Thursday, February 28, 2013

Lemon Curd


Only a few months ago I heard about lemon curd. When I hear the word curd, I cringe because I instantly think of cheese curds. And that is totally cool if you are into cheese curds, but something about their texture just gets to me, same with cottage cheese, fudge and cold macaroni salad. I am a texture-sensitive eater, for the longest time when I was younger I refused to eat yogurt, it gave me the chills. I have gotten over that...sort of, every once in awhile yogurt bothers me. Anyhoo I would define lemon curd as this sublime, or should I say "sublemon" (sorry that was really terrible), confection made from eggs, butter, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest. It has a smooth, velvety consistency and a very tart yet appetizing taste that you wouldn't expect from its appearance. 



 I first heard of lemon curd while browsing Sweetapolita where Rosie discusses how delicious it is and how sometimes she sneaks a spoonful form the freezer. I sat back and was like wow, where can I try some of this stuff!
Some time went by, I would often visit the recipe page and contemplate making it. Then more time went by. Finally, I made lemon curd. The first time I followed the stove-top method, but that can be very tedious and time consuming. There is always the possibility of overcooking your eggs and getting a lumpy curd (doesn't that sound appetizing). I am happy to report I was successful in my first attempt, but I never made it again because of how unpredictable lemon curd can be and you know who can be extremely lazy at times. Well, you can imagine my excitement when I discovered from Southern Living  that you can make lemon curd in the microwave! And the recipe was titled "Super Easy Lemon Curd", oh, yeah baby right up my alley!

Look at that ooze, oh my goodness! Can't handle it! 
Super Easy Microwave Lemon Curd
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Zest
1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice (strained with a mesh sieve)
2 Cups Sugar
4 Eggs

Directions:
1. Zest and juice lemons. Strain the lemon juice using a mesh sieve, and measure out 1 cup of strained juice. Set this aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed beat the butter and sugar until blended. Then add the eggs one at a time, beating until blended after each addition, and scraping down the bowl as necessary. On low speed, gradually add in lemon juice, mixing until well blended. (The mixture will look curdled, this is a okay.)
3. Transfer the mixture to a microwave safe 3 quart bowl.
4. On high, microwave for 5 minutes, stirring at 1 minute intervals. Then microwave for 1-2 more minutes, stirring at 30 second intervals. When done, the mixture should coat the back of a metal spoon and will mound slightly after stirring.
5. Stir in the lemon zest. Immediately cover the surface of the curd with heavy duty plastic wrap to prevent the formation of a film. Refrigerate curd for at least 4 hours or until firm. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerate for up to 2 weeks, or freeze for 1-2 months.

Recipe Adapted from Southern Living Magazine (February 2013)

P.S. See you next time for my fiftieth post! Can you believe it? I can't!

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

The Weekly Scoop 2/26/13

This picture does not do it justice,
but the sky was gorgeous the other night.
No filter.
I know, I know I am a little late yet again. Well you can think of this as a double scoop seeing as I missed the past two Friday's Scoops, so it could be seen as a two for one deal. And I made it doubly long just for you, there are not 5 points, but 10!!! I will quite my jibber jabber and get on with the scoop!

1. So, I finally received my new yoga mat and well...it kind of smells. It really smells, like REALLY REALLY smells like a combination of rotting fish and burning rubber. Just the smells I want while relaxing in a yoga class. I read somewhere that the smell will fade overtime, so I laid it out to help quicken the "evaporation" of the smell. Well I laid it out in a room I barely use. My dad went upstairs, near that room, and he smelled that smell!
Later he asked me, "Is that your yoga mat that smells?"
I responded with, "Yes, but it says it will fade overtime."
Then my dad responds, "Or will it just be covered by the smell of your sweat?"
....Not funny dad, I probably inherited my sweaty hands from you!

2. Recently, I have come across some very peculiar and interesting bumper stickers. Some of them I liked, others left me with one eyebrow raised and a "say what?" look on my face.

  •  "Each day is a gift that is why they call it the present."
  • "This is a blue car."
  • "Come any closer and I will be expecting a phone number and a dinner." (I was so close because we were stopped at a stop light, I was in the next lane over, not tailgating. :))
  • A picture shows a stick figure on all fours on top of a picnic table and he is losing his lunch. Under the picnic table, there are a number of beer bottles. Then it said,"I love camping". 
  • "I am not on your vacation." 

3. This week I tried to gather together all the various recipes I have printed, clipped and pinned. Since I got a working printer, I have been printing any recipe that is remotely appetizing. Well, I have a lot of recipes, and I still continue to print! I have also pinned over a thousand recipes, and because I am weird I feel this strange sense that I need to make ALL of them. You, too? Oh, it's just me I guess. There is no way I can cook at the rate I pin.

4. Two weekends ago I made some great prop finds! I was in a store to smell that perfume I mentioned a few weeks ago, well to my surprise I looked down and spotted a prop I have been searching for for awhile! Can't wait to show you! (Also the perfume smelled delicious and definitely  had a hint of cake!) I also came across other props I had been looking for in a home decor store! So pumped to share! Have you found any incredible props recently? Or do you know any great places to look?

5. Let's talk Downton Abbey , I think I have watched a total of 2 minutes. I have heard nothing but praise for it, I just haven't had time to sit down and watch it. Is it worth it? Should I watch it?
I originally hand wrote this post. 

6. Currently in my life:

  • was currently watching The Wedding Planner when I originally wrote this post. 
  • Currently on my nails is "Deep" 
  • Currently handwriting typing this post

7. Recently I saw the movie Butter, I read the briefing about the movie and thought it sounded like a fun, light movie. Well, it was funny...at times, and let's just say I don't feel the need to see that movie again. It has a lot of star power, but parts of it are just plain weird. Like really weird and left me scratching my head as to why they felt that they needed to put that in. Have any recommendations as to what I should watch next? I need a genuinely "good" movie after seeing this one.

8. I wrote this post before the Oscars happened, but I am now typing this after they happened. Originally I was going on about how I was excited for the fashion and the movies. I really want to see Silver Linings Playbook! Now let's talk fashion. Some of my favorite gowns were Jennifer Lawrence's, Jessica Chastain's, Naomi Watts', Sandra Bullock's, and Charlize Theron's. I am sorry Anne Hathaway, I love you, but I really don't think that pink dress was the best choice. And did you see Jennifer Lawrence's after party dress, HOLY MOLY! She looking amazing! (I may have a slight girl crush on Jennifer Lawrence, haha!)

9. Do you have any recipe requests? I want your input since you're my readers and I love to make something super special for you! So...tell me what you want, what you really really want!

10. Now for the usual roundup of my favorite recipes of late!


Whew! That was a lot! Hope I did not overwhelm you, here's to wishing you a Happy Tuesday!

At least it's not Monday, this will be me in about two hours, haha! 


Thursday, February 21, 2013

Picture Post


 Greetings! It is 11:38PM as I sit here writing this and finishing off a pint of ice cream and watching some terrible TV show. AND I just realized I broke the promise I made for Lent...I had given up Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and there are little teeny weeny peanut butter cups in my ice cream. GAH and I thought I was doing so well, so much for that. Yet I continue to eat it.
Anyways, this post is an update of sorts since it has been awhile. Tomorrow I will resume my Friday's Scoop! For now I will be sharing some pictures of what has been going on in my kitchen, but not sharing recipes because I was not thrilled with the results. Some were just plain weird. As I look through my photos I am remembering there was one a couple recipes that I loved and will share! 
Skinny Chocolate Cupcakes with a Coconut Fauxstess Filling
These were tasty and I will be sharing the cupcake recipe in a little bit,
 but the filling needs a little work. 
First of all see those adorable little cupcake liners,
well they stained my muffin pan and some tupperware. Not happy. 
Saw it. Pinned it. Did it. Kind of liked it. Pancake Squares
That's it for tonight folks! Sleep tight! Back soon!

Friday, February 8, 2013

Friday's Scoop 2/8/2013


Someone found Nemo, and now Nemo is finding the North East. As you may have heard Snowmaggedon is barreling its way across the states. A few minutes ago I heard over a hundred people in my town have already lost power...not looking good. So who even knows if I will be able to finish this post, hopefully my power will hold and I will be able to!

1. Soon (as in the next few minutes) I will be renaming all of my "social media" accounts to Bakelette! And if you are not following me already please do so! It's easy all the links are to the left! Also my Google Friend Connect followers are on the rather slim side, I would love for you add to them! Thanks!

2. Snow. If you are impacted by the storm, please stay safe. Please check on your neighbors to make sure they have enough water, food and warmth.


3. In the past few weeks I have been on the hunt for a new wallet, I want a moderately small one. I have one of those huge rectangle ones and it never fits in any of my pockets, which is usually okay, but sometimes I just want to run somewhere quickly with just my wallet. I have not found one that is screaming at me to buy it, but a few have caught my eye. Only problem is I don't believe a wallet should cost more than you can actually put in it, but I may need to budge to get one I genuinely like and will use. Have you seen any nice, small, and affordable wallets? Or do you know of anywhere to look?

4. About two weeks ago I started taking a Pilates class, which has been awesome because it forces me to do some exercise. And by some exercise, I mean a real workout, you do not sweat per say, but you definitely feel your muscles work. I am pretty sure my butt was swollen the other day because it hurt like heck and it was difficult to zip up my jeans. Now I know why Pippa Middleton has such an infamous derriere. Anyways I started to tell you about my Pilates because I am really excited and placed my first LuluLemon order online! I cannot wait for the package to arrive, hopefully the storm won't throw its delivery off too much! I also cannot wait to try out some yoga classes in the future!


5. My favorite bookmarks of the week:


Take Mozi's lead and rest up during the storm! 

Have a safe, warm and happy weekend!


Thursday, February 7, 2013

Drumroll Please! Happy 7 Month Blogoversary to Me!

How fitting that it is February 7th and my 7 month Blogoversary! In my family, the number 7 holds a lot of significance, so its only right that I do this post on the 7th! On this Blogoversary, I have a very important and exciting surprise for you all! And that surprise is....I dyed my hair PINK!

NOT! I am totally kidding!

All kidding aside I have decided on a new name for this ol' bloggy blog (that is how I actually refer to it when chatting with friends)! And that name is....(drum roll, please).......
TA DA! In a couple of hours I will be changing the header officially and in the next few days I will be changing the URL! Get excited!

Now on a more serious note, y'all probably hate me because I have not posted recipes in like FOREVER, but I have been uber busy and I am honestly sorry about that! But today I will share with you a (not)recipe recipe!
Please excuse my horrible looking nails, I am currently
 still working on removing the blue tinge that was left behind!
Yesterday, I had this wonderful brain blast about what I wanted for lunch! I knew I had a bunch of strawberries in the fridge, so I thought I should start eating them up! So for some reason my ADD brain suddenly thought of a panini I had had at Flour with marscapone cheese and fall fruits, delicious! I set out to create just that! Here are my ingredients, you can make changes as you see fit, and next time I think that I might add some chocolate and make it a sort of dessert panini!

Strawberry and Marscapone Panini
Ingredients:

  • Challah Bread
  • Marscapone Cheese
  • Sliced Strawberries
  • Raspberry Jam
  • Butter
Directions:
Assembled your panini, spread both pieces of bread with the marscapone, then layer one side with strawberries and then spread the jam on the other piece of bread. Smoosh the lovely pieces of sweet goodness together.  Spread butter on the outside side of the bread. Then place on your teeny tiny grill made by that guy who has five kids with his name (I am sure you know who I am talking about!), or a larger one if you are so inclined. Grill to your liking and enjoy!


Friday, February 1, 2013

Friday's Scoop 2/1/13

Walking in this fog was really, really creepy!
Buildings disappeared and people came out of nowhere. 
Again this week had some crazy weather! There was dense fog, freezing temperatures, snow flurries and howling winds! Also yesterday it was fifty degrees in the morning and I was able to go outside without a jacket, but by the afternoon I had my down coat back on! How has the weather been in your area?

SNOW
1. Have you seen the new wedge sneakers? At first I thought they were a little odd, but now I am really starting to dig them! There is no way I could afford the "posh" celebrity version, so I went looking for an alternative. Now I would like your help in deciding if this is a weird fluke in my fashion, or they are worth it!

Do you like these shoes or am I losing my fashion mind?

2. You may have notice some changes going on on the blog! I have been trying my hand at DIY blog design, and I successfully edited my HTML code with out messing my blog up! YAY!!! Along with a new design, I am again working towards establishing a new name for my blog. Until I decide on a new name, I will be playing around with a lot of layouts and headers. Do you like the new direction of the blog or do you have other ideas?
Header

Current Header

3. So while drooling over at How Sweet It Is I stumbled upon this perfume by Tokyo-milk. Guess what it is called? Dun, dun, dun...Let them Eat Cake! Now I have not actually smelled it yet, but I plan to very soon! There is a store in the next town over that sells Tokyo-milk products! So excited! What are some of your favorite perfumes?

4. Did you know they changed the name of Samoas? Apparently they are now "Caramel deLites" because they got a new baker. I am sorry, but huh? You can't just do that to my samoas!

5. Recipes I have bookmarked this week! What did you bookmark this week?


Oh, yes this happened! PUPPIES! I love puppies! 

Have a great weekend!
xoxo,
M