#lemon

Green Olive and Almond Tapenade

Theresa PizarroLeave a comment

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We had the 2021-2022 season’s last MLSNext game in Temecula, California yesterday so after the game ended, we ventured back to one of our favorite places to go whenever we are in the area: Downtown Temecula!

We love eating at Mad Madeleine’s Grill, checking out Old Town Sweet shop, Temecula Valley Cheese company, the antique stores that dot the street, the Lavender Company, and the Temecula Olive Oil Company.

There are numerous other bars and drinking spots that line the main street, wine tasting booths and local breweries, so there’s something for basically everyone.

Yesterday, I saw a small jar of Green olive and almond tapenade at the Olive oil store and it got me curious as I had been preparing and devouring a lot of charcuterie boards quite often lately.

I was going to buy a few items but the lines were just too long, and I think they were rearranging the store as a few employees were by the entrance and talking about where to put the ladder…which was at the time smack in the middle if the store…🤷‍♀️

So I made a mental note of it and somehow just never forgot about it.

Everything fell into place this morning as I went to the grocery store and somehow passed by the olives! Got a can of green olives and hoped it’s all I will need. Will have to improvise otherwise!

I made it quite thick and “scoopable”, but feel free to thin it out with more olive oil if you prefer a thinner consistency.

Serve with crackers, bread, veggies, or thin out with more olive oil to use to top pasta, pork chops, mushrooms…use your imagination! I bake bread regularly and I think I can roll the dough up with some of this spread in between for a delicious olive tepenade loaf!

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup toasted almonds
  • 1 (6 oz.) can Green Ripe olives, drained
  • 1/4 cup chopped celery stalks
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked sea salt
  • 2 – 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Procedure:

1. In the bowl of a small food processor, finely chop the almonds. I used my kitchen aid 3.5 cup food processor and it worked perfectly with the amount of ingredients.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients except the olive oil.

3. Process until finely chopped and throughly blended.

4. Pour in enough olive oil to loosen up the mixture and pulse for a couple of seconds more.

4. Transfer to a serving bowl or a jar with a lid if serving later.

5. Serve at room temperature. Enjoy!!

Draft originally written 05/22/2022.

Meyer Lemon Bars

Theresa Pizarro3 Comments

My coworkers know how much I love to be in the kitchen, dreaming up yummy things, so when one of them had a Meyer lemon tree full of fruits, guess what I got? A bag full of fragrant, beautiful, shiny Meyer lemons! Just look at the photo below..swoon!!

Since I tend to barter with baked goods with my coworkers, I asked her if she wanted a lemon cake or lemon bars and she said “lemon bars!” without hesitation.

I bartered a loaf of sourdough bread for these eggs!

Lemon bars it is! Meyer lemon bars! *lemon cake in the ELB recipe link here – https://athomewiththeresa.com/2020/11/26/electric-lunchbox-72-lemon-cake/

I do have a dwarf Eureka lemon tree in the backyard that produces some lemons as it is still small but Meyer lemons are totally delicious! They have a floral scent, like orange blossoms, mixed with lemon that is just so refreshing and mild.

So, back to my lemon bars. This recipe makes a big 13” x 9” pan so you’ll have enough to share but I’d totally understand too if you eat half a pan while cooking dinner after the bars cooled off a bit… because I just can’t stop eating it! I do not like cloyingly sweet desserts so this has just enough sweetness to play up the tart, floral taste coming from the lemon juice and lemon zest.

Of course you can cut all the ingredients in half and bake this in an 8×8 pan. AND, if you do not have Meyer lemons, regular store bought lemons make the perfect substitute!

Ingredients for the Crust:

1 cup butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Ingredients for Meyer Lemon Filling:

6 large eggs

2 3/4 cups sugar

2 tablespoons Meyer Lemon zest (from 4 – 5 lemons)

1 cup Meyer lemon juice (from 4 – 6 lemons)

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13” x 9” pan with non stick spray. You’ll have a cookie crust so there is no need to line the pan but feel free to do so if you want to.

2. Place butter and sugar in a medium bowl.

3. Cream together with a hand mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes. You can also use a stand mixer.

4. Add flour and salt to the bowl.

5. Beat until combined and texture resembles sand. See the texture in the photo above.

6. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan.

7. Press firmly onto the bottom of the pan. I use a measuring cup to press the crust firmly on the bottom of the pan, then my fingers for the corners and edges.

8. Bake at 350F for 15 to 18 minutes, until lightly browned.

9. Transfer to a cooling rack while you prepare the filling.

10. Gather your ingredients for the filling.

11. Zest your lemons first.

12. Then cut the lemons in half and squeeze the juice into a measuring cup. Inhale deeply as this is sweet, summery, all natural, refreshing aromatherapy for free! 😊 It’s the little things that count!

11. Wipe out the bowl you used for the crust (one less bowl to wash!) and in it, add sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, flour, baking powder, and salt.

12. Add the eggs and beat until blended.

13. Pour the mixture over the crust.

14. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes more, until middle is set and the top looks dry.

15. Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into pieces. Hint: If you chill it overnight, it cuts cleaner and easier. The photo above are of the lemon bars I cut when they were still warm…so they didn’t look too pretty. Still delicious though!

16. Enjoy!

Electric Lunchbox #72: Lemon Cake

Theresa Pizarro1 Comment

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Thank you for visiting my blog and trying my recipes!

Please don’t forget to extend kindness and help to others if you can. My heart has a soft spot for animals, as they cannot tell us when they’re mistreated or neglected, and they still give us unconditional love even when they’re treated badly. I donate regularly to a couple of rescues and do a Christmas wishlist gift for some local shelters. I encourage you to do the same, it’s a wonderful feeling to be able to help. It’s a been a challenging year so far, but hang in there…we are in this together!

Back to this recipe…I have some fresh lemons ripening in my garden just now, so I am showing you how to make a lemon cake in the ELB today! After all the feasting tonight, this little, refreshing flavored cake will satisfy your sweet tooth without making you feel too heavy. And since it’s small, portion control is guaranteed!

Lemon is one of my favorite flavor to mix with berries but since fresh berries are long gone, I think the lemon can handle this cake on it’s own.

I’ll give it a little help with some sweet-tart glaze so that lemon can shine in all it’s summery flavor!

I hope you like this cake! I know I do, specially with a cup of hot tea!

*NOTE that this recipe uses regular sized measuring cups, NOT the tiny ELB cup, unless specified.*

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Cake:

1 egg

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup sourcream

3 tablespoons canola oil

2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1/2 cup unbleached, all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

Glaze:

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 – 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Lemon zest, for decorating

Procedure:

1. Grease the large or medium ELB bowl with nonstick spray.

2. In a medium bowl, place egg, sugar, sour cream, oil, lemon zest, and lemon extract.

3. Mix wet ingredients well.

4. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the wet ingredients.

5. Mix until well blended. Pour into the prepared ELB bowl. Cover with foil and place in the ELB base. Add 3 ELB cups water in base. Cover and let steam until it shuts off, about 55 minutes.

6. Carefully open the ELB and check cake for doneness by inserting a skewer in the middle, it should come out clean.

7. Cool completely on a wire rack. Run a knife along the edges to release cake. Invert onto a serving dish.

8. Prepare glaze: In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice until it is of thick but pouring consistency. Spread over completely cooled cake.

9. Sprinkles with lemon zest. You can let the glaze set before serving or just serve it right away.

10. Enjoy!

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