Watermelon Rosemary Lemonade

Watermelon is my favorite fruit to make agua fresca - I usually just blend it up, maybe strain it and add lime juice. It's very refreshing and a pretty pink. This recipe was originally a boozy one with gin, but I've been drinking it booze-less for now. The boozy version adds 8 oz of gin.

Watermelon Rosemary Lemonade
Adapted from a recipe on Food 52

1/2 of a medium-sized watermelon, cut into big cubes
5-6 lemons, juiced
2 sprigs rosemary
1/2 cup sugar + 1/2 cup water

Blend the watermelon in a blender, juicer or food processor until completely blended. You don't have to strain watermelon juice, but I normally do - sometimes I leave in a little pulp but not all of it. I got about 4 cups of strained juice from half a medium watermelon.

In a small saucepan over medium low heat, melt the sugar in the water, with the rosemary sprigs. Once the sugar is melted, put the lid on the saucepan and let the rosemary infuse the simple syrup for at least 15 minutes, an hour or more if possible.

In a pitcher, mix the watermelon juice with the lemon juice and rosemary syrup. Either chill it in the fridge until cold or serve it immediately with ice. If you want, throw in rosemary and lemon slices.

Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes

I originally saw a recipe for these lemon pancakes in a recent issue of Instyle that uses quinoa and rice flours. These are the perfect pancakes for spring! However, I lost it while my sister was turning the house upside down. I did find a similar recipe on Food and Wine's website. We've been trying to work towards a more minimalist life. There's a blog in which the author has a total of 50 personal possessions (clothing, furniture, technology). That goal was tried and failed, but I think it is a gradual process. By the way, he doesn't count kitchen supplies, things that are shared by the family etc. He does count books though which are the hardest things to cut down on for me (and dresses). Anyway, Kelly and I have been giving more and more things away and I feel so much better. The feeling will be even greater once I cut down even more I think. I love the idea of being able to pack everything you have easily so you can go anywhere on a whim. As a side note, my mom (the hoarder) thinks we're nuts and goes through our donation bags all the time to rescue our stuff.

3/4 cup quinoa flour

3/4 cup brown rice flour

1 tablespoon arrowroot powder

2 tablespoons raw cane sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk 

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

zest of 2 lemons

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons poppy seeds 

6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

Firstly you want everything at room temperature. Sometimes I just leave the eggs and butter out overnight for ease the next morning. Whisk dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Mix all the liquid ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the liquid. Then cook pancakes on a skillet over medium heat with plenty of butter. I used a 1/3 cup measure. This recipe makes enough for about 4 people. Serve with maple syrup and butter.

Summery Lemonade #3! Blueberry Lemon/Limeade

Sorry for so many lemonades, but I can't stop myself this week. I don't have a favorite from the three I've made so far this summer - they've all been good. This one is probably the prettiest color, though!

It's Twilly's third birthday!! Such a big boy.

BLUEBERRY LEMON/LIMEADE

Adapted from Damn Delicious

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

1 cup blueberries

1/2 cup lemon juice

3/4 cup lime juice

5 cups water

ice

Summery Lemonade #2! Rhubarb Rosemary Lemonade

Earlier today Britt sent me a pin for this pretty pink lemonade, and, of course, I was like, YES this is exactly what I want today. Because rhubarb, rosemary and lemons are my three favorite things! (By the way, did you know that the Pgh Kitchen has a Pinterest account? Probably not, because I just started it a half hour ago.)

It seems like all I want to do lately is juice lemons in my very lo-tech glass juicer thing. Soon I will have muscles like Ser Gregor Clegane a.k.a. the Mountain that Rides (warning: that link contains GoT s4e8 spoilers!), at least on my right arm.

RHUBARB ROSEMARY LEMONADE
Adapted from the Merry Thought

2 cups rhubarb, chopped
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
3 sprigs rosemary
1 cup lemon juice
ice
water
garnish with more rosemary & lemon slices

Lavender Lemonade + Garden Pics

Now that it is semi-officially summer (i.e. post-Memorial Day and weather-wise), make some lemonade! This lavender lemonade recipe is great as is, but is also amazing if you substitute fresh rosemary for the dried lavender flowers. You could also swap the water for club soda for a carbonated version. Maybe add some vodka. There are a lot of possibilities, but all versions should be drunk outside or at least by an open window.

Check out my makeshift strainer - I used a sifter, like for powdered sugar. Very hard to clean lemon pulp out of but I can't find our fine mesh strainer!

Some leftover lemonade soaking in those afternoon rays on the hammock.

LAVENDER LEMONADE

From Green Acres Lavender Farm via the Kitchn

5 cups water, divided into 1 cup & 4 extra cups

1 cup sugar

1 tbsp dried lavender flowers

1 cup lemon juice (I used 5 lemons)

Ice cubs

Lemons, sliced for prettiness (optional)

Lavender sprigs for prettiness (optional)

Lemon Chickpea Lentil Salad

As we've been crashing with my parents, I've been cooking a lot for my family. It's my way of contributing rent I suppose. This salad was the perfect mix of tangy dressing and lots of spring vegetables! I found the recipe on Cookie + Kate and just knew I had to make it. 

By the way, Happy Memorial Day! It's our year anniversary (I know, crazy) so we spent it in the little town of New Hope. It's right on the Delaware river and full of antique shops, used bookstores, and great food. Elizabeth Gilbert lives right by the town so we got to explore her import shop! It was filled with goodies from Asia (lots of Buddha statues). Right next door to Two Buttons was a great vegetarian restaurant. We had some to-die-for chocolate caramel tart with pink sea salt. It was so good, it was featured on the food network. Must replicate recipe!

Lentils 

• 2 cups dried black beluga lentils
• 2 large garlic cloves, halved lengthwise
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Lemon dressing

• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey or agave nectar
• 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
• ¼ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Salad

• 1 (14 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 big bunch of radishes, sliced on mandolin
• ¼ cup packed fresh, leafy herbs, chopped (combination of mint and dill 
• 1 bunch fresh arugula

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a medium pot, combine the lentils, halved garlic cloves, olive oil and 4 cups water. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook until the lentils are cooked through and tender, which will take somewhere between 20 to 35 minutes. Drain the lentils and discard the garlic cloves.
2. Whisk together the ingredients for dressing in a small bowl. Taste and add more of anything if you like.
3. Add everything together except for arugula in a large bowl and ideally let marinate in fridge for a couple hours before serving. Serve with a small handful of arugula on each plate.

Lemon Lavender Muffins

We have a lot of culinary grade lavender! And lavender goes great with lemon. I adapted a recipe from Tide & Thyme for cranberry orange muffins to make them lemon lavender ones, and I threw in some dried cherries for good measure. It works! I brought them other to a friend's place for brunch and movies on this very very snowy and cold Sunday.

Lemon Lavender Muffins

Makes about 12 muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 + 2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup milk
zest from 1 lemon
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup dried cherries

For streusel topping:
3 Tbsp flour
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp butter

Meyer Lemon Tart

Being in California, it seems natural to take advantage of the abundance of citrus around here. By chance, one of my favorite bloggers posted an Instagram picture of the lemon curd she was making. Since I'm staying at my friend's apartment in San Francisco this week, I figured I would make a lemon tart in return for her hospitality. Nick and I picked up some organic meyer lemons at the Ferry Market near the wharf. The marketplace is entirely indoors and consists of only the most delicious food stands. I picked up some local lavender honey and a zester for the recipe there too. We also got to try HOMEMADE yogurt plus granola! There was so much goodness at the market, we just wandered around for a couple of hours staring at food and sampling olive oils and other tasty treats.

What else have we been doing in San Francisco? Mostly eating and recovering from the stomach flu that my whole family got over Christmas. I'm trying to eat as much American food as possible (pizza, any mexican food, ice cream, etc). Some highlights were the lavender banana date smoothie I got, all of the most delicious espresso drinks made with almond milk, nachos from Tacqueria Cancun, and all of the French pastries I could ever want. Oh and $2 warm ice cream cookie sandwiches from a place called Cream.

If you're less interested in the food, we also saw some historical things. We went to City Lights Bookstore where Allen Ginsberg did a reading and we stayed at a quaint little hotel where he stayed at too. There was a Beat museum dedicated to him and his friends too. Nick was excited. I wanted more food. Sunset from the Sunset neighborhood while meeting Sylvia for Chinese yesterday.

Tomorrow night we leave for Manila, so we're spending the day hiking with our friends Cate and Sylvia in SF. I made a picnic and we got beers! Though we're having a blast and I love not working, we miss everyone and Twilly!! Hope you all are staying warm : )

Tart (from Ina Garten):

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
pinch salt

Meyer Lemon Curd:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup lavender honey
4 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
2/3 cup meyer lemon juice (5-7 meyer lemons)
1 tbsp meyer lemon zest

Chickpea Salad with Minty Yogurt Dressing

I made this chickpea salad from the Kitchn along with chicken salad to make pita sandwiches. This would also make an easy healthy packed lunch as either a sandwich or salad, but I think it would be best to keep the yogurt dressing separate from the salad until ready to eat.

CHICKPEA SALAD WITH MINTED YOGURT DRESSING

Adapted from the Kitchn

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp lemon zest

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coarse salt

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup red onion, chopped

3 cups drained chickpeas 

1 cup plain yogurt, preferable Greek

2 tbsp mint, chopped

Vegan Meyer Lemon Cheesecake

I came across this recipe while looking for ways to use the meyer lemons I had bought. It is a pretty simple and delicious cheesecake.

Ingredients

• 6 medjool dates, pitted and halved 
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1/8 t salt
• 1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight
• juice of 2 meyer lemons
• zest of 2 meyer lemons
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 1/3 cup liquid coconut oil
• 1/3 cup honey

Cooking Directions

1. In a food processor combine the dates, pecans, and salt. Blend until uniform and the pecans look like a very coarse meal.

2. Press the pecan/date mixture into a pie pan using your fingers. Set aside.
3. Strain the cashews of their soaking liquid and rinse them well. Place them in a blender with the remaining ingredients.
4. Blend on high until the mixture is very smooth. This took me a while to accomplish. I actually put in the entire vanilla bean since I had one that has been soaking in vodka to make vanilla extract. The blender blended most of the vanilla bean. Just keep scraping the sides and blending.
5. Pour the filling mixture onto the crust and smooth the surface. Cover with foil and place in the freezer until solid.
6. When ready to serve remove from the freezer 30 minutes prior to serving.

Lavender Meyer Lemon Bars

I had a couple of Meyer lemons (sweeter than normal lemons) lying around from making jam, so I decided to make lemon bars. Laura actually texted me that she wanted to make lavender lemon bars recently, so this baked good is inspired by her! This healthy recipe comes from Tastebook, and I liked it since it calls for less sugar than the standard recipe. I made a good amount of adjustments, but I am certain that the original recipe is also delicous. The original recipe is gluten free. You can find the nutritional facts on the website too.

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup ground almond flour

2 tbsp whole wheat flour

4 tbsp coconut oil, solid (the original recipe calls for butter)

6 tbsp organic cane sugar, divided

4 small Meyer lemons, zested and juiced (about 2 tsp zest and 1/2 cup juice)

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp lavender flowers

Pinch sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 inch square baking dish. 

In a food processor add the flour, almond flour, lavender, and 4 tbsp sugar to mix. Then add the cold coconut oil and pulse until the mixture looks like crumbly.

Press with fingers into the bottom of the baking pan. Bake for about 10 minutes until the edges start to brown. You can see the lavender flowers speckled in the crust! So pretty.

Zest the lemons and juice them. Add the eggs to the mixture along with the 2 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until the lemon mix is a pale yellow color and very thoroughly combined. Pour over the hot crust.

Then put back into the oven for an additional 10 minutes until the bars are set.

Make sure to let the bars cool completely before cutting into them. Since I used coconut oil, I actually had to let the pan sit in the refrigerator a bit for the crust to become, well, crusty.

Lavender Lemon Grilled Chicken

Following Michelle's lead (or joining her cult?), I bought some food-grade lavender at Roxanne's at the Strip, the dried flowers place. I will definitely be baking with it, but I was also looking at savory recipes and wasn't finding anything that I felt like cooking. So instead I went with the marinade from one of my favorite chicken recipes, Rosemary-Lemon Oven Fried Chicken, and subbed the lavender for the rosemary. And I grilled it instead of "frying" it in the oven - but that would also be good!

It's kind of spring-ish! At least until about an hour ago... So I'm calling this a spring recipe since it's grilled and you don't need any of the more summery veggies or herbs. Unless you want to use fresh lavender, which would be awesome.

This was on Sunday - the puppy and the plants enjoying the sun.

Blood Orange and Lemon Verbena Jam

Well this jam turned out to be more like a syrup. What I should have done was make a small batch of it first, but I was so excited that I didn't. I'm still really excited about it! I made this jam with my friends, Michelle and Lacey, for the bridal shower. We spent the entire evening canning and stirring citrus jam. It was a good time to catch up and a great way to start off the week. The recipe is from Saving the Season. I suggest if you want to make this, you should follow his directions and do a little research if you haven't canned before. Also, this jam is a little bitter since blood oranges are naturally bitter but it would be great over some homemade ice cream or with a baguette and some sliced brie.

BLOOD ORANGE MARMALADE

5 pounds blood oranges
1 pound organic lemons
7 cups raw cane sugar
1 cup honey
1/4 cup dried lemon verbena leaves (mine were from working at Garden Dreams!)

As a note, it is best to use all organic fruits and ingredients if you're going to be canning. I've read that the chemicals can react in strange ways and turn the jam different colors, like green. : ( You don't really want preservatives and pesticides in your delicous homemade jam anyways. Since we live in Pittsburgh (not citrus growing friendly at all!), I just got my fruit from Whole Foods.
The citrus is also coated with wax to preserve it, so make sure to pour boiling water over the citrus and then scrub them really well to get all the wax off.

1)  Use a sharp vegetable peeler to zest the de-waxed oranges and lemons in wide strips. You want very little white pith on the zest since it is bitter. Then put the zest in a preserving pan with 4 cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer covered for 30 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, remove the bitter white pith beneath the zest. Slice a round off both ends, deep enough to reveal the pulp beneath the pith. Then stand the fruit on one of its flat ends and slice along the fruit to cut away the white parts. Keep about 1/2 the pith!

Limoncello Macarons

Macarons are a French cookie made with almond flour so they are gluten free! They come in many different flavors and they are absolutely delicious. They are pretty labor intensive to make traditionally so when I saw this simple recipe on 101 cookbooks, I had to try making them. Check out the site for much prettier pictures. Macarons are absolutely addictive though-I'm warning you now!

14 ounces almond paste (found at Whole Foods)
1 large egg white
1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus more for shaping cookies
1/4 tsp pure almond extract
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp limoncello
1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt

I used 2 tubes of Odense almond paste. I will definitely be looking up how to make it myself though. The almond paste is thick, so I recommend using an electric mixer.

Back to the directions. First, blend the almond paste with the egg white and the powdered sugar until creamy. The mixture will be thick. Then add the almond extract, lemon zest, limoncello, and salt until thoroughly mixed.

Fill a small bowl with powdered sugar. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or wax paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. The author rolled out the dough into logs and then sliced them to make little pillow shaped macarons, but I just dropped a teaspoonful of dough into a bowl of powdered sugar to coat it. Then, making sure your fingers are covered with powdered sugar, pinch the dough into a pyramid shape. The cookies can be placed closely together since they don't really expand while baking.

Lemon Cornbread Cupcakes

I made these cute little lemony cornbread cupcakes to bring over to the grandparents' for dinner tonight (before the season finale of "Downton Abbey"!!). I'm a big fan of cornbread, so this seemed like a good way to make it for dessert. And of course anything with lemon shoots to the top of my baking to-do list!

The original recipe suggests a lemon glaze, which was fine, but next time I make these I think I'll make a cream cheese frosting or just drizzle with honey. Usually I like a citrusy glaze, but it didn't do much for the cornbread. But the actual cupcakes were really good!

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LEMON BUTTERMILK CUPCAKES

From Love & Olive Oil

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cornmeal (preferably coarse ground)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk, room temperature
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced (should yield 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest and 2 tablespoons lemon juice)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

Ribollita

The word ribollita literally means reboiled. Nick, Brittany, and I were pondering the meaning of the word last night while I made this hearty Italian soup. Then I finally gave in and looked it up at work today on Wikipedia. Also, according to Wikipedia the soup consists of inexpensive vegetables, white beans, and stale bread. All of which I had plenty lying around the apartment. The original recipe is from 101 Cookbooks.
I made this soup on Valentine's day because I was impatient while waiting for Nick to come over and make me a surprise dinner (French lentils). It worked out because I didn't have any celery and convienently Nick did. He even brought fresh thyme--better than flowers. We ended up having 2 main courses instead which was ok with me!

3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 small carnival squash, seeded, peeled, and chopped (carrots could be used instead)
1 medium red onion, chopped
1/3 head small red cabbage, sliced thinly
1 entire head garlic, minced (I still have a ton of garlic from the Pittsburgh Project Farm)
1-26 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 can cannelini beans
1 can garbanzo beans
4-5 slices stale bread (I used super stale spelt bread that was way in the back of our refrigerator)
7 large leaves of lacinato kale (dinosaur kale), sliced thinly
grated lemon zest
fresh thyme

In a large soup pot, combine the celery, winter squash, red onion, and cabbage and drizzle with olive oil. Let cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes until softened and more translucent.

Limoncello

While reading one of the local food magazines in Pittsburgh, Table, I came across this recipe. The article I read brought up a good point- citrus is actually in season during the winter! So it was time I tried some lemony recipes starting with this simple infused vodka. It is pretty sweet, so I enjoy it over ice cream.

You will need:

1 1/2 cups vodka
5 lemons
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

1. Cut the lemon peels in long strips from the lemon getting as little of the white pith as possible onto the peel (it makes the drink bitter).

2. Pour the vodka into a mason jar or a container with a lid. Drop the lemon peels into the vodka.Wait for 4 days until the lemon peels infuse the vodka with their oils.

3. You will see the vodka turn a bright yellow color. Strain the vodka and reserve the lemon peels to make candied lemon peel!

4. Make simple syrup by heating up the water and sugar over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Let the syrup cool and then add as much as you like to the vodka mixture. I think this recipe would be even better with some lavender simple syrup!

The lemon peels being candied:

Lemony Roasted Chicken

I found a copy of Bon Appetit at work the other day in this weird wall indentation by the front entrance that seems like a sort of improvised lost and found, and I was pleasantly surprised! I would actually want to make a lot of those recipes. I had always assumed it was too fancy schmancy. The first recipe I've tried is this "Roasted Chicken Thighs with Lemon and Oregano."

The recipe calls for boneless thighs, but I used bone-in thighs so I cooked it a lot longer, at least 15 minutes in the skillet and 20 in the oven. I wished I'd left it skin down on the skillet a bit longer to get a crisper skin, it could probably sit in there for 20-25 minutes or more at medium heat. I added peas and couscous to make it a full lunch and served it with a croissant to soak up some tasty juices. 

The garlic is from Blackberry Meadows Farm (where Michelle's reception is going to be)!

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ROASTED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH LEMON AND OREGANO

From the December 2012 issue of Bon Appetit

1 lemon

4 large or 8 small skin-on, boneless chicken thighs (or cook longer for bone-in)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 teaspoons olive oil, divided

3 sprigs oregano (I used dried)

1 tablespoon minced shallot (or onion)

1/2 garlic clove, minced

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth (I used water)

2 Pizzas: Cheesy BBQ Ranch & Cheesy Lemon

I made two pizzas for dinner since I was feeling indecisive. I wanted to use up the last of the crock pot BBQ beer chicken that I made after Julia posted about it (after I did sandwiches, I'd been using it on crackers). I also wanted to try a lemon pizza since I'd never done that before and I love lemons. So I made two smallish pizzas. 

I used half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose for the pizza dough for the first time, using my normal pizza dough recipe. It's tasty but it didn't come together as well when I was mixing. It was a bit harder to form into pretty pizzas. I think I need to experiment more. 

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CHEESY BBQ RANCH 'ZA

1 pizza dough

ranch dressing

grated cheddar

shredded BBQ chicken (try Julia's easy recipe and use leftovers!)

thinly sliced onions

Spread out the dough, spread on a layer of ranch dressing. Cover with a thin layer of grated cheese. Then spread out your BBQ chicken in another thinnish layer. Top with sliced onions and bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes.

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CHEESY LEMON 'ZA

1 pizza dough

(estimating) for half pizza:

1/2 cup ricotta

1 egg

2-3 cloves crushed garlic

1 tbsp grated romano (or parmesan)

1/2 cup grated monterey jack or provolone

some pepper

some chili pepper

some paprika

some oregano

very thinly sliced lemon

a little salt

Mix together everything but the lemons and salt in a bowl. Spread out the dough and cover with the cheesy mixture. Top with VERY thinly sliced lemons (mine could have been more thinly sliced - most of them were easy to eat but the slightly thicker ones had to be torn apart). Sprinkle with salt and bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes.

For another lemon pizza recipe, look at A Cozy Kitchen's. I didn't follow their recipe but that's where I got the idea for a lemon pizza. Also, I think their blog header thing is really cute.