Blueberry lemon bread

Well, it sure has been a while. My 2013 posting count is pretty abominable (2, as of May!). As usual, I blame it on the doggy. Anyway, I've decided to leave my commentary on these blog posts to a minimum, and focus on the food. No one wants to hear me whine about my poor blogging performance on every post. And, when I look at most food blogs, it annoys me that I have to scroll down a huge page full of blahblahblah by someone I don't know to get to the recipe I want to use. I finally got a new awesome-sauce camera that makes me more excited about taking food photos, so hopefully that will give me some incentive to post. Hooray, back to baking! (and cooking, I guess.)

1.5 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter (melted)
1/2-1 cup sugar (depending how sweet you want it)
1/4 cup of lemon juice
2 tbs lemon zest
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 cups of blueberries (I use frozen)
1/2 cup buttermilk (I use regular milk with a little bit of lemon juice)

Put everything in a bowl. Mix it up. (Maybe save the blueberries for last, and fold them in.) Scrape into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes until a knife or toothpick comes out clean. Easy peasey. 

(If you want to do it the hard way, click here)

Lemon blueberry buckle

YUM. This makes me drool just looking at it. This was Dave's birthday "cake" for me - I picked it out instead of a cake because I thought it would be more interesting. And that it was. I normally don't like lemon-flavored desserts all that much but I loved this. I had also never made or even heard of a buckle before, but I'll definitely look for more recipes after this one! When we were making this, we were thinking that the lemon glaze for the top was unnecessary - but it IS necessary. Once it sits for a bit it gets crunchy and just awesome on the top. Just do it.


Crumb topping
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, cubed, at room temperature

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and lemon zest. Add the butter, using a fork or your fingers to cut in the butter until it is reduced to the size of peas. Loosely cover the bowl, and place it in the freezer while you mix the cake batter.

Cake and assembly
6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing the pan
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (I used dried nutmeg - it's a 1:1 ratio fresh to dried)
3/4 cup plus 1/3 cup sugar, divided
Zest of 1 lemon
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk (or sour milk, milk + vinegar or lemon juice)
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, divided
Crumb topping, chilled
Juice of 2 lemons (about 6 tablespoons)

Lightly grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter, three-fourths cup sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.

Stir the flour mixture into the bowl, a third at a time, alternating with the buttermilk, until both the flour mixture and buttermilk are evenly incorporated into the batter. Gently fold 1 cup of the blueberries into the batter.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan and distribute the remaining blueberries evenly over the top of the batter. Remove the crumb topping from the freezer and sprinkle it over the berries.

Bake the cake at 350 degrees until it is lightly golden and firm on top, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through for even baking.

While the cake is baking, make a lemon syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the remaining one-third cup sugar with the lemon juice and whisk until blended. Heat the pan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid thickens to a syrupy consistency, 6 to 8 minutes. (The glaze will bubble while cooking and may need to be removed from the heat to check that it is the proper consistency.) Remove from heat and set aside in a warm place.

Remove the cake from the oven and drizzle the warm glaze over. Cool to room temperature. The cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, covered in plastic wrap (or in the fridge for a week or so).



Original recipe here

Lemon, lime and garlic shrimps

This recipe has become a favorite of mine and Dave's, and it is really simple, especially if you use frozen shrimp. We usually just make pasta with this dish and put the shrimp dish on top - the pasta tastes really great with all of the olive oil, parsley, and lemon and lime zests.

4 Tbsp Olive Oil
150 g Peeled Large Prawns, thawed if frozen, pat dry
3 Cloves Garlic, peeled and chopped
Zest of 1 Big Lime
Zest of 1 Lemon
½ tsp Chili Flakes
3 Heaped Tbsp Chopped Flat-Leaf Parsley
1 Tbsp Breadcrumbs
Sea Salt to taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste
1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter

Pasta (I usually use ziti)  
Lemon and lime wedges



Preheat oven to 425˚F.
 
Place the olive oil in a baking dish large enough to fit the prawns in a single layer. Warm the oil in the oven for about 5 to 6 minutes or until the oil is hot.

Meanwhile, toss the prawns with all the ingredients except the butter.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and add the prawns in the hot oil and scatter the butter on top. Return to the oven and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes or until the prawns are just cooked. Season the prawns lightly with sea salt if necessary and serve immediately with lemon wedges on top of the pasta. 

Original recipe here