Tag Archives: Easter

A zen moment

11 Saturday Apr 2015

Posted by in at the holidays, Breakfast/Brunch, family gatherings

≈ 14 Comments

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PS2_lemon cake

Sometimes, life happens around us.  We are there too, experiencing the life but not participating in it, other than observing.  I am looking out at the Arizona sky, from Grandpa’s backyard.  The wind is whipping warmly across my face and I am an observer rather than a participant.  For this moment I am zoning out the requirements of life.  The cooking temperatures or timing.  The dry or moist feel of my skin.  The lizard that may be crawling toward my leg.  I am unaware of the savory waft of smells from the kitchen.  These smells, I set in motion.  Subconsciously, they add to this moment of zen.  This zen that is now.  I breathe in the air.  Through my nose.  I release through my mouth.  Thanks to Cristina for teaching me this life altering move.  All of the noise is shut out…momentarily (seconds, or minutes or for whatever you make time).  I actually see the beauty, not just hear about the beauty.  I feel it on my skin.  I smell it wildly tickling my nose.

As quickly as I allow it to begin, it ends.  And off I go to make sure the kitchen is not burning.  Make sure the food is happy.  The people are eager to partake.

PS_mtn from dad club

Lemon curd cake

This cake is dense and slightly dry without a nice spread of lemon curd on top.  It is based off of a rosemary olive oil cake that I love to make, but I changed it up to try and utilize as many lemons as I could from my Grandfather’s plentiful lemon trees.  There is little fat or sweetener in the cake, but the curd makes up for the lack of fat with its wealth of egg yolk and butter.  It makes for a light dessert, a “zen moment” mid-day snack, or a prelude to brunch.

The lemon curd will keep a week or two, covered tightly, in the fridge (if you don’t use it all up on the cake).  You can add fresh strawberries, cooked into the center, or leave it plain.  Either way, it is best warmed, then sliced and spread with a healthy layer of the lemon curd, which unless short of time, you hopefully have made

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup reserved lemon curd batter – recipe follows
2 TB honey
1 egg yolk
2 oz goat cheese (chèvre)
1/3 cup milk (or yogurt)
5 egg whites (4 reserved from the lemon curd and 1 from this cake)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 TB chopped fresh rosemary
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt

10 strawberries, diced (optional)
Lemon curd for glazing

PREPARE

Combine the uncooked lemon curd, honey and egg yolk.  It is best to use an electric mixer for several minutes.

Add the milk and goat cheese.  Continue to beat the mixture until creamy; a few minutes more.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff.  Stir into the yolk mixture then add the olive oil and blend with the mixer until well combined.  Stir in the rosemary.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, slowly mixing it in 1/2 cup at a time.

For a moister cake, you can add in the cooked lemon curd, reserving 1/4 cup to spread on the top and on the cut slices for serving.

Butter 1 loaf pan (or two mini-loaf pans) and pour in the batter.  If using the strawberries, pour in half the batter then add the berries.  Pour in the remaining batter.

Cook for approximately 30 minutes at 350 or until a toothpick poked in the center comes away clean.

Brush some lemon curd over the top and let cook another 5 minutes.

Let it cool slightly in the pan.  Turn it onto a rack.

Serve warm, sliced, slathered with lemon curd…and perhaps, a cup of tea or a crisp glass of Albariño.

PS_curd

Lemon Curd

House-made lemon curd is far more delicious than that from a jar.  I like mine on the tart side so I use just enough honey to keep me from crinkling my nose.  Leftovers can be used to spread over your morning toast instead of jam, or an english muffin and a slice of ham.

I used freshly-picked lemons from the lemon trees outside my Grandpa’s house in Tucson during our Easter weekend with my Mom.  They were large and juicy and produced thick zest.  Oh how I wish I could grow a lemon tree!

INGREDIENTS

4 egg yolks (whites reserved for cake above or another use)
1/4 cup honey
The juice of 4 large lemons (approximately 1/2 cup) plus their zest
1 stick of butter

PREPARE

Bring some water to simmer in the bottom of a double boiler; it should not be able to touch the saucepan that sits on top.

Using an electric mixer, in the saucepan of the double boiler (or in a stainless steel bowl), beat the egg yolk and honey together until smooth.

Add in the lemon juice and zest, continuing to mix.

Set the saucepan over the simmering water in it’s counter-pan and whisk briskly until the batter becomes pale yellow and smoothly cooked, 6-8 minutes.

Turn off the heat and whisk in the butter, 1 TB at a time, as if making a butter sauce.

Transfer to a clean jar or container and cover tightly once cooled.

cactus bloom
It’s all zen until you come across a little prick…

PS_lemon tree
but when life gives you lemons, make lemon curd!

The Dirty Dozen

19 Saturday Apr 2014

Posted by in cooking basics, From the journals, holidays, the kitchen

≈ 33 Comments

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Why is it that we call a sandwich, when filled with mashed-up egg and drowned in mayonnaise, a little seasoning and perhaps a hint of “vegetable” (celery?) an egg “salad” sandwich? I’m okay with this, but just asking?

I also used to question the “devil” in deviled eggs. This is just something I do, question things. But some of you probably already know that, or would really rather not (know).

I am not an easy one to crack. As a child, I wasn’t one for breakfast, especially involving eggs, yet an egg salad sandwich, as well as a deviled egg was, in fact, amongst my favorites. Perhaps, to do with the mayonnaise, which by the way, I am quite fond of too. So, how is it a brother of mine, an actual sibling of the blood relation, does not eat salad dressing? Ever? As in, nope, never. I glop it on, or at least used to, before I understood the amount of effort it took to glop it back off my body. I loved the creaminess of a salad dressing which often involved mayonnaise. These days, it is the acidity in the dressing that takes priority over the cream, for me. There is an art to the perfect balance of savory to sweet, and tangy to tart. We aren’t here to talk salad though. We are here to eat eggs! Deviled eggs, for Easter (something ironic about that perhaps)?!

Into making a good quality mayonnaise, goes an egg (or two). So, why is it that to this mayonnaise we actually insert more egg, the hard cooked yolk part, to make it deviled? What is it to be deviled, again? Is it to do with the cayenne or the mayonnaise? I believe it is to do with the cayenne, but the devil is in the mayonnaise (at least devilish for our health). So now you know, this is the type of random bits of information I so often ponder.

Yet, it will not stop me from making a batch of deviled eggs for Fiesta Friday (because it makes good party food) and another batch for Easter (because it makes good Easter food). Plus, Tom will insist on coloring eggs and what else am I going to do with a dozen hard cooked eggs (rhetorical question)? The first batch will be clean (I am sure you are relieved). The second batch will be dirty; from the stain of the dye soaking through (kind of festive though).

I like a good old fashioned deviled egg as much as the next person, but if we decorate the outside of an Easter egg, I think it only fair to decorate the deviled egg too, so I usually dress them up a little. I also like to crank up the flavor without getting too wild; (truffle oil will sneak into the ones going to the party; not Tom’s favorite). Tulip petals are their Easter dress.

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Deviled eggs, Chez Stacey style

I’ve shed my need for so much mayonnaise, so to lighten things up, I now use plain yogurt (the local kind) to make it creamy. I love the addition of truffle oil which is a natural partner to an egg. Tom continues to proclaim himself a non-truffle eater so I fill his eggs first then add the truffle oil to the mix (for me and any other guests that might be joining). Truffle oil is strong, so adjust the quantity to your taste by adding it a few drops at a time. If you have fresh truffles, truffle shavings would be delicious to mix in. If you don’t like truffle, simply omit it altogether.

INGREDIENTS

6 eggs, hard boiled, cooled and peeled
1 TB Dijon mustard
1 TB lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne
4 TB plain yogurt
1 tsp chopped fresh chives
1 TB chopped Spring onion or shallot
1/2 tsp white truffle oil (+/- to taste), optional

For garnish: fresh chives cut into 2 inch lengths. Good quality ham cut into 2 inch x 1/8″ strips, smoked paprika, tulip petals

PREPARE

Cut the cooked, peeled eggs in half lengthwise. Scoop the yolk, out from the white and place in a bowl.

Add the rest of the ingredient and mash well with a fork.

Chop one of the cooked egg whites and add to the bowl mixing well.

Fill the center of each cooked egg white with spoonfuls of the yolk mixture.

Sprinkle with smoked paprika and top each with 2 chive strips and 1-2 ham strips.

20140419-100305.jpgTo serve, put each deviled egg on a tulip petal placed on a platter or individual plates. Admire momentarily and watch them disappear.