Lemon-Hibiscus Bread

I was rustling through the pantry and found a partial bag of dried hibiscus flowers that I had used to make some tacos last year. They’ve been sitting there waiting for me to use them again since our little one arrived. I have not found many recipes that are intended to use hibiscus or jamaica flowers in them, but then I thought I should try to use a recipe that called for lavender. With that in mind, I adapted a recipe from How to Bake Everything to incorporate crumbled hibiscus flowers. As we ate on the loaf, there were a few flowers that weren’t as broken up as I would have liked, but the flowers added a nice background sweet bitterness to the bread.

Lemon-Date Muffins with Pecans

As we entered into the last 2 months of pregnancy, I started to incorporate more dates into my daily menu to help with preparing for the birth. There are mixed feelings about whether these additions make a significant difference, but I was happy to incorporate some foods that might help. I found this recipe in the Sunday Brunch cookbook. And, these made a nice adjustment to the mid-morning snack I’ve been eating most days (usually trail mix). I still try to start the day with something with heavier protein, usually some form of eggs.

Lemon Bars (with Pecans)

Earlier this spring I went to a conference and at it we had a lemon bars as a sweet treat after one of the meals. On the flight back, I found myself looking through my Kindle for a lemon bar recipe. I came across a couple recipes that intrigued me, but this one that was a mixture of pecan pie bars and lemon bars, from The Essential New York Times Cookbook, kept lingering in the back of my mind and I knew I needed to bake them.

Garlic Lemon Butter Shrimp

As I’ve been eating this meat-heavy way of eating, I’ve found that I struggle eating pork, and chicken is good but not always fully satieting on its own. A few weeks ago I found myself wanting to eat some shrimp. This is especially unusual because I don’t really care for seafood. But, I found a small ribeye at the store to have alongside a few pieces of shrimp and found this recipe from the Half Baked Harvest cookbook. Before the weather turned cold, my neighbors and I all found ourselves standing at the end of the street as I kept making my way back to the grill to cook these shrimp in my cast iron pan while the steak was cooking. This was exactly what I was looking for as a second protein to the meal.

Warm Potato Salad with Lemon and Mint

If you check out the chicken I made a few days ago, you’ll note that there is some lemon cooked in the chicken, and I decided to continue the lemon theme with the potatoes I served, especially when I saw this recipe in Rose Water and Orange Blossoms. I was really intrigued by the idea of making a warm potato salad and incorporating some fresh flavors in a part of the meal that I often associate with a hearty and filling component of the meal. I did make this the night before for ease of cooking and serving on the day we ate them. The mint wasn’t overly flavorful (but it did come from my herb pot — yay for using fresh herbs!). When there were leftovers, I heated them with a little olive oil, and sprinkled with some of the Livia’s seasoning salt — a go-to for me — in a cast iron skillet on the grill the next night with some hamburgers. A delicious combination.

Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake

Over Memorial Day weekend, my sister and her family came to visit and so, of course, I cooked a meal before we headed to the local children’s museum for an afternoon of fun. With a couple of dietary restrictions in the family, this gluten-free and dye-free cake from Real Life Paleo seemed exactly like what would fit the bill. With natural sugars (maple syrup and honey) and almond flour, I was really pleased with the level of sweetness of the cake. It was a nice level of sweet without being overly sweet. Besides a couple of the kids who don’t care for blueberries, it was a pretty delightful recipe. I will note that despite greasing my pan well, the cake didn’t all come out evenly, so I noshed on the crumbled parts for a few days and had enough slices to serve to the family and another friend.

As an aside, if you aren’t familiar with Stacy Toth, the author of this cookbook, I’d recommend checking out her podcast — The Whole View. It’s been amazing to listen to her transform into a fierce advocate for foster children and mental health. She touches on a variety of topics related to health and wellness, from a truly whole view perspective.

Roast Chicken with Lemon and Green Olives

I had the folks in my office over for lunch one day and was looking for a few recipes that looked fancy but were relatively easy to put together. This chicken from Every Day is Saturday was perfect. I used a package of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and baked the chicken on a wire rack. I salted the thighs the night before and it really did help crisp up the skins, like the recipe suggests. The lemon was more obviously flavorful than the olives, although I always love a little saltiness and the olives added that to the meal.

Very Berry Lemon Cake

One of my colleagues had been working remotely throughout much of the pandemic. As she was planning to return to campus, I wanted to make a snack for the office and had recently come across this lemon cake recipe from S.M.W.C. School Men’s Wives Cookbook 1976. I made a couple of modifications (increased the blueberries, added some lemon flavoring/extract) and decided to make these in mini Bundt cake pan instead of a large Bundt cake (follow the baking instructions from the back of the box for cupcakes). I wasn’t necessarily planning on making mini Bundt pans, but when I went to JoAnn’s to pick up a cake carrier, I saw this for the same price and had a 60% off coupon, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make this adjustment! Of course, the cake I took a photo of had only a couple blueberries, which mostly reaffirmed the decision to increase the blueberries in the recipe. The recipe got a thumbs up from my better half. And the use of powdered sugar instead of frosting was a nice touch.

Lemon Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

One Saturday morning I woke up early and wanted to make breakfast at our house.  I had just picked up some fresh blueberries (yum!) and Meg loved eating the blueberries that didn’t make it into the muffins.  Unfortunately, I could not find the origin of this recipe.  I did use fresh lemon zest from two lemons and thought the recipe could have had a little more sugar or sweetness in it, but the muffins were yummy as-is as well.

Lemon Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

1 3/4 c rolled oats
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c milk
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp lemon peel
1 tsp vanilla
1 c blueberries

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Line 12 medium muffin cups with paper baking cups.  For the topping, combine 1/4 c oatmeal and brown sugar; set aside.  Combine 1 1/2 c oats with remaining dry ingredients in a large bowl; mix well.  In a small bowl, combine milk, egg whites, oil, lemon peel, and vanilla; mix well.  Add to dry ingredients; stir until moistened.  Gently stir in berries.  Fill muffin cups almost full; sprinkle with topping.  Bake 20-24 minutes or until light brown.  Cool muffins in pan and wire rack for 5 minutes; remove from pan.  Serve warm.

Batata Harra

This week at my church, we are hosting a vacation Bible school called Totus Tuus.  College students go from parish to parish to help lead the camp.  Different members of the church hosted dinner for these four students, one of whom was vegan, and so I wanted to ensure that I made something other than pasta for the students when they came to eat.  I was reading through the Plenty More cookbook and came across this potato recipe.  It was absolutely delicious.  Despite taking a little extra work, I think this will be an ongoing favorite recipe for potlucks and when having guests over.  The complexity and diversity of flavors in these potatoes was amazing.  If you are looking for a slightly complicated recipe that is completely worth it, check this out.  Even the college students took seconds.

Batata Harra

2¼ lb/1 kg Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾-inch/2-cm dice
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp sunflower oil
6 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp pul biber (Turkish chile flakes), or ½ tsp regular chile flakes
2 large red peppers, cut into ¾-inch/2-cm dice (10 oz/260 g)
2 cups/30 g cilantro, chopped
grated zest of 1 lemon, plus 1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 500°F/260°C.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil, add the potatoes, and cook for 3 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside until completely dry. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil and spread out the potatoes in the pan. Pour both oils over the potatoes and sprinkle with 1½ teaspoons salt and some black pepper. Mix gently, then roast in the oven for 10 minutes. Add the garlic, chile flakes, red peppers, and half the cilantro and return to the oven for a further 25 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until the potatoes are nicely colored and completely tender. Remove the potatoes from the oven and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add the lemon zest and juice and give everything another gentle stir. Serve warm or at room temperature, stirring in the remaining cilantro at the last minute.