Meyer lemon baking

I am perhaps one of the last food bloggers to have discovered the joys of the Meyer lemon, but I am glad to have baked with them finally! I love cooking with lemon because of the way the citrus can brighten a sweet or a savory dish; especially because many varieties only appear in stores in the winter, where they are like an edible ray of sunshine. Meyer lemons, though, are especially fantastic. They are a bit sweeter than a normal lemon, and smell somewhat floral. They are also only in stores for a little while in the winter here in the Pacific Northwest, which made me eager to cook with some.

I picked up a bag of Meyer lemons last week, mostly to juice and zest them, because I like to keep a little stash of lemon zest in the freezer for convenience. I then ended up making two different lemon-based baked goods. Both recipes turned out to taste quite pleasant.

First, some almond-lemon biscotti, made almost exactly the same as this recipe by the Gluten-free Girl. The main differences were that I used different flours (swapped brown rice for sweet rice and tapioca, and switched potato flour instead of potato starch) and almonds instead of pecans. I think the one thing I will change next time is to use more like a half-cup of sugar, these are more like a desert then a snack.

I also modified my scone recipe slightly. I swapped out the potato flour for buckwheat, and used 1/4 cup lemon juice instead of coconut milk. Also, I added the zest of a lemon into the dough, and added in an extra tablespoon of sugar. I felt like these needed something else, maybe poppy seeds or almonds, but they taste good regardless.

So, you should go make something with Meyer lemons while they are still in stores! They are a fantastic fruit.

Quinoa Tabouli

Here is a dish which can be the main part of a meal or a side dish, and it is friendly to most of the special diets. It is gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, vegan, can be made nut-free by skipping the garnish, and it has lots of vegetables. Basically, it is awesome. And good for you.

Quinoa Tabouli 

Adapted from this recipe

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water or broth

1/2 of a yellow onion, diced

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 stalk of celery, diced

1 half of a cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 Tbs olive oil

1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano or basil

salt and pepper to taste

chopped almonds to garnish, if desired

Rinse the quinoa in a sieve for a minute. This gets rid of the bitter taste from the quinoa. Put the quinoa and water or broth in a pan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until the quinoa is done, about twenty minutes. 

Meanwhile, chop and peel vegetables as required. If you do not like the flavor of raw onion, sautee it in olive oil over medium heat for ~5 minutes, I did. 

When the quinoa is done, mix in the vegetables, oil, lemon juice and spices. Garnish with nuts if you so desire.

Serves four.

If I'd had fresh mint or basil and tomatoes I totally would have added them! It is good warm or cold. 

Lavender Lemonade

It's pretty warm out here lately, and humid, and thus cold beverages have been pretty much a necessity when the apartment is 85 degrees for several hours. I've been drinking lots of iced tea, but I've gotten bored with that, so I decided to make a twist on the classic lemonade today:

Add lavender to it!

So here is what you need to do:

Dissolve 2.5 cups of water and 1.5 cups of sugar together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, and add 2 tablespoons of lavender buds. Continue boiling for 5 minutes.


Meanwhile, juice 4 big lemons into a pitcher, and add 2.5 cups of water.



Strain the boiling mixture into the pitcher and stir.


Chill the pitcher, and then enjoy! It is delightfully tangy with a hint of floral, and is a good thirst-quencher.