
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Lemon Soup

Thursday, February 5, 2009
Chocolate-Chip Cheesecake Fantasies
These exceedingly yummy bar cookies start with a graham cracker crust, followed by a layer of orange-flavored cream cheese, then are topped with a mixture of nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut.I clipped the recipe from a magazine years ago, and made a note that they were from a book called Cookies by Natalie Haughton. I've never actually seen the book, but it looks like Amazon.com has. Does anyone out there have this book? It sounds like a good one. I can certainly vouch for this recipe.
CRUST
1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
2 T. sugar
1/3 c. butter, melted
CREAM CHEESE LAYER
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 T. grated orange peel
TOPPING
1 c. walnuts or almonds, chopped
1 c. chocolate chips
2/3 c. flaked or shredded coconut
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, 2 T. sugar, and melted butter. Press evenly into 9 x 13" pan. Bake 7 to 8 minutes.
In medium bowl, place cream cheese, 1/3 c. sugar, egg, vanilla, and orange peel. Use mixer to blend. Spread evenly over baked crust.

Delicious.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Lemon Honeyed Fruit
What, you still have lemons, you say?Me, too.
Here's a tasty way to use a few.
LEMON HONEYED FRUIT
1/3 c. lemon juice
1/3 c. honey
1 t. grated lemon rind
1 c. halved, seeded grapes OR 1 c. blueberries
1/2 c. finely chopped celery
2 ripe peaches or nectarines, sliced (I used some I canned from our peach tree this summer)
2 bananas, sliced
Combine first three ingredients in a measuring cup and stir well. Slice fruit and pour dressing over. Gently mix with rubber spatula so all fruit is coated. Refrigerate until ready to eat. Serves 4.
Quite delicious with baked potatoes topped with leftover chili, grated cheese, and sour cream; and green salad.
Win a Book
She also has a brand new ebook, on decorating fun and festive birthday cakes. Looking for a mud wrestling motif? Fishmama's your girl.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Hot Spiced Lemonade

For those of us whose lemon trees are going berserk, here's a nice hot spiced drink that will use up a few of them.
I cut this recipe in half, making only two servings instead of four.
3 1/2 c. water
1/2 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
10 whole cloves
8 whole allspice
2 3-inch pieces of cinnamon
Put all ingredients in quart jar and stir. Microwave on high for 4 minutes. (Since I made half the recipe, I nuked it for 2 minutes.) Let stand for 15 minutes, take out spices, then reheat and drink. (Being the impatient-to-try-it-now person that I am, I performed a small experiment and drank some of the this immediately, and some after the spices steeped for 15 minutes as directed. Alas, it was indeed better after the wait.) Serves 4.
This recipe came from an old issue of Cooking Light magazine, which reports one serving is about 110 calories.
Making Housework Fun
What's in Season in February
. . . other than giant popcorn balls made into hearts, that is.February is a great month to shop for:
avocados
bananas
Belgian endives
bell peppers
broccoli
brussels sprouts
cabbage
carrots
celery
eggplants
grapefruit
kiwi
kumquats
leeks
lemons
mandarin oranges
mushrooms
onions
oranges
pineapples
potatoes
radishes
spinach
sweet potatoes
yams