour

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

1 cup toasted pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Grease two loaf pans and set aside. In a large bowl beat eggs, Mix in the yogurt, oil and sugar. Then mix in the zucchini, orange zest, rosemary and orange juice. Combine dry ingredients including the nuts. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Divide evenly between the two pans. Bake for one hour or until a tester comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan then cool on a rack.

Roasted Tomato Sauce

My new favorite cookbook, River Cottage Veg is chock full of fabulous recipes. The pictures are so enticing, you want to make every recipe in the book! The tomato sauce is so simple and you do not need a food mill-I used a regular sieve and just pushed each roasted tomato through it. It is a very light sauce and the texture is silky. This sauce is a base for tomato mozzarella risotto (coming tomorrow!) ratatouille, and others. I think this is the best cookbook of the year!

Makes about 2 cups

3-4# ripe tomatoes, larger ones halved

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

a few sprigs of thyme and marjoram

2 T. olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay tomatoes, cut side up on a baking sheet. Scatter over the garlic and herbs and trickle the oil. Season with plenty of salt and pepper.

Roast an hour, maybe longer, until tomatoes are completely soft and pulpy and starting to crinkle and caramelize on top. Set aside to cool for 30 min. Rub the pulp through a sieve or food mil into a large bowl. Discard skins and seeds. You can simmer sauce to reduce it as necessary.

Grain free Cauliflower Couscous

This recipe comes from today’s WSJ adapted from Aziza Restaurant in San Francisco-it is very easy and delicious! It would be great as a main course or with fish!

1/2 cup currants

2 T. sherry vinegar

2 T. water

1 medium shallot, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, thinly slice

4 T. butter, divided into 2 T.

1 T. curry powder

1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into florets

2 T. grapeseed oil

1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced

1/2 preserved lemon, chopped or 1/2 small fresh lemon

3 T. fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 cup toasted almonds, chopped

pinch of red chili flakes

In a bowl cover the currants with the sherry vinegar and water and set aside. In a medium saute pan over medium heat, melt 2 T. butter, add shallot and clove of garlic and sauté about 5 minutes. Add 2 T. butter and 1 T. curry powder, stirring until butter has melted. Transfer curry butter to a bowl. Wipe clean the saute pan and over medium high heat add the grapeseed oil. Once hot add 1/2 yellow onion and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes or less. Add 3 sliced cloves of garlic and saute 2 minutes. Add the cauliflower and increase the heat to high, stir constantly for 3 minutes. Stir in curry butter, drained currants, lemon, parsley, almonds and chili and saute 2 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt.

Epic weather in Denver

I love to cook and certain inclement weather really sets me off. I love Relish Magazine’s Daily Dish with wonderful recipes. It started raining here on Wednesday night and did not stop until 6 or so on Thursday. The Weather Channel called it biblical! I have lived in CO for 40+ years and have never seen a storm like we experienced. The Daily Dish had three chilis-a tomato lentil, chicken chili with garbanzos and kale and a Texas beef chili.

I made them all! And they are all delicious!! Needless to say, the weather has changed the sun is out the temps are going out of the 50’s to the 80’s so I will tuck them into the freezer for a colder day.

We are hoping for safety for all in Colorado-the power of Mother Nature is unstoppable!

Produce Frenzy

I am so thrilled to go to the farmers market (or grocery store for that matter) that I reluctantly went to my Saturday market after having a full fridge of roasted chilies, peach pie, eggplants and zucchini waiting to be roasted….but I still went and got the last of the corn, tomatoes and peaches from the Western Slope of CO. Here is what went on! I made fresh tomato salsa with the roasted tomatoes and corn salsa. The roasted eggplant was marinated in soy and balsamic and can be eaten out of hand as can the zucchinis with parmesan! Happy Summer