Best Strawberry Ice Cream Evah

I used this recipe. It has a very deep, rich berry flavor, and I'll bet this method would work great with a number of other fruits.

The recipe calls for three-quarters of a cup of sugar, but I used half a cup and it's plenty sweet. I also left out the rosewater, 'cause where the heck do you find rosewater?

Meyer Lemon Pudding

And you thought lemon season was over around here. Not quite. There are still a few fruits left on the tree, so I was excited to find this simple Meyer lemon pudding recipe. It all came together in less than half an hour. My only quibble is that the recipe didn't say how long to stir, so I kind of guessed -- I'd say it took about 10 minutes, though I didn't time it.

I used a tiny bit more lemon than the recipe called for. Next time I make it (and yes, there will be a next time), I'll use less sugar. Husband's reaction: "Whoa, that's sweet." Sweet.

Lemon Perfection

Around these parts, January is lemon month. We recently picked bags and bags of Meyer lemons (not to mention oranges and grapefruits), and there are still bags and bags' worth left on the tree.

We give most of it away, but I always make a few sweet treats. This year I made lemon squares and Meyer lemon sugar cookies for my book group.

But my new favorite is a Meyer lemon tart, a variation on this recipe:

I substituted Meyer lemons for the key limes. It's easy to make and deliciously tart-sweet. (And once we're past lemon season, I plan to make the key lime version -- key lime pie is my favorite!)

What are cooking up these days?

I'm Mad About ...

Happy Friday! I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July. Even though the husband had to work, I did a little barbecuing and festive decorating:

Here are a few things that caught my eye this week:

• Good idea: The Everygirl's starting a book club. Are you keeping up?
• Speaking of books, how many books in Rory Gilmore's library have you read? I won't embarrass myself by admitting how few I've read (it's more than zero!), but I will say that I tried to read Kerouac and just couldn't do it.
• I'll probably never make these brownie cookies with salted caramel filling, but it's nice to think that I could!
• It's Pinterest Challenge time again. What are you making?
• Interesting differences between American and British English.

I'm off for a spa weekend with a friend! More on that next week. Have a lovely weekend!

Eating Well

I haven't done much cooking lately, but since my Cooking Light group met Sunday, I had a good excuse to get in the kitchen. We get together a few times a year, each of us brings a dish, and we just have a great time eating and gabbing.

I made Couscous with Chickpeas, Tomatoes and Edamame, using this recipe. It was super simple and fast, and it came out great. I love one-pot meals!

And, of course, I had a helper (or two):

I'll definitely make this again—but I won't have to anytime soon. It made a big bowlful, and there was so much good food at the get-together, I have plenty left over for lunches.

The Sweet Side of Lemons

We spent a good part of Saturday picking lemons, oranges and grapefruit. Here's what the lemon tree looked like after we'd picked a few bags of fruit:

Bitsy likes to help out.

We picked 15 bags total from all three trees—and still have plenty left:

 

So what to do with all that fruit? We'll give most of it away, but some will go into baked goods. I've been trying to come up with new ways to use up some of the lemons. Last year I made lemon bars, and I'm sure I'll make more of those. But I wanted to try something new.

So this time I baked Meyer lemon sugar cookies, following this recipe. And they came out great! Sweet and lemony—Meyer lemons have a very distinctive flavor.

 

Erik took some to work and one of his co-workers was asking for more.

They freeze well, too, so I plan to make a bunch more and keep them around for snacking (they're very addictive!).

And using a grapefruit, I made a Salty Dog—perfect!

Do you have any favorite citrus recipes?

I'm Mad About...

East Camp

• These stunning pillows are digitally printed from pictures of wild animals.
• I'm thinking about trying this chutney recipe using some of the (many, many, many) Meyer lemons on the tree in my backyard.
• This is true love.

Gift Guide: Foodie

Who doesn't like food? Whether your friend likes to cook or just consume, there's something for everyone.

Clockwise from upper left:

• Deluxe DIY Cheese Kit, Art Fire
• Farm to Table apron, Anthropologie
• Blend and Cook Soup Maker; Cuisinart
• Chinese 5 Spice dark chocolate truffle, Saratoga Chocolates
• iPad Chef Stand and Stylus, Belkin
• Seasonal striped kitchen towels, Williams-Sonoma (I love Williams-Somona kitchen towels and washcloths—sturdy and absorbent, not to mention cute!)
• Terracotta slow cooker, Reform School
• 3-Pack Coffee Sampler, Grounds for Change (This is a wonderful company. I've been buying coffee there for years, and it's fresh and delicious. Plus it's fair trade and organic. My favorite is the Cafe Femenino, which is grown by women in Mexico and Peru. And it sells tea and chocolate!)
• Le Creuset Two-in-One Pan, Sur La Table

Coming Wednesday: gifts for the Francophile!
Also be sure to visit the fabulous and comprehensive gift guides by Gifted magazine and Emily Henderson.

I'm Mad About...

I've always been a big James Garner fan, and when I heard he'd written a memoir, I ordered a copy right away. He has quite a story to tell, and I can't wait to read all about it.

Some other things I'm excited about:

• Older animals need (and give) love too. November is Adopt a Senior Pet Month!
• Katherine Heigl is teaming up with Southern California animal shelters to find homes for 5,000 pets.
• A blender that also cooks? I'll take it!

Feeding Frenzy

I hope you all had a lovely Labor Day. I had a quiet day, just a little shopping, as Erik had to work.

My father-in-law is here for an extended visit, so I thought this weekend was the perfect opportunity to start the Sunday brunch tradition I've been wanting to initiate. So I made bacon, scrambled eggs with cheese and biscuits. Not very innovative, but it was a hit none the less. If I keep it up, I'll throw in some crepes at some point. And bagels. Definitely bagels.

I made chicken pot pies for dinner Saturday. The recipe (which I found thanks to Cupcakes and Cashmere) is fairly easy, but it took me forever to make—which is probably why I don't cook very often! I also took a few liberties with the ingredients. Another hit with the boys.

It was a weekend of comfort food (including pizza and fro yo), so I'm looking forward to lightening back up this week.

Creamy and Dreamy Rice Pudding

I had a yen the other night for rice pudding, so I searched online for a recipe. My criteria was that it had to be easy and quick, and I had to have all the ingredients on hand, 'cause I wasn't up to going to the store. This recipe was the clear winner.

I had everything I needed: I bought the Arborio rice awhile back with the intention of making risotto, but I haven't tried that yet. And I always have cinnamon and vanilla extract on hand. (Notice everything is from Trader Joe's. Love that store!)

It was super easy to make. Just prepare the rice with water, butter and a dash of salt. Then combine it with milk (the recipe called for whole milk, but I used 1 percent and it was fine), sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. (If I'd had any raisins in the pantry, I would have put some in.)

One problem, though, was that Bitsy kept distracting me, wanting to play with her ball, and I let the milk boil over. Twice. Really gotta watch that. It made a bit of a mess, and the smell of burned milk stunk up the house, but it wasn't a disaster.

I halved the recipe since I wasn't sure if Erik would want any and I didn't want to get stuck with too much. Not that I would let any of it go to waste!

It came out pretty good. I'm sure it will be even better the next time I make it—I always get better with practice!

I topped it with a little extra cinnamon. Whipped cream would have been good too, but I didn't have enough cream on hand.

What I love about rice pudding—aside from the sweet, creamy goodness—is it's versatility. It can be served warm or cold, for breakfast or dessert, with raisins or without. Simply perfect.

Do you have a favorite way to prepare rice pudding? Or another quick and easy dish that you'd like to share?

When Life Hands You Lemons...

... make lemon bars and lemon curd—and even lemonade!

We have citrus trees in the backyard, one each of lemon, orange and grapefruit. Every year around this time we're overwhelmed with fruit, especially lemons (that tree is prolific!). And since it's just the two of us, we really only use a dozen or so lemons. Really, who wants lemonade in January? So we end up giving a lot away.

This year I've had an itch to bake, so I tried my hand at making lemon bars. I found a really easy recipe in my Bisquick cookbook (what would I do without Bisquick?). They came out really good. I've made two batches so far, and I worked out a few kinks so the second one was better than the first.

I also made lemon curd using this recipe. It was surprisingly simple to make and, although I think it's runnier than it's supposed to be, quite tasty. I had some this morning drizzled over cheese blintzes.

Usually the orange tree is the laggard of the bunch, producing only two or three oranges. But this year we got dozens! They make wonderful juice, and I'm even thinking of trying to make some citrusy muffins (thanks again, Bisquick).