Meyer Lemon Curd

We are officially in those tough few weeks between the dead of winter and seeing the first sprouts of green life appear again on the bare tree branches.

The sky is overcast, giving off a slight mist and making it especially difficult to chose which thickness of coat is appropriate for the commute to the office.

I miss the sunshine on my face.

Wednesday's weather was particularly sullen; I longed to be laying on a beach somewhere with a margarita in my hand.

After a frustrating morning at the office, I decided to escape on my lunch hour to the Whole Foods.  Holding a pineapple was about as close as I was going to get to paradise today.

And then I saw a small barrel of sunshine.  Or at least, something that was so blindingly yellow that, in my depressed mood, it might as well have been the sunshine.

I was drawn in.  A slight squeeze gave way to the flesh, just a bit, of these beautiful, juicy, tender meyer lemons.

I stood in awe.  And then I bought a pound of them.

After much thought and consideration, I concluded the best use of these delightful fruits would be to make them into a sweet Meyer lemon curd.

Curd.  What an awful name.

Chocolate Caramel Bars

Every month, I look forward to the evening when I return home to find next month's fresh copy of Martha Stewart Living on my doorstep.  I immediately break it's fresh, crisp binding to rip open the very back page of the magazine.

I cannot even contain my excitement long enough to fish my keys out of my pocket and open the front door.  I need to know what the cookie of the month is - now!

I stand in the hallway, allowing a cookie recipe to serve as my horoscope of the month ahead.  Date and Walnut Sandwich Cookies?  Heavy sigh.  Head drops.  Long month ahead.

Chocolate Caramel Cookie Bars?  All is right in the world.

This recipe actually appeared in MSL last November and I carefully placed it in my recipe binder for some future date.  And then I forgot about it.

It sat there, neglected, until this past weekend when I was attempting to restore some order to my life through my recipe binder, which was laying open on the coffee table with this recipe accidentally (or subconsciously on purpose) exposed.

I heard a loud gasp behind me.  Mike had emerged from his studying for a coffee refill.  I turned around to see him staring, wide-eyed, mouth open at the recipe photo.

"Those...those look like really fancy Twix bars!"

And that was all I needed.  You don't deprive fancy candy bars from your guy.

Reading through the recipe, I noticed the yield of 16 bars from a 9x9 cake pan.  I held up my 9x9 cake pan and raised an eyebrow.  This seemed like a lot of bars for two people.

Since they had to be served straight from the refrigerator, I wouldn't even be able to pawn the extras off to my friends.

I knew I could easily half the recipe, but what vessel could I use that would be half the size of the recommended cake pan?  My trusty, much loved bread loaf pan!

Revelling in my genius, coffee in tow, I sinched my apron just a bit tighter and set about creating these chocoalte caramel bars on an unexpectedly sunny Sunday morning.

Test Recipe: Workout Granola

This test recipe is not one which has been sitting around in my recipe book or in a magazine on the shelf, patiently waiting it's turn to be created in my little kitchen.

Instead, it is one that I developed by myself, using some proportions from my basic granola recipe and some ingredient inspiration from a newly developed granola during my externship.

I wanted to create a granola that was packed with protein to help fuel our long days, Mike's endless studying, our Crossfit and running workouts.  I wanted something that could be consumed quickly, at a desk or on-the-go, and would pack a healthy punch.  I wanted a granola that could stave off crankiness after a long day of work, but still facing an evening of things to do.

This is actually the second test of this recipe.  The first one ended, well, terriblely.  My proportions for the liquid ingredients were a lot-a-bit off.  Ten minutes after putting the mixture in the oven, the granola was swimming in a pool of honey and olive oil.  Into the garbage and back to the drawing board.

This second attempt ended much better.

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

These soft, creamy cookies just beg for a tall, cold glass of milk to accompany them.

I happened to know just the person who could appreciate stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth peanut butter cookies and a glass of milk.

So I rolled out a batch this past weekend and used the biggest cookie cutter that would still allow me to fit the cookies in their container.

Then I shipped them off and was slightly jealous they would appear again in a much warmer place than Manhattan.

The lucky devils.

Happy Birthday Uncle David!

Valentine's Day Macarons

Valentine’s Day.

 

Somehow it kind of snuck up on me this year.

 

I had all these wonderful gift ideas and card-making ideas.  I even wrote them on colored Post-Its in my planner, just so I wouldn’t forget.

 

And then, last week after three sixteen hour work days, I realized it was Thursday. 

 

I fell behind on actually producing and mailing my wonderful ideas.

 

I fell behind just like updating my blog.

 

And my website.

 

And the housework.

 

And my running.

 

And when I spoke with my Mumsy on Valentine’s Day, I realized that my store-bought cards hadn’t even reached my loved ones in time.

 

“I feel bad, I had all these wonderful gift ideas,” I complained to my Mum.

 

“Don’t feel bad, you’re busy.”

 

“Maybe next year won’t be so busy,” I hoped.

 

“We always think that,” Mum responds, more than likely shaking her head at her twenty-something daughter who, evidently, still has a lot to learn.

  

Sigh.

 

For now, I will steal one of Mike’s Valentine’s Day macarons, complete with a healthy dose of Nutella between the chewy shells to lighten my mood.