Juicy, distinctively fragrant and citrusy-tart lemons, when added to your favorite desserts, heighten their swooning sweetness. The potently flavored lemon peel punctuates cakes and quickbreads, the lively fresh-squeezed lemon juice enhances the natural sweetness of pies and crumbles, and the unmistakable aromatic lemony scent infuses every dish containing this bright yellow citrus. In addition, lemons adds vitamin C to your treats.

How to juice a lemon

No store-bought lemon concentrate or lemon juice can beat the invigorating flavor and essence of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Fresh squeezing your own lemons is near effortless and a fun activity to teach your kids.

Always start with room temperature or warm lemons because they juice easier. Squeeze the lemons on the counter, rolling them back and forth to break up the membranes to more easily release the juice.

Lemon wedges: An easy way to add a little lemony flavor to food and drink is to cut a lemon into wedges and use your fingers to squeeze out the juice - be sure you catch any seeds that try to escape.

Whole lemons: However, for recipes requiring more than a squeeze, you will get more juice much quicker if you juice whole lemons (otherwise you will be squeezing wedges all day!).

The fork method: To juice a whole lemon, you can simply stick a fork deep into the flesh and, while wiggling with fork back and forth, squeeze the lemon with your other hand, letting the juice drip into a bowl. This method is great for keeping seeds inside the lemon instead of in your juice.

The juicer method: Alternatively, you can use an orange or citrus juicer - a bowl with a long, wide, pointed center. Cut your lemons in half crosswise and, one half at a time, place flesh side of lemon onto the center, press down and squeeze the lemon half, turning it back and forth, letting the juice and seeds flow out. Once you have the juice you need, strain out the seeds and you have lemon juice to use in any number of recipes.

You can store lemon juice in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to five days.

Lemony dessert recipes

Melissa Murphy, author of The Sweet Melissa Baking Book, uses lemons in a variety of to-die-for desserts, from scintillating strawberry lemonade that is a light and refreshing sweet beverage to luscious lemon bars that will buckle your knees. There seems to be a universal love of lemons by people of all ages - your family will especially enjoy these lemony desserts courtesy of Melissa Murphy.

Strawberry Lemonade

Makes 1 1/2 quarts of lemonade

Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup very hot water
1 cup fresh lemon juice
4 1/2 cups cold water
1 recipe Fresh Strawberry Sauce (recipe follows)
Confectioners’ sugar, for the glasses
Fresh strawberries for garnish

Directions:
In a pitcher, combine the sugar and hot water and stir until the sugar has dissolved into a syrup. Stir in the lemon juice and cold water.

Add the strawberry sauce and stir to combine. Pour lemonade over ice into tall glasses rimmed with confectioners’ sugar and garnish glasses with strawberries. Strawberry lemonade keeps at least three days in the refrigerator.

Fresh Strawberry Sauce

Makes 1 cup sauce

Ingredients:
1 dry pint fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons cold water

Directions:
In a food processor or blender, puree the berries, sugar, juice and water until smooth. Strain the berry mixture into a clean bowl and discard the seeds. Stir in additional sugar, if needed. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Lemon Bars

Makes 1 dozen bars

Ingredients for the crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup sliced blanched almonds, toasted
1/2 teaspoon salt
20 tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

Ingredients for the lemon filling:
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a 9 x 13-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. Make a parchment (or foil) sling by cutting two pieces of parchment (or foil), measuring 16 1/2 inches long by 12 inches wide. Place one piece across the length of the pan and the across the width of the pan, with the excess hanging over the edges. This will allow you to easily lift the finished bar from the pan. Spray the sling with nonstick cooking spray.

To make the crust, pulse flour, sugar, almonds and salt in a food processor until combined. Add the cold butter in pieces and pulse until the dough comes together in a ball. Turn the dough out and press evenly into the bottom and 1 1/2 inches up the sides of the prepared pan. Cover the dough with a piece of parchment or foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden. Remove parchment or foil and continue to bake for 10 to 15 more minutes. Remove pan to a wire rack to cool.

To make the filling, in a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until smooth. Add the almond extract and flour, whisking until smooth. Add the lemon juice and whisk to combine.

To complete the bars, pour the lemon filling into the prepared crust. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for 30 minutes or until the filling is firm and lightly golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

When cool, use the sling to life the entire bar from the pan and onto a cutting board. Slice into twelve 3 x 3 1/2-inch bars. Using a sifter, dust the bars with confectioners’ sugar. The bars keep in an airtight container for up to two days. You can also wrap well and refrigerate for five days or freeze for three weeks.

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Oh how we love it when mangoes go on special at the local market. Mangoes are one our family’s top five favorite food items. I know that, environmentally speaking, I should be focusing my produce purchases on locally grown items, and there is no way any of the mangoes in the store are remotely local, but we love them so. Particularly in the middle of winter, one bite of mango and I am transported to a tropical island and I’m basking in the warm sun, if only for a moment.

Most of the time we enjoy our mangoes straight (and we argue about who gets to gnaw on the pit), but we’re willing to enjoy them about every way available and possible. When my oldest son was a baby, before I figured out that I needed to avoid dairy products while I was breastfeeding him, my husband made me a fabulous mango ice cream a couple of times. His basic recipe was fairly standard, but he had a secret ingredient: a splash of Grand Marnier. I once made a mango cream pie and wish I could locate that recipe again.

If I see something like mango chicken on the menu in an Asian restaurant, I’m likely to order it. Mango smoothies, whether store bought or home made, are coveted – and mango lassis are always the first item ordered at Indian restaurants. Dried mangos rarely last in our house, and are sometimes requested over other fresh fruits. Of all the salsas made with fruit lately, the boys always request the mango salsa. We’ve grilled mango skewers and served them hot over vanilla ice cream on hot summer days. Yum.

Recently a recipe for a mango caprese salad from the Serious Eats site had me salivating in a big way. I was thrilled to see mangoes on special at the market this afternoon, and I am plotting to improvise based on that recipe next week – with the addition of some shredded chicken to make it a complete meal.

Orange Mango Smoothie

Frozen cubed mangoes, such as those available at Trader Joe’s
Plain, non-fat yogurt
Orange juice
Honey (optional)

In a blender, pour in the frozen mango cubes. We tend to go about half way up the container. Add two or three heaping spoonfuls of yogurt, then pour in orange juice about half way up the cubed fruit. Puree until smooth, adding a little more juice to loosen it up if necessary. Taste, and if it needs some sweetening, squeeze in some honey, blend again, and serve.

Grilled Mango and Pineapple Skewers Over Vanilla Ice Cream

Several mostly ripe but not mushy ripe mangoes, cut into long thick strips
Pineapple cut into long thick strips
Bamboo skewers
Brown sugar
Very good quality vanilla bean ice cream

Slide the mango and pineapple strips onto the bamboo skewers. Place some brown sugar on a plate and lightly press the sides of the mango and pineapple into the brown sugar.

Place the fruit skewers onto a hot grill. Allow the sugars to caramelize and start to brown, then remove and let cool a few minutes.

Carefully removed the bamboo skewers and place the fruit decoratively on the top of just scooped ice cream.

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I know I’m a little late to the party here, but I’ve recently been converted to cupcake love.

Yes, there have been articles in major newspapers and major magazines about trends towards elaborately flavored and decorated cupcakes, but I haven’t taken it to heart. I noted photo spreads on Magnolia Bakery in New York, and others around the country. I giggled at the Johnny Cupcakes line of tshirts. But I wasn’t enamored. Until now, that is.

Discovering cupcakes

Maybe it was because we didn’t have any bakeries close by that made elaborate cupcakes. Maybe it was because I’ve already been through my cake decorating kick and had no interest in getting elaborate in kitchen because I’m on some other culinary kick. Whatever the reason, I rather ignored the cupcake trend.

A few weeks ago I went into a bakery recently opened by the mother of one of my son’s friends. I ordered cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday party – not because of the big cupcake trend, but because I could order regular sized cupcakes and mini cupcakes for the party, and (hopefully) satisfy four year olds and grown ups alike with appropriate portions. (Interestingly, the mini red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting were the hit among the toddler attendees.)

While ordering, I spied an interesting looking cupcake in the case. It was a cannoli cupcake. In an instant, before I even tasted it, I was converted. At that moment, I started to adore cupcakes.

Cupcake decadance

After ordering the party cupcakes (including a filled lemon cupcake), I asked for just one cannoli cupcake. It was a yellow cupcake with the top sliced off and some of the inside scooped out. In that cavity was piped marscapone cannoli filling. The top was replaced and then piped high with buttercream frosting and sprinkled with mini chocolate chips.

Heaven, in a little paper wrapper.

I intended to eat it slowly, savor it over the course of the day. Oh, no. No, no, no. I inhaled it in about a minute in my car in the parking lot. And I’d do it again.

Since that day, I’ve been thinking about cupcakes: flavors and colors and decoration. And, as it’s spring, I’m thinking lime curd filled cupcakes with lime buttercream could be heaven.

Lime Filled Cupcakes

24 yellow cupcakes, baked according to package instructions or from scratch
Lime curd, store bought or from scratch.
Lime buttercream (I might also try a standard buttercream recipe with Boyajian Lime Oil added)
Green or clear (or any other color really) coarse sugar crystals.

For each cupcake, carefully slice off the top of the cupcake with a bread knife. Scoop a small amount of cake out of the remaining cupcake. Spoon lime curd into the cavity, but be careful not to overfill. Replace the top of the cupcake. The curd should help it stay in place.

Using a cake decorating bag with a large star tip, pipe the frosting onto the top of the cupcake. How high you go is up to you. Dust the top of the cupcakes with the coarse colored sugar (color of your choice).

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Around the time my husband and were married, the mother of one of his close friends gave us a recipe for a really delicious dessert, a recipe on which we had been complimenting her for years. I was so happy to have the recipe. It quickly became a spring staple.

The dessert is actually an interpretation of a layer cake, but each of the two layers is itself two layers: one layer of cake and one layer of meringue baked together. Between the layers of cake and meringue is whipped cream with fresh fruit folded in. Yes, it tastes as good as it sounds.

Since my oldest son’s birthday is a spring birthday, this dessert was a natural choice for his first birthday. I remember being so emotional preparing it on his first birthday, hardly believing that my baby boy was one already, and oh, how my life had changed in the previous 12 months. I remember laughing, too, as I folded in the strawberries. My spring dessert for a spring baby – but there was still 30 inches of snow outside the house.

I don’t quite remember how it came to be the tradition it has, but our family tradition now is that this is the dessert that is served for our family-only dinner on each family member’s actual birthday. There may be something more elaborate or richer (read: chocolate) for a party, but this is the cake just for us. Each person gets to choose the fruit that is used, and I make a special trip to purchase it. It’s the signal (for the kids) that the long awaited day is finally here.

Marilyn’s Meringue Torte

3 eggs, separated
2 c sugar, divided
1/4 c butter, softened
2/3 c milk
1 1/4 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c or so heavy cream (I tend to be generous here)
1 pt fruit – berries of all kinds and peaches do really well

Preheat over to 325 degrees. Butter and flour and line with parchment paper (also buttered and floured) two 8 inch round cake pans. Springform pans work really well for this recipe, too.

Beat the three egg whites to soft peaks. Slowly add 1 c sugar as you continue to beat. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and remaining 1 c sugar. Add the egg yolks and continue beating until creamy. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.

Alternately add the milk and the flour mix to the creamed ingredients and mix well.

Divide the cake batter evenly between the two pans, gently spreading to the pan walls. Do the same with the meringue, heaping the meringue in several large spoonfuls over the batter and then spreading carefully. Bake for 40 minutes.

When the layers are cool, carefully release them from the pans. Whip the cream and fold in the fruit, reserving a few berries to decorate the top. Divide the cream and fruit mixture, carefully placing and spreading half between the two cake/meringue layers and half on top.

Note that the meringue does not keep long. It’s best to consume all the dessert as soon as possible – which is not at all difficult to do.

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Right up there with my love of gadgets is my adoration of novelty bakeware.

 

When I first started seeing elaborate Bundt cake pans in the catalogs several years ago, I thought they were cute. I had a Bundt pan, though, and didn’t need another. But then Nordicware came out with a sunflower pan, and I was smitten. It was the only thing I asked for one birthday and I was almost giddy when my husband arrived home the day before that birthday, carrying a Williams-Sonoma bag but not letting me see what was inside.

You see, if I had the kitchen space, I’d have six or seven of these novelty pans, and countless other novelty cooking items as well. They are just so much fun! I’d have the chrysanthemum, the wreath and/or the poinsettia pan, the ice cream cone pan, and a few others for cupcake sized cakes.

I’m sure you have one or two novelty items in your kitchen; just about everyone does. Sure you enjoyed it when you first acquired it, but when was the last time you used it? I admit it had been a while since I’d used my sunflower, and I admit that I do go in phases in terms of the frequency with which I use it, but even infrequently used, it makes me smile. Every time, mid-winter, summer or spring. It’s a happy pan.

I pulled out my sunflower pan this weekend, in anticipation of spring. I searched for just the right recipe, and found it in a lemon pound cake that uses lots of real lemon juice and peel, and not just extract.

Even though the pan is coated in Teflon and supposedly non-stick, I do find that efforts to grease and flour the pan are worth it. Extracting finished cakes can be just a little delicate with all those nooks and crannies. I use canola oil spray to grease it, and a light hand with flour (or occasionally powdered sugar)

The cake turned out really nicely. Excellent edge of pucker to it with the fresh lemon juice. I dusted the finished cake with powdered sugar – but not enough to obscure the shape. When I put it out on the table after dinner, even the dog was grinning.

Fresh Lemon Pound Cake

1 3/4 cup sugar
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
3 large eggs
3 egg yolks
2 lemons (zest and juice)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a cake pan or load pan.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and yolks one at a time, blending well after each addition. Add the zest, juice, and vanilla extract and incorporate completely.

Add the flour, baking powder and salt and integrate completely, but be careful not to over mix, either.

Pour the cake into the prepared pan and bake about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool, then turn out onto a plate. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

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One of the favorite spring food traditions in our house is bunny breads. Every year, in the week before Easter, we make at least two batches of these sweet yeast rolls. They are our culinary signal that spring is almost here.

The recipe comes from my husband’s side of the family. We know it is at least 42 years old as we have a fading photograph of my husband as a baby, sitting on a blanket in the sun, gnawing on a bunny bread. We have an equally loved photo of my oldest son on his first birthday, in red fleece jammies with a late spring blizzard raging through the windows behind him, gnawing on his very first bunny bread with a big grin on his face.

Bunny breads have been made for school and for church events, and always for Easter morning. We even dyed them green one year and shaped the dough into standard rolls for a St. Patrick’s party in one of the kids’ classrooms (the color was disconcerting; we found them easier to eat with eyes closed).

I hope you enjoy them.

Orange-flavored Bunny Breads

Dough:

1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 tsp salt
5 1/2 cups (give or take) all purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tbsp grated orange peel

Glaze:

1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup powdered sugar

In a saucepan, heat the milk, sugar and butter until the butter is melted and the mixture just reaches a simmer. Remove from the heat and let cool.

While the milk mixture is cooling, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let the yeast soften for about five minutes.

In a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, place two cups of the flour. Slowly pour in the mixture and bring just together. Add the eggs, yeast and water, juice, and grated peel and continue to combine. Add enough flour to make a soft dough.

Knead 8-10 minutes, or let the stand mixer do the work, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Don’t add too much additional flour during this process; the dough should be slightly sticky.

Rise in a greased bowl covered with plastic wrap until the dough is doubled in size, about two hours.

Punch down the dough and let it rest while you prepare cookies sheets and get ready for the shaping. Line several cookie sheets with parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead lightly once or twice.

Pull off a bit of dough and roll it into a long rope (the approximate right amount of dough will take some practice). Then working on the cookie sheet coil about two-thirds of it to make the body of the bunny. With the remaining third, create another coil in reverse for the bunny’s head. Get a tiny bit of dough to roll into a small ball to make the tail. Get another small bit of dough, roll into a thin rope perhaps the length of you pinky finger. Fold that rope in half and stick it on the back of the bunny’s head (same side as the tail) for the bunny’s ears.

Repeat until all the dough is used up. Cover the shaped breads and let rise again, about an hour or so.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden.

After the breads have cooled, mix together the juice and the sugar for the glaze and brush over the baked bunnies.

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Creamy, fruity and unique! A fun dessert or snack for kids. You can make this as directed, or healthy it up with some protein powder or brewer’s yeast. The kids won’t even notice it’s in there, but it offers a nice nutritional boost! Don’t like blackberries? Substitute the fruit of your choice.

Blackberry Milkshake

Ingredients

1 cup blackberries, washed and frozen
2 tablespoons sugar or sweetener
1-1/2 cups vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt (4 scoops)
1/2 cup milk

Directions

Place the blackberries and sugar or sweetener in a blender and puree until smooth. You can skip the freezing step and add a few ice cubes in the blender before you puree. Add the ice cream or frozen yogurt and milk. Blend until smooth.

Serves 2.

A sucker for kitchen gadgets!

There’s nothing like a new gadget to perk up my cooking, if only for a short while. Any excuse to use it – any excuse at all – and I’m there. I love to peruse cooking stores and websites for new gadgets. I’m a sucker for new tools, and a complete idiot for those tools in funky colors.

Last year when I picked up a mango splitter, I proceeded to buy many overpriced mangoes for weeks just so I could use it. I figured out just the level of ripeness of the fruit that resulted in the best split. My kids thought this was just the best thing ever as they love mangoes and I would buy them only rarely. We had many smiles around the dinner table, and many mango fibers to floss out of our teeth.

I was equally excited when I received a microplane grater as a gift. I sought out all my recipes that contained grated citrus peel or fresh grated nutmeg. Fresh tangerine tart out of season? Eggnog in July? Why not! Then I started using it to grate Parmesan onto pasta. Those thin ribbons of cheese melted so easily, and prettily. I was in heaven.

Any excuse for a new gadget…

Even my new garlic press has me excited. Our 15+ year old garlic press gave up the ghost recently, so I got to pick out a shiny new steel one with these lovely rubber grips. There are so many things I could press with that. What to try, what to try…

There’s that new avocado slicer around that looks very interesting. Although I don’t often slice avocados (I usually smush them into guacamole) and don’t find it onerous when I do, it’s awfully pretty.

The pineapple slicer looks like lots of fun, too. Except that we have a fresh pineapple once or twice a year. Mere details!

My oldest son has inherited my love of cooking gadgets. He has short fingernails and asked for a citrus peeler for Christmas. Seriously, he did.

As you can imagine, my drawers are overfull with seldom used items. But when I do want that gadget, no other will do. Whether it’s the apple corer, melon baller, bowl scraper, or one of a dozen others, I love them all.

Tangerine Tart

Think of tangerine as the starting off point for this tart. Pink grapefruit, lemon, or lime also work.

Crust

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp grated tangerine peel
14 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into chunks

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and tangerine peel. Whir together about 10 seconds. Sprinkle the butter over the top of the flour mixture, then pulse the food processor until the dough just holds together. Press the crust into a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. It will be a bit crumbly.

Bake 25-53 minutes until crust is light brown.

Filling:

2 large eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup fresh tangerine juice
2-3 tsp grated tangerine peel
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup half-and-half

Keep that oven at 325 degrees.

With a mixer on high speed, mix all ingredients until well-blended, a minute or so. Pour into the baked crust, and bake 30-40 minutes, until the filling no longer giggles. Cool about 1 hour.

Topping:

3/4 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 tsp grated tangerine peel

Beat cream, sugar, vanilla and tangerine peel together until just shy of soft peaks. Mound spoonfuls on the tart as you serve it.

Jen’s Guacamole

I’m not a big pepper fan, so this version has none. The focus is the lovely creaminess of the avocados.

3 perfectly ripe avocados
1 plum tomato, seeded and chopped fine
2 tbsp finely chopped red onion
juice of half a lime
generous pinch of kosher salt

Peel and mash the avocados well. Add the tomato, onion, lime juice and salt and mix/mash well.

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No meal glitches last week! Hooray! We’re starting this week’s plan with a cleaned out refrigerator and a fresh meal list.

An asterisk indicates the recipe is included below.

Sunday: Asparagus risotto and salad, browned butter Rice Krispie treats* for dessert.

With the appearance of asparagus in the markets, I can’t resist. Yes, the kids will balk a little to start, but they will eat some of it. They actually like, thought they are several years from admitting that. And it’s just so tasty.

The Rice Krispie treats are just a little less sticky and a little more grown up than the standard recipe. You are going to love them.

Monday: Taco salad

To kind of make up for Sunday’s meal, a very kid-friendly meal. Instead of prepared dressing, I put out salsa and sour cream for the kids to add as they choose.

Tuesday: Pasta with pancetta and tomatoes*, salad

We love, love, love pancetta in this house. I don’t use it too often, but I’ve been craving it a bit lately, so it’s appeared twice in the last couple of weeks.

Wednesday: Leftovers for the kids, pasta with potatoes and rosemary for the adults.

As usual, the kids are fed earlier on Wednesday due to evening commitments and my husband and I eat together later. I have some rosemary from last week that I need to use, and we already have potatoes.

Thursday: Bratwurst and hotdogs, salad.

Thursday is going to be a busy day, so I think a super easy meal is in order.

Friday: Homemade pizza.

Sometimes I make the dough myself and add fresh herbs to the dough, sometimes I pick up premade crusts at the market. It depends on how I feel that day. If I do make the crust myself, I have a recipe that gets most of it done in the food processor*.

The kids like the standard toppings for pizza: cheese and pepperoni. Usually we make one or two as such and get a little more inventive with a third: instead of red sauce and cheese we’ll use hoisin sauce, chicken, water chestnuts and scallions for a Chinese pizza, for example. Pizza is a great opportunity for creativity.

Saturday: Marinated pork chops, rice pilaf, vegetable, salad.

I picked up an interesting looking marinade at Trader Joe’s recently, and now that pork chops are on sale, it’s time to try it.

Browned Butter Rice Krispie Treats

2 sticks unsalted butter
Pinch of salt
1 10 1/2 oz bag of mini marshmallows
1 12 oz box of Rice Krispies

Prepare a sheet for the treats with well-buttered wax paper or parchment paper.

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat until it is browned and smells nutty. Watch it closely! Then stir in the marshmallows and salt. Stir constantly as the marshmallows melt until the mixture is evenly light brown, but not dark.

Turn off the heat and mix in the cereal. Press into prepared pan and let cool.

Pasta with Pancetta and Tomatoes

2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
generous inch of so of pancetta, chopped into small pieces
1 tbsp parsley, preferably fresh
1 large can peeled tomatoes, chopped
1 pound shaped pasta
Parmesan or romano cheese for garnish

Cook the pasta to almost al dente. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan in medium heat and add the pancetta. Saute the pancetta until the fat starts to render. Add the onions and garlic and sauté for a minute or so. Add the tomatoes and most of the sauce to the pan and let cook for 5-10 minutes to bring the flavors together. Now add the drained almost al dente pasta to the pancetta-tomato sauce and let finish cooking in the sauce for another five minutes or so. Serve with the cheese as a garnish.

Food Processor Pizza Dough

1 1/3 cups lukewarm water
1 package dried yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/2 cups flour
Extra flour (for kneading)
Extra olive oil (for the bowl)

Fit the food processor with a steel blade and pour the water into it. Sprinkle the yeast onto the water. Let it sit for 5 minutes

Add the sugar, salt, oil, and 1/2 cup of the flour. With the lid in place, whir these ingredients in an on-off motion just until they are combined.

Turn on the motor and add the remaining flour through the feed tube. When the dough comes together and forms a ball on top of the blade, let it whir for another minute. Then turn it out onto a lightly floured board, smooth the edges with your hands, and transfer it to an oiled bowl. Turn the dough over in the bowl so it’s oiled all over, then cover it with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 45 minutes.

Punch the dough down and use.

Comforting comfort food

When I am feeling particularly stressed or down-in-the-dumps, I crave certain foods. I crave the foods that remind me of comfort and security and safety and are mostly from childhood.

Not a single one of these food cravings is particularly healthy. They are rich and sweet and salty and a little heavy. They make me sleepy, or at least a little dazed. Fried anything and creamy or cheesy or buttery things. Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard.

Of course, the foods I crave during these times are the foods I probably should not be eating during these times. If I am stressed or a little depressed, I should be more careful about eating healthy things to help boost my mood and my immunity – and spending more time in the sunshine and fresh air. Often I can use this rationale to avoid total indulgence. I might allow myself one small decadent bit, but I push through to the other side.

But then there are the times you just have to go for it, you just have to give in.

Honor the craving

I woke up yesterday morning with a craving for banana pudding, that sickly sweet and creamy childhood treat. I don’t remember my mother making it, but I remember it from other kids’ houses and I loved it. I’ve been pretty good lately about the quality of my diet, so I made it an item on my “to do” list for the day to acquire the ingredients. It was definitely a go for it day.

Even when I make comfort food – maybe especially when I make comfort food – I go for the really good ingredients. Prepackaged ingredients may be faster, but if I’m going to indulge, I’m going to go all the way. I picked up a bunch of bananas. I bought fresh cream and macadamia nuts to sprinkle on the final pudding. And the vanilla wafers, of course. There’s only one source for those.

The final pudding was – and is – really, really tasty. It hit that right spot. After dinner and after the kids were in bed, I let myself have a second serving. I scooped it generously into a bowl, curled up on the couch under and cozy throw and enjoyed every last bit of it. It was exactly what I needed it to be: comforting.

>>> Get the recipe here: Banana Pudding
 

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