Lemon Poppyseed Bread- Vegan Style

Lemon Poppyseed...I'm not sure what I really love most about it.
Is it the lemon?
Is it the crunchy seed?
Is it both?
Or is it that it always reminds me of people that I love?
Yeah...that's it.

One of my favorite places to go on the Oregon Coast is Cannon Beach.
I head there with my favorite girls to hangout and catch-up.
Before we head back to our real lives,
we stop by the local bakery to purchase treats to take home.
Some loaves of haystack bread and lemon poppyseed muffins are always in my bag as I head home.
Both are delicious, but the muffins have a crunchy lemon icing that make it my favorite.

Since I miss my friends, I have decided that I need to make something to help me
Vegan Lemon Poppyseed Bread
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 egg equivalent with Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer
1 cup sugar
2 tbls vegan butter or vegetable shortening
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract

1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup oil

Lemon Icing Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp lemon extract
water to dissolve and make glaze

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1. Sift to combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
2. Use a mixer to blend together the egg replacer, sugar, vegan butter or vegetable shortening, vanilla, lemon extract and lemon juice in a medium bowl.
3. Pour wet ingredient into the dry ingredients and blend until smooth.
4. Add oil and mix well.
5. Pour batter into a well greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into center of the cake comes out clean.
7. Let the bread cool completely before adding the lemon icing.
8.Let the icing set up before slicing.
Enjoy!

I Brake for Lemonade

As a kid, I was always looking for ways to make a little money.  Country kids, like me, ended up picking berries in the hot sun or collecting veggies for local farms.  I felt jealous pangs for those kids that lived in neighborhoods who could just set up a stand and draw in supportive people to purchase their cool beverages and cookies.

Lemonade has always been the beverage of choice

and last week we found the perfect compliment to the simple card table lemonade stand.

How perfect is this?!

I would have loved something like this as a kid...

of course I would need a neightborhood too. 

Hmmm...at least these precious kids have a neighborhood

and a garage sale to bring in thirsty customers.

So my advice? 

Whether the lemonade stand is a card table, cardboard box, or anything really,

make sure you brake for a cup of lemonade. 

It will make kids smile from ear to ear

and it will cost you nothing but a quarter.
(Though they smile even bigger with two quarters!)

I can't end a post about lemons without my favorite lemon youtube video...

Bernese Puppy vs. a Lemon (though the title says something very different...don't they know a Bernese from a St. Bernard?  I guess not, but he's still a super cutie!

So Cute! 

I really want to have Murphy try a lemon,

but he's so picky that I don't even think he'd give it a little lick!
Good, because then I don't have to share my lemonade!

Blueberry-Lemon Buttermilk Scones

Brrr...it's chilly outside!
Winter has barely settled in here in Oregon, but I'm already cold.
I know. I know.
It's not really that cold here.
And that's very true...it's not that cold here, but it's cold enough for me.
Sure, I'll take this dry, cold spell over the sideways rain any day,
but it is making me wish for Summer.
Since I can't have summer for awhile,
I'm sure glad that I preserve some little bits of summer to get me through these cold days.

Aren't these pretty?!

Even straight from the freezer,

these are a beautiful reminder of summer.

They deserve a new gorgeous spot, 

as the highlight of delicious scones.

Blueberry-Lemon Buttermilk Scones
Adapted from AlexandraCooks and Tartine
Yield=20-24 Scones

Ingredients:
4 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbl. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp. lemon zest
3 Tbls. fresh lemon juice
1 cup + 1 Tbl. cold unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 cups blueberries

Topping:
turbinado sugar for sprinkling (regular granulated sugar is okay too.)

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Zest and juice one lemon.  Set aside for later.

3.In an electric stand mixer, whisk together flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add sugar, salt and lemon zest and stir to combine.

4. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes and scatter the cubes over the dry ingredients. Cut butter into dry ingredients.

5. Add the buttermilk all at once and mix until it is combined. If the mixture seems dry, add a little bit more buttermilk, though mine was very moist.


6.  Add blueberries into the dough and gently fold in berries.

7. Dust your work surface with flour and turn the dough out onto it. If you’ve made the whole recipe, divide the dough into two or three even portions. Using your hands, pat each portion into a circular disk about 1 1/2 inches thick.  Sprinkle with sugar. Cut each disk into 6 wedges.

8. Transfer the triangles to baking sheet.

9. Bake until the tops of the scones are lightly browned, about 20-25 minutes. (They took 23 minutes to be browned in my oven.)

10. Remove from the oven and serve immediately. 
Or take them to your next breakfast movie-fest morning. ;0)
That's what I'm doing!

Remedy: Lemon Crinkle Cookies

"We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors,

 and furniture polish is made from real lemons."
Alfred Newman

Scary thought huh?  But unfortunately it's true.  Well, I'm going to use my super-baking powers to fight against the evil of artificial flavors.  Real and fresh is just the way it should be! And that's exactly how I bake.  Fresh and natural ingredients. Like...

...REAL LEMONS!

 

I'm always surprised when my students only know how to make Easy Mac, or believe that food can only be made from a box.  Yes, it does take more time to make from scratch, but the taste...there's no comparison.  I know that people are busy, but there is something relaxing about standing in the kitchen with fresh produce around you, that makes the troubles of the world drift away. 

 

The last couple weeks have been, well, challenging...physically, mentally, and emotionally.  Teaching has been secondary to reassuring my students that they are cared for...that these events are rare and that schools are one of the safest places for them to be.  Like I said...challenging, but so very important.

 

For me, the chaos of the world drifts to the back of my mind, at least for a little bit, as I zest and juice fresh lemons.  Yummmmm....the freshness sweeps the stress away and fills my house with hope.  Even if that hope is in the simple form of a crinkle cookie.

 

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Adapted from Lauren Brennan

Makes 2-3 dozen

 

Ingredients:

½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1.5 teaspoon lemon zest
2 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cups powdered sugar

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. The dough should smell amazing at this point! Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a bowl. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

 

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look puffy.  Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

 Hmmm...these smell and taste so wonderful and definitely help ease the world away. 

 

And if you need a little extra joy, watch this video and try not to smile. 

Seriously, good luck trying not to smile with this joyous pup! 

I found a new video link, just for you mom!

I love, love, love this! My smile is super big now.

Always Bring Dessert

Whenever I'm asked to bring something to an event,
I'm always the first one to chime in that I'm bring dessert. 
Not only do I LOVE making dessert,
but I'm going to tell you a not-so-big secret. 
Ready?!?

I hate cooking.
No really...I hate it.
Plus, I really don't know what to bring to an event.
I love to eat fabulous cooking
and can really appreciate the light or bold flavors,
but as for me...cooking stinks!
Yes...I can cook, but I do not find joy in it.
Yes...I can make specific dishes that are delicious, but I don't like to do it.
It's a necessity, because no one can just eat baked goods.

I'd rather be mixing beautiful berries,
or luscious chocolate over low heat until it's creamy
and thick enough to pour into a cream pie.
Yummm....
To me, all of that work is worth the beauty that is.....
DESSERT!

Plus, when I think of making dessert, the possibilities are endless!
This time, I'm going to bring a little summer into the cold winter nights.

Marionberry Lemonade Bars

Adapted from IMPROV Kitchen

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

• 9 T. (1 stick + 1 T.) butter
• ¼ c. sugar
• 1 c. flour
• 1 t. vanilla extract

For the Filling:

• 2 cups Marionberries frozen from the summer- thawed
• ¾ c. sugar
• ⅔ c. lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
• 3 egg whites
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 c. flour
• pinch of salt

powdered sugar for dusting on top

Preheat oven to 350º F. Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper so you can easily lift the bars out once they've cooled. I generally grease and flour the pan liberally and have an easy time popping the bars out.

To Make the Crust:

This is super simple. Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer, then add in vanilla. Add flour until just incorporated. Make a ball with the dough and place it in the baking pan.  Press the dough with your hands until it evenly covers the bottom of the dish. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until slightly golden brown.

To make the filling:

Thaw the marionberries, I just place them in the microwave for about 2 minutes.  Using your mixer again, place your berries, sugar, egg whites, egg, lemon juice, flour, and salt into the bowl and combine. Pour the mixture into the crust.   It will be a bit runny, but will thicken up...but these are not as firm as other types of bars. Bake for 30-40 minutes depending on the sized baking dish and the thickness of the berry portion.  

Let the bars cool to room temperature and then place in the refrigerator for 4 hours. You can place them in the freezer if you need them sooner but refrigerator is best. Cut into bars or as I did, into bite-sized pieces.  Dig in!

 For many fun variations of this recipe and other great ideas,

head over the IMPROV Kitchen

Ina's Lemon Yogurt Cake Saves the Day

I have lemons and need cake.  Ina, can you help?

This is absolutely PERFECT for my life!
hehehe...okay, back to lemons...
I love lemon and I think that this sweet pup does too...kind of.  :0)

But I do know something that the pup and I definitely have in common...We both like to dance when we see fresh lemons.  That's exactly what I wanted to do when my mom brought over Meyer Lemons the other day. 


Oh wait...this is my mom's dance...Not mine! hehe

After making one disastrously, gross zucchini-lemon cake...blah...I wanted to give it another try.   But with a different recipe.

This is where Ina Garten came in to save the day with her Lemon Yogurt Cake. Hallelujah!!!

Ina Garten's Lemon Yogurt Cake

Courtesy of The Food Network

Ingredients:

1 lemon, thinly sliced & seeded
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice (use both of the zested lemons)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup plain yogurt

1 cup sugar

3 extra-large eggs

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 - 2 tbsp. poppyseeds (I used 1)

Zesty...

Directions:

1.  Add 1/2 water and 1/2 sugar in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Add the lemon slices and simmer for about 25 minutes.  Remove from the heat, and remove the lemon slices, placing them on the parchment lined plate.  Add lemon juice to the syrup and aside aside for later. 

2.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan or a bundt pan. Be generous with the grease - you don't want your cake to stick! Arrange the lemon slices on the bottom of the pan. (Oops!  I forgot, so I put them on top.)

3.  Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil and poppyseeds into the batter, making sure they're all incorporated.

4.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 40-50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

5. When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place the cake on a       serving platter. While the cake is still warm, brush the lemon-sugar syrup over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool. 

Then, invite a friend over so that you can share the goodness.  Fortunately, I can always find someone willing to come and taste-test.  :0)

This is a keeper recipe!

Oh Baby! Lemon Bar Love

Lemon Bars. There are so many recipes out there for these tasty little treats, but from what I've found, many of them come up short.  Either the bars are too thin or not lemony enough whenever I've made them.  So my goal today was to make a bar that was thick enough and just enough lemon to satisfy the picky critics.  I think that this recipe is pretty perfect and simple for anyone to make in a jiffy.

So here is my version of lemon bars...

Don't ya love my bulk containers?!

Yep, I'm a bulk buyer...and I love Bob's Red Mill...but more on that later.

Lemon Bar Love

adapted from Bakerella  http://www.bakerella.com/lemon-bars-and-a-little-helper/

Shortbread Crust:
1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
zest from one lemon
Topping:
1 1/2 cup plain sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (This makes a huge difference in taste-make it fresh!)
confectioner's sugar for dusting on the top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour a 9 X 13 pan (This is a VERY important step! Unlike Martha Stewart, I won't forget to tell you this!)

To make shortbread crust: 1. In a mixer on low speed, mix together flour, confectioner’s sugar, and lemon zest.

2. Cut in butter using small amounts until combined and crumbly.
3. Press mixture into bottom of the well-greased pan.

4. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly golden. It always smelled lovely...I LOVE SHORTBREAD!

To make topping:   1. While crust is baking, prepare topping.  2. Squeeze 3 large lemons.  I like to do this with my hands and then drain to remove seeds.  I love how my kitchen smells so fresh!

3. In your mixer on a low speed, add sugar, flour, and baking powder and mix it up.

4. Then add slightly beaten eggs and lemon juice.
5. Mix it up well and pour on top of warm baked crust.
6. Bake for 25 minutes.
7. When cool, dust with confectioner’s sugar and refrigerate.
8. Cut into bars and enjoy them cold!

  See that little dangling piece?  Yeah, that one.  That's going straight into my mouth!

"Hmmm....Yummmmmm!" said while powdered sugar flies out of my mouth.

Hehehe  :0)