Sunday, February 8, 2009

Lemon Soup


Trying to make some soup over here, and not having a whole lot of luck.

The roasted vegetable variety I made recently had great flavor, but was too watery.

The potato-cheese recipe, from one of my favorite food writers, tasted terrific, but was so thick that after about five slurps I wondered if anyone had ever actually died of soup choking. After a whole bowlful, I figured someone could throw me over the side of a boat and I'd make a fine anchor.

The recipe I tried this afternoon, for lemon soup, had a lovely lemony flavor that I really liked. But it, too, had problems with consistency.

The directions said to stir over low heat until thickened. Maybe it's all in your definition of "thick" but mine never seemed to progress much past a slightly heavy broth stage.

Here is the recipe, for those of us with excess lemons who are not too picky about our soup's thickness. I suppose you could always stir a tablespoon or so of cornstarch into a tablespoon of water, slurry it around, and add it to the broth at the start.
And if anyone has any soup advice, I'd love to hear it. I'm about ready to head back to Campbell's.

LEMON SOUP
4 c. chicken broth
4 eggs
4 T. lemon juice
1 lemon, sliced, for garnish
In medium saucepan, bring broth to boiling. In medium bowl, whisk together eggs with a wire whisk until light. Add lemon juice. Add half of hot broth, stirring well. Return lemon/egg broth to pan and (here's the part that drives me crazy) stir over low heat until thickened. WHEN?!? Just WHEN will that be?! Perhaps sometime in October?
Grrrrr.
OK, I've stopped now. I'm stopping.

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.
In small bowl, mix nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut. Sprinkle over top, pressing in lightly. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown.


Delicious.

NOTE: In honor of upcoming Valentine's Day, Overwhelmed with Joy is hosting Favorite Ingredients Friday (Chocolate Edition). She's posted a mini chocolate lava cake that looks to die for.

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

Fishmama is hosting a Queen of the Castle book giveaway at Life as Mom. So check it out and leave a comment over there for a chance to win!

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

Want to see how? Check out my guest post today at Life as Mom: Seven Ways to Trick Yourself into Thinking Housework is Fun.
OK, maybe "fun" is an exaggeration.
How about "more 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
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