Cooking

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Lemon Quick Bread

While looking through my manilla file folder of recipes (yes, I still have one from days of yore), I came across a magazine clipping for lemon quick bread. Through the years I’d been tempted to try it but, as a fierce chocoholic, I’d always set it aside in favor of….well, chocolate.

Now that we live in a house with a lemon tree, I decided the time had come and made the Lemon Quick Bread. Like most quick breads, it’s fast and easy to prepare. But, more than that, it was absolutely delicious. So tender, yet firm!

NOTE: The recipe called for brushing a syrup made with a lemon juice and sugar onto the baked bread. But, for those who prefer a more powerful lemony punch, I’m adding an alternate choice of a pucker-inducing lemon icing that can be either piped or smoothed on top of the syrup.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: You can use either a glass or metal loaf pan. I’ve found the metal pan cooks the loaf faster and produces less of a crack on top.

LEMON QUICK BREAD – makes 1 standard loaf

  • 195g (1.5 cups) plain or all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 99g (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
  • 212g (1 cup) granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3g (1 tbsp, packed) lemon zest
  • 125g (1/2 cup) milk (any kind – I use 2%)
  • 45g (1/2 cup) walnuts, chopped and lightly toasted
  • 36g (3 tbsp) lemon juice
  • 25g (2 tbsp) granulated sugar

Optional lemon icing:

  • 125g (1 cup) icing or powdered super – no need to sift
  • 22g (1.5 tbsp) lemon juice

Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F

Grease sides and bottom of a standard loaf pan. Line the bottom with baking paper – this will make removal of the loaf easier. If you don’t have baking paper, make sure to grease the bottom well.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the vegetable oil and 212g (1 cup) sugar on high for 2 minutes.

Add in the eggs and lemon zest. Beat on medium speed to blend well – about a minutes or so.

Add in the flour mix and beat on low until flour is almost all incorporated. Then add in milk on low speed until milk is just incorporated – you don’t want to overmix, Finally, stir in nuts.

Pour into prepared loaf pan.

Bake at 180°C / 350°F for about 50-60 minutes. The crack along the top, which always forms on my loaves, should NOT be liquidy – bake until it firms up (54 minutes in my oven).

Prepare the syrup while loaf is baking: in a small pot, add the 36g (3 tbsp) lemon juice and 25g (2 tbsp) sugar. Over medium heat, bring to boil to melt the sugar. Remove from heat and set aside.

When loaf is done, remove from oven. Remember to touch the crack – if it’s still wet, cook a bit longer.

While still in the tin, poke the top all over with a skewer, going down about halfway. Brush on (or drizzle) the lemon syrup – use it all. Let set 10 minutes.

Run a rounded tipped (so as not to scratch your tin) knife around the edges, then flip to remove from tin. Remove the baking paper.

Set right-side up on a wire rack to cool completely.

OPTIONAL LEMON ICING

When ready to ice loaf, prepare the icing.

Into a small bowl combine the 125g (1 cup) icing (powdered) sugar and 22g (1.5 tbsp) lemon juice. Smash all the lumps from the sugar.

You can either ice the top entirely or pipe. If too thick to pipe easily, add a tiny more lemon juice, if too thin, add more sugar.

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ZUCCHINI SOUP: Why, Yes! I’d Love Some Zucchini!

They’re coming – home gardeners who planted more zucchini than they need, arms laden with these beauties who just yesterday were 7″, today the size of props in a sci-fi film. Never one to turn down free food, I thank them and start planning. Of course, there’s zucchini bread, zucchini stir-fry, and spiralizing zucchini.

Then it hit me:

ZUCCHINI SOUP!

It can be a meal in itself or as a starter. Bonus: it freezes well!!!

ZUCCHINI SOUP

Note: Don’t worry about the chopped veggie sizes – everything will be blended

  • 28g / 2 T butter
  • 115g / 1 cup onions, chopped
  • 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1/4 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/4 tsp celery salt
  • 1.75 tsp kosher salt (or 3/4 tsp table salt)
  • 1/4 tsp black ground pepper
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 683g / 1.5 lbs / 5 cups zucchini, unpeeled and chopped
  • 445g / 1 lb russet potatoes, unpeeled and diced
  • 690g / 3 cups vegetarian stock – homemade (click link) or purchased
  • 17g / 1T soy sauce
  • 60g / 2 oz / 1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 82g / 1/2 cup uncooked couscous (not the Israeli pearl couscous)
  • OPTIONAL: greens, such as Swiss chard or spinach pieces
  • OPTIONAL: small pieces of bread, such as pita

In a large saucepan (2 litres / 8 cups), melt the butter. Add onions and, over medium-high heat, saute for 5 minutes. Stir often.

Add in garlic, rosemary, thyme, celery salt, Kosher salt, and black pepper. Over medium heat, saute about 1 minute to bloom the herbs, stirring constantly.

Add in zucchini and, over medium-high heat, saute 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add the potatoes, vegetable broth, soy sauce, and couscous to the pot. Bring to a boil, then decrease flame to maintain a simmer.

Cover the pot, leaving the lid slightly askew to prevent the liquid boiling over. Simmer for about 20 minutes, testing the potatoes are easily pierceable with a knife.

Remove lid and let soup cool about 20 minutes before blending. Then, pour cooled liquid into a blender (you may need to do this in batches) and blend until smooth.

Return soup to saucepot and stir in cheese, optional greens, and optional bread pieces. Heat to melt cheese. Taste for seasoning, correcting if needed.

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BARBECUE SAUCE: Fast, Easy, & Delicious!!!

This recipe is not only delicious, but cooks in 5 minutes! You just toss all ingredients in a pot and boil for 5 minutes. Done! (Don’t be daunted by the number of ingredients – half of them are spices.)

Before making a larger batch of this barbecue sauce, I recommend trying it first to be sure you like it. Then, if it pleases you, you can increase the amount. Since I don’t use barbecue sauce all that often, I quadruple the recipe and freeze it in portions.

BARBECUE SAUCE – makes about 250mls / 1 cup

  • 188g (1/2 cup + 2T) ketchup
  • 89g (1/2 cup, packed) dark brown sugar
  • 30g (2T) molasses – I use Grandma’s, unsulphured
  • 25g (2T) pineapple juice
  • 25g (2T) water
  • 8g (1/2T) vegetarian Worchestershire sauce
  • 1.25 tsp ground mustard
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne powder
  • 3/4 tsp Kosher salt (or, 1/4 tsp table salt)
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper

Into a saucepan, put all the above ingredients.

Bring to a boil. Maintain a low boil, stirring often, for 5 minutes. That’s it!

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TAMALE PIE: You Won’t Miss The Meat!

Tamale Pie is one of my favorite meals to prepare. Not only is it delicious, but it’s quick to assemble and bake….that is, IF you’ve already made my HOMEMADE VEGETARIAN “GROUND BEEF” or use purchased imitation ground beef (such as Impossible Burger or Morningstar Crumbles). For this reason, I always keep 1 lb (1/2 kg) portions in my freezer. In the morning, I set it out to thaw.

NOTE: As a woman who prefers to wash as few dishes as possible, I use a cast iron skillet for this recipe since it can go from stovetop to oven. You can also use a different type of skillet, as long as the handle is able to go into the oven. Alternatively, saute the onions in a small saucepan, then mix everything together in a bowl and bake in a casserole dish.

TAMALE PIE

  • 2 T vegetable oil
  • 3 T chili powder
  • 40g (1/3 cup) onions, chopped
  • 1/2 kg (1 lb) imitation ground beef
  • 425g (15 oz) canned black beans, drained and rinsed (321g drained)
  • 65g (2.25 oz) black olives, sliced
  • 1/2 cup salsa (homemade or purchased)
  • 3 T cilantro, fresh, finely chopped
  • 74g (1 cup) Cheddar cheese, grated
  • 109g (3/4 cup) cornmeal
  • 107g (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
  • 34g (3T) sugar
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 39g (3T) butter
  • 1 egg
  • 180g (3/4 cup buttermilk)

Preheat oven to 230°C (450°F)

Into a skillet, combine the oil, chili powder, and onions. Saute over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Pour cooked onions into a bowl. Add in the imitation ground beef, black beans, olives, salsa, cilantro, and cheese. Mix together and pour back into skillet, smoothing top.

Into a bowl (it can be the same bowl you used for the filling), combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

Melt butter and let cool a few minutes. Into a measuring cup or bowl, beat the egg with a fork. Then beat in the buttermilk and melted butter.

Pour the buttermilk mixture into the cornmeal mixture and combine until just blended (don’t over mix).

Spread cornmeal mixture on top of filling, smoothing top.

Bake at 230°C (450°F) about 15 minutes – until top begins to brown.

Let rest about 10 minutes before serving.