Meyer Lemon Cream with Graham Crackers, and Sea Salt

I wanted to wrap up the meal with something mind-blowing, so I decided to make Meyer Lemon Cream. It is one of the best recipes that I have ever made! I recommend making it, so here is the recipe!

Meyer Lemon Cream with Graham Crackers, and Sea Salt
Serves 4

3 large eggs
2/3 cups of sugar
2 teaspoons of finely grated Meyer lemon zest
1/2 cup of fresh Meyer lemon juice
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cups of chilled heavy cream
6 graham crackers, crumbled
Flaky sea salt

Cook the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice over a double boiler over medium heat. Whisk until the mixture is thick enough to coat a spoon. Remember to whisk it constantly, 8-10 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a blender fitted with a whisk attachment,  and blend on low speed, adding the butter gradually, until the mixture is smooth.
Transfer the lemon curd to a medium glass bowl,, and cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Just before serving, whisk the heavy cream into the lemon curd, until everything is combined, and turns a lighter color.
Layer the lemon cream, and graham crackers into bell jar glasses. Top with homed whipped cream, extra crumbled graham crackers, meyer lemon zest, and sea salt. Enjoy with a spoon!

*The lemon curd, without the cream, can be made up to 1 week ahead*

Chickpea Nibbles

Many people eat nuts, but why don't they eat roasted chickpeas? Here is a recipe for roasted chickpeas!

Chickpea Nibbles
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

1 - 19ounce can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 teaspoons of cumin, or garam masala
2 teaspoons of salt

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Drain and rinse off the chickpeas.
Put them in a bowl, and mix them with the olive oil, salt, and cumin.
Layer them on a rimmed baking sheet with a silpat.
Bake for about 50 minutes.
Put them in a bowl, and enjoy!

Roasted Corn Salad

Yesterday night we had a great guy over for dinner. I wanted to make a special dinner for him including roasted corn salad as an appetizer. Here is the delicious recipe!

Roasted Corn Salad
Serves many people!

For the vegetables:

Olive oil
3 ears of corn, husked, and kernels cut off
1 red onion, quartered
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 large tomato, diced, and seeded

Dressing:

1/2 cup of olive oil
1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar
12 basil leaves, cut into thin strips
Salt and pepper
2 garlic cloves, chopped

Heat a medium pan with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Put the corn in, and roast it until the corn has black spots on it. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and set aside in a large bowl.
In the same pan roast the peppers until it is blackened, and softened. Put it in the same bowl as the corn.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Put the red onions in a small cast iron skillet, and roast until they are browned, and sweet. Chop them finely. Put them in the corn mixture.

Add the tomato to the corn mixture, and mix together.

In a separate bowl, whisk the olive oil, balsamic, garlic, salt, pepper, and basil together, and pour it over the corn mixture. Mix it together.

Let it marinade for 1 hour, or more, until everything combines flavors, and becomes delicious!

Serve in a bowl with chips. Enjoy!

Tres Leches Cake

I have made this cake two times, both for company, and it is a foolproof recipe, in fact, it was the first sheet cake that I made… maybe. Anyway, here is the recipe:

Tres Leches Cake
Makes 9 by 13 inch cake

1 cup of all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
5 large eggs, separated (keeping the whites and the yolks in different bowls)
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons of sugar
1/3 cup of whole milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
One 14ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
One 12ounce can of evaporated milk
1 pint plus 1/4 cup of heavy cream
Blueberries for garnish


Preheat the oven to350 degrees, and grease and flour a 9 by 13 inch baking pan.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and the salt, in a large bowl, and set aside.

Add the egg yolks to a mixing bowl, and add 3/4 cup of sugar to it, and fit it with a whisk attachment. Beat until they are very light in their color.
Then, add the whole milk, and vanilla and beat until just combined.

Pour the egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture, and fold to combine.

Next, in a clean mixing bowl, fitted with a whisk attachment, add the egg whites, and 1/4 cup of sugar, and beat until soft peaks form.
Pour the egg white mixture into the flour mixture, and fold to incorporate.

Spread the batter into the pan, and even it out with a spatula. Put in the oven, and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until you do the *toothpick test*

Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool, then when the cake is cool, put it on a platter, and poke holes in it with a fork.

Combine the sweetened condensed milk, the evaporated milk, and 1/4 cup of the heavy cream in a medium sized bowl. Whisk it together until combined.

Slowly pour the milk over the cake until everything is soaked into the cake, don't worry if you don't use all of the milk.
Let the cake sit in the fridge for at least and hour.

Chill the mixing bowl in the freezer.

Right before serving take the cake out, and make the whipped cream.

In the chilled mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, add 1 pint of the heavy cream to the mixing bowl, and 3 tablespoons of sugar, and whip it until it is thick.

Take a piping bag, and fill it with the whipped cream.

Pipe decorations you want on the cake, and I like to layer the cake. Top with blueberries! ENJOY!

If your heart desires, top with dulce de leche, even more scrumptious!

* The toothpick test is when you insert a toothpick into the middle of the cake, cupcakes, etc, and if it comes out clean, it is cooked. If the toothpick comes out with some batter, keep on cooking it*

Hummus

I love hummus, but is it worth buying it when it is so simple to make? No! Don't buy anymore hummus, this is a healthier version, that has lots of flavor! Here is the recipe, that my dad taught me!

Hummus:
Makes about 2-3 cups

2 cans of chickpeas
1/2 cup of tahini (depending on how you like the consistency)
8 cloves of garlic (depending on how garlicky you like it, I love garlic!)
2 teaspoons of salt
1/2 cup of water (depending on the consistency you like)
2 lemons (juices only)

It's this simple, put everything in a food processor, and blend. Add more or less, water, tahini, garlic, and salt if you like your hummus thicker or thinner, or more garlicky, or less garlicky. The same thing with the salt. Place it in a container, and refrigerate until needed.

I recommend serving this with pita bread, falafel, or toasted pita chips.

You can also serve it with beet chips. The beets above are from our garden! YUM!

Hello!

Hello everybody, it is Rachel, and I am back from overnight camp. I'm sorry I haven't posted for a while, because of camp, but I am going to start posting more recipes so… stay posted for my cooking experiences.

:)

Article in the Bucks County Herald!!

Here is an article on Rachel.  She will be back from camp this Sunday the 24th and she will be catching up with all of you!

Look for the article!

Rachel says "hello" to you all from camp and she misses cooking!  So by the end of July, she will be back and in the kitchen.
Also, look for  a great article on her in the Bucks County Herald any week now!