Lemon Poppy Seed Shortbread

I love making short bread. What's nat to love? Is easy to make, fast, fewer ingredients need it and usually I have everything on hand. If you are frequent reader or a follower of my blog you probably know that I love lemon, I incorporate lemon in almost everything (I can get away with). Those bars are buttery, lemony and the poppy seeds add a great crunch and attractive look. An easy dessert served with your afternoon tea.

Ingredients

1 cup.................................... unsalted butter softened ( 250 ml, or 2 sticks )

1 cup ................................... icing sugar sifted

2 cups ................................ all-purpose flour ( sifted)

2 tbsp ................................ poppy seeds

2 tbsp ............................... grated lemon zest

1 tbsp ............................... freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tbsp .............................. granulated sugar to sprinkle

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Prepare an 9 inch square baking pan ungreased.

In a medium mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy.

Add flour,poppy seeds, lemon zest, lemon juice and mix well.

Press the mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan. I used the back of an sturdy plastic spatula. Sprinkle with the granulated sugar.

Bake into the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until light brown around the edges. Cut wile still warm. Let cool completely in pan. Recut if necessary.

Serve with a cup of your favorite tea.

Enjoy!

Rustic Corn Bread

Autumn is just around the corner, you can feel it at night or early mornings there is a chill in the air that wasn't there a week ago. Also the anticipation of the first day of school. My boys are getting their backpacks out of the back of the closet, sharpening pencils, making the list of what they are missing or need replacing .... Yes, definitely autumn is around the corner.

Starting autumn my oven gets turned on more. Home made bread! That's what autumn brings more often to our house. My boys love home made bread, OK. they love home made everything, but bread is something they truly adore.

Corn bread of course is not a yeast bread, so it's much faster to make, but don't let that fool you

its delicious, and has so many variations. It can have a place at your dinner table without a question. Also when your press of time this is the way to go, no rising time, no kneading, 30 to 40 minutes and your bread is on the table. Give it a try.

Ingredients:

1 cup ..................................... cornmeal ( cornmeal comes in many grinds from coarse to fine, any kind of grind will do just make sure is yellow)

1 cup ..................................... all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp ............................... baking powder

1/2 tsp .................................. baking soda

1/2 tsp .................................. fine sea salt ( or just table salt)

2 cups ................................... fresh corn kernels this is optional ( if you don't have fresh, frozen will work just as well. Just make sure you thaw and pat dry the corn before adding to the rest of the ingredients)

2 ............................................ large eggs.

1 1/2 tbsp ............................ honey or firmly packed brown sugar.

1 1/3 cups ............................ buttermilk

3 tbsp ................................... unsalted butter melted or vegetable oil.

Position rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425˚F (22o˚C). Butter an 8 inch ( 20 cm)

cast-iron frying pan or an 8 inch square baking pan or oven proof dish.

In a bowl whisk together the corn meal, flour, baking powder, baking soda,salt and the corn kernels if using. Set aside.

In a large bowl beat the eggs on medium speed until blended. Add the honey (or brown sugar),buttermilk ( if you don't have butter milk this is an easy way to make it. Add 2 tbsp of white vinegar to a measuring cup and add enough milk to it to make one cup let rest for 10 minutes. Now you have buttermilk. For 1 1/3 cup of butter milk you will use about 2 1/2 tbsp of vinegar and the rest milk to complete 1 1/3 cups), and melted butter and beat until well blended.

Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until mixed. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean about 20 to 25 minutes. To get the nice color on top I usually put the broiler on for 30 to 40 seconds before I take the bread out of the oven. If you decide to do that please keep an eye on it could burn very easily.

Let the bread cool slightly in the pan on a wire rack. Serve warm.

As I said there are many variations to this bread.

Corn bread with red pepper and cheddar cheese.

Sauté a chopped red pepper in 1 tbsp of olive oil ( about 3 minutes). Add the sautéed pepper to the dry ingredients with 1/2 tsp ground cumin. Sprinkle the top with 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese after 15 minutes of baking ( in this case don't put the broiler on).

Corn bread with sun-dried tomatoes and pistachios.

Add 1/2 cup of chopped oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese, and 1/2 cup of pistachios to the dry ingredients. Bake as in the instructions.

Enjoy!

My Boys!

Hello everybody! If you are a follower of my blog you probably know that my three boys are very much into sports. Actually they live and breath sports. Six days a week! They are involved in Jiu-Jitsu, Kick boxing and MMA ( mixed martial arts). Brandon & Cass are also assisting their sensei with the Little Dragons class which is Alexanders group age.

Saturday they had an "in house tournament". I had to post some pictures of them, they did amazing!

Here are Brandon and Cass in the morning of the tournament.

Alex in his first match with a fellow little dragon.

They were having so much fun. So sweet, it was the first time they actually herd the electronic bell from the timer, and they would sit there looking at the bell and even during the match they would still looks towards it.

Alex trying one of his moves, can't remember the name of it.

He actually did get the ... move, and won the match.

Here Alex is having his match for gold and silver medal.

His not very happy. The little girl won the game. His got the second place.

Alex got his silver medal.

Cass in one of the kick boxing match.

He was doing great, and won the match.

This is one match I didn't enjoy. Brandon and Cass against each other. They are so competitive. Brandon won the match but was not easy.

Cass is still in the same match.

Cass getting his silver medal.

Brandon getting his gold medal.

Brandon and Cass into a Jiu-jitsu match.

Brandon won By submission ( not entirely sure what that means, I guess that Cass "tapped")

This is an exhibition match between Brandon and Matt, an adult student at the club.

Still the MMA match. It was very entertaining.

They showed great technique.

Cass with his gold medal for MMA.

Brandon with two gold medals.

Cass with 1 gold and 2 silver.

Alex very tired, but wearing his silver medal.

So.... those are my boys and I'm very proud of them.

Parmesan and Paprika Grissini

Grissini or bread sticks, are the perfect accompaniment to salads or soups. My son Cass who loves any kind of fresh made bread eats them plain as a snack. I make two variations of grissini one with parmesan and paprika and the other with garlic and fresh herbs.

This time Cass asked for the paprika ones.

I like serving those as an appetizer as well, very easy to make, and pretty fast ( excluding the rising time).

From one recipe you get 24 bread sticks. This recipe comes from the " baking simple and sensational" recipe book by Jean Paré

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups .............................. warm water

1 tsp ....................................... sugar

2 1/4 tsp ............................... active dry yeast

3 cups ................................... all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp ............................... salt

1/3 cup ................................. olive oil

2 tbsp ................................... all-purpose flour

1 cup ..................................... finely grated parmesan cheese

2 tsp ..................................... paprika

Water (for brushing the grissini)

1 tsp ..................................... coarse sea salt

3 tbsp .................................. finely grated parmesan cheese ( to sprinkle on the grissini)

Stir warm water and sugar into a small mixing bowl until sugar is dissolved. Sprinkle yeast over top and let stand for 10 minutes until foamy.

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour and salt, mix well make a well in the center add the olive oil.

Add the yeast mixture to the well. Mix until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 to 7 minutes or until smooth and elastic adding the second amount the flour ( 2 tbsp ) to prevent from sticking.

Gently roll the dough out to 10 inch round. Add the parmesan and paprika.

Fold the dough in half to inclose the filling. Knead for 3 to 4 minutes until evenly combined. Place the dough into an extra large greased bowl turning once to grease top. Cover with cling wrap and cover with tea towel.

Let stand into a draft free place for about 1 hour or until double in bulk.

Punch the dough down. Turn onto an lightly floured surface and divide into 2 equal parts.

Roll each part into an 12 inch rope. Cut into 12 ( 1 inch ) pieces.

Roll each piece into an 6 inch stick. Repeat with the second portion. Place the sticks onto two greased (or line with silicon mats) baking sheets.

Brush with water sprinkle with sea salt and parmesan cheese. Bake into a preheated oven of 450˚F for 15 minutes. Switch the position of the baking sheets halfway through the baking time to ensure uniform baking.

Variation: omit the parmesan and paprika. Add 1/2 cup of fresh chopped basil and 4 garlic gloves finely minced.

Serve with salad or as an appetizer.

Enjoy!

Rocky Road Chocolate Bars

Rocky Road ice cream is Alexander's favorite ice cream. Marshmallows! Anything with marshmallows is on "Alex's favorite things to eat" list.

That's why, when I found this recipe in " bars and squares" recipe book by Jill Snider, I had to give it a try.

Needless to say that everybody in the house loved the bars, especially Alex. I kept the bars in the freezer and Alex calls those, ice cream bars. So if you like rocky road ice cream then give those bars a try, they are so easy to make.

Ingredients

Crumb mixture:

1 1/2 cup ................................ graham wafer crumbs

1 1/2 cup ................................ miniature marshmallows ( withe or colored )

1/2 cup ................................. chopped pecans ( or almonds, walnuts )

1/2 cup ................................. icing sugar sifted

2 tbsp ................................. milk

Chocolate Mixture:

2 cups ................................. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup .................................. milk

3 tbsp .................................. butter

1/4 cup .................................. icing sugar sifted.

Grease an 8 inch square pan or dish.

In a large mixing bowl combine graham wafer crumbs, marshmallows, icing sugar pecans and milk. Combine until all the ingredients are moistened. Set aside.

Chocolate mixture:

In a small heavy sauce pan combine chocolate chips, milk and butter. Stir constantly over low heat until the chocolate is almost melted ( don't overheat).

Remove and stir until smooth and shiny.

Pour half of the mixture ( about 3/4 cup, no need to be exact) over the crumb mixture. Mix well. Spread evenly into the prepared pan or dish.

Stir the 1/4 cup of the sifted icing sugar in the remaining half of the chocolate mixture in the sauce pan, mixing well. Spread over the base mixture, smooth the surface and freeze for 1 hour or until the chocolate is set on top.

Cut into bars, and serve. I like keeping those in the freezer, but you can keep them in the fridge.

Enjoy!