Lemon-Lime Curd

OMG I think my taste buds might have just died and gone to heaven...

I've never had lemon curd or lime curd ever before... Well, except Lemon Meringue pie, But I've never had a homemade one... Just store bought kits with homemade Meringue on top...
Semi-homemade?
Either way the lemon part was never homemade, it was a package that you mix with another package and pour in a pie shell and then put the meringue on top and then bake...
Fake homemade? Semi-homemade is probably more Politically correct though right?
Assisted homemade?
Anyway... I've never had it before.
Until this morning


Last night I was stalking Tastespotting and saw a pretty little jar filled with some creamy looking stuff, so I clicked on the picture, and found this Blog, with this recipe (the pretty jar stuff).

I wanted to make just Lime Curd, but the Limes I bought were not very juicy, So luckily I had some Lemons too... Thus Lemon-Lime Curd.

Lemon Lime Curd

(adapted from Sweet Savory Planet)

3 Large Eggs
1/3-1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup, but found it a little sweet, so next time I'm going to do the 1/3 cup instead)
Zest of 1 lime
1/2 cup fresh Lemon and Lime juice (I used about 1/4 cup of each)
1/4 cup Butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 tsp. Vanilla


Whisk eggs and sugar in a saucepan until they are a light lemony color (I whisked about 5 minutes, maybe a little longer... switch arms for a more even work out lol) You can use a stand mixer to do this part too... But I HATE doing dishes, so I would rather just whisk by hand for 5 minutes instead of doing extra dishes
Add in the zest, lime juice, and butter
Place saucepan over medium heat and constantly whisk until mixture starts to thicken. Allow it to come to a simmer for a few seconds and then remove from heat.
Add in vanilla
Cool to room temperature and then place in a container in the fridge
It thickens more as it cools.
If you don't want zest in your finished curd, then run through a fine mesh strainer before you put it in the fridge. I didn't strain mine this time because I don't have a fine mesh strainer, so next time I'm at the store, I will be buying one. My long strands of zest were kind of annoying.

(my jar isn't pretty like the one at Sweet Savory Planet... Because it was a jar of baby artichoke hearts originally, and I don't have any pretty fabric to cover the ugly yellow lid... But look at Mother Nature's April Fool's joke to us... another 8 inches or so of snow on the ground... Fortunately, The Lemon Lime Curd makes it less depressing)

And Now, I may just be hooked on this Curd stuff... I'm wondering what Grapefruit curd would taste like? Pink lemonade (the grapefruit stuff) is one of my favourite drinks (although, I've never made it myself either, maybe I should be adding these things to my bucket list), so I'm betting it would be good in curd-form too... I'm going to have to think on this one...


Coming soon (because it is in the oven right now): Coconut Bread (also from Sweet Savory Planet) because I was so inspired by the Lime Curd, I had to make her Coconut Bread too)

Wilson an Ava helping in the kitchen <3


UPDATE:
Link to my Coconut Bread Post

Cream of Broccoli Soup

If you ever go to Subway and get soup with your sandwich... and they have the Cream of Broccoli and cheese.... Get it. It is one of the best things ever... OR make your own... because that is even better!


Wash, and cut up the Broccoli... make sure to reserve about 2 handfuls that are cut into really small florets ... Also, you can use the stem, just make sure to peel the outside layer off.



With some Olive oil over High heat, saute garlic and onions until fragrant... Add in broccoli and keep stirring.. .about 2 minutes. Lower heat, add in some soup stock (Homemade is better, but use the other stuff if you want). Cover and let everything cook together. (Also, you can add in a little potato before the broccoli, it adds some thickness and another layer of flavour, but it isn't necessary).

Once everything is nice and soft, blend everything in a blender... I use my Magic Bullet, working in small batches. Make sure to add more soup stock, to help everything blend together well.

Pour the Puree into a large pot. Add some Heavy Cream, and more soup stock if you need/want to.

Add in the reserved Broccoli florets, and about a handful of fine-grated cheese. Stir , and Heat over very low heat. Make sure you stir the soup often, so nothing is sticking to the bottom... Don't add too much cheese at this point, because it gets greasy and kind of takes away from the soup... I like to add it to the top of my soup instead.

Ta-Da.... Cream of Broccoli and cheese soup

Homemade Country Chicken Soup AND Country White Bread

NOTE: Wrote this March 6th, But just getting around to posting it now... ooops


What the hell is up with Winter this year??? Like Seriously! Somebody should tell him that its March already, so we don't need -30 temperatures with Wind Chill warnings past the -40 mark... That is for Actual winter... not the long tail end of Canadian winter...
Today, the warmest it was outside (according to Environment Canada whenever i checked... I didn't actually go outside) was -17! Currently the Windchill is -30

Days (and by that, i mean Weeks... or Months), like this definitely call for Soup. And since I made a crap-load of Homemade Soup Stock (inspired by A Tale of One Foodies Culinary Adventures), and found super cheap Chickens (and then roasted them)... I made Soup today... And Bread... YUMMY

I have a confession to make... I am horrible at doing the dishes. I have a bunch of the ziploc containers so I can take my Lunch to work with me... Which is all well and good...
But then...
I have to remember to bring it back to my car to take home at the end of the day
I have to remember to bring it from my car to the house
I have to remember to rinse it out and stick it in the dishwasher
I have to remember to turn the dishwasher on

Because this seems to be difficult for me to do... I have a pretty good collection (err... almost all of the containers i own) stashed in my car.
This is why i won't be having soup for lunch at work tomorrow :(

Onto the Recipe, because that is much more inspiring that my horrible dish-keeping/cleaning confessions. (However, i would like to note, that I am much better about this in the summer than the winter.. In the winter, its too damn cold and nothing in there is going to rot, its just going to freeze.)

I FORGOT to take pictures of the soup.... But here is the chicken that made it into the soup... (and made the soup stock with)


Country Chicken Soup
Ok, yet again, I don't have exact measurements for you. Soup is kinda like that though.
Chicken meat (left over, or whatever works for you... as much or as little as you want/your soup pot will allow)
Carrots - sliced
Celery - sliced (larger than the carrot pieces)
Onion - chopped (whatever size you want)
Garlic - minced, or at least finely chopped
Olive oil
Chicken Soup Stock (make your own, its sooooo yummy!)
Water
Corn (I used a can of corn)
Spinach
Fresh Parsley
salt/pepper/seasoning

In your soup pot, heat up some Olive Oil. Once warm, add in the garlic, cook til fragrant, then add in the onion - stirring constantly. Add some soup stock (i used about 4-5 cups), Add carrots, and let come to a boil. (this gives the carrots a little head start in softening)
Fill pot with more Soup stock, water and celery
Let simmer for about 10 minutes. Taste then season a little... Simmer 10 minutes, taste and season.
Add in the corn, Chopped Spinach and fresh parsley, put lid on, and Simmer
Check your soup at least every hour... half hour is better
Taste and season as needed
The longer (and at a low temp) you cook it, the yummier it seems to be. My soup was on the stove at about 10am, and we ate at 6pm
Its not an exact science at all. The basic idea is to put a bunch of stuff you like in a pot with water and seasoning... Taste as you go is the trick. Its a good idea to put less salt than you might want in there, and let each person salt their own soup. This keeps sodium levels down. (My mom consistently adds a ton of salt to soup, and I'm trying to get her to cut it out)


Country White Bread
(www.cookingbread.com)

OH NO! I forgot to take pictures of it too! :( FAIL... But the Bread was Delicious.... Go make yourself a loaf of it (recipe makes 2 loafs, might be a good idea to half it, unless you eat a lot of bread, But we don't

So, Since I forgot to take pictures of the Soup AND the bread... here are some photos of my soup stock that I made after reading The post at A Tale of One Foodies Culinary Adventures...
Above = Before cooking
Below = a few hours in.... at that stage, my house smelled soooooooooooooooooooooooooo yummy!!!

Brrrrrrr - "Freakin' Amazing Soup"

Today.... another freakin' blizzard.

I'm really getting sick of Winter... but it is only February, so I have a while to go before I don't see Snow for a few months.... WHY oh WHY could my ancestors have moved somewhere warmer?!?

ANYWAY
Since it has been so FREAKIN cold, I've been cooking a lot of soup/stew, etc. Warm food, since we both work outside for a lot of the day.
This is the soup I made this weekend, which was "freakin' amazing" according to the Boyfriend. (so that's what I'm calling it)

"Freakin' Amazing Soup"

3 carrots, sliced pretty thin
1 Zucchini, sliced and quartered
4 tomatoes, cut up however you want to cut them up for soup... Don't discard the tomato guts inside.. they help make the broth
1 Bell Pepper - cut up however you want to cut them up for soup... You can also use more, I only used 1, since that is all I had left in the Fridge
6 cloves garlic -minced (more or less, depending on how much you like garlic)
Small Meatballs - mine were about half an inch in diameter... (and how ever many you want in your soup... none for veggie version, or more for carnivorous version... mine was pretty carnivorous)
Celery- cut up in large pieces (but spoon-sized).. about 3-4 stalks
Frozen Peas - about 1/3 bag
Beef Broth (or whatever kind you want... I went with Beef, since I had beef meatballs)
Lots of Water
Spices to taste
Olive Oil

Put a "glug" of Olive Oil in LARGE soup pot... heat up and then add in minced garlic. Cook til fragrant. About 1-2 minutes.
Add in the chopped Carrot, and about 1-2 cups of water - and some beef broth ( I used the powdered Knorr Beef Bouillon stuff, so i just mixed it in with the water i was adding). Let it boil and the carrot cook for a few minutes... Add more water and the Zucchini... more boiling and then slowly drop the temperature, so the soup stays at a Simmer.
Add in Tomato, bell Pepper, Celery and more water/beef broth and Simmer some more.
Veggies should be starting to soften up a little by this point, so add in peas and the meatballs, and more water/broth if needed. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Once the flavours start to all mix together, check the taste, and then add seasoning to suit your own tastes. I personally stuck to a little Italian seasoning, and Cayenne Pepper, and basic salt and pepper. Make sure you let the soup simmer for at least an hour, and Longer if possible, so it has time to really mix together. AND it is much better the next day too!

It makes for a really good Lunch at work... By the way, the Wind Chill outside today was -37 degrees Celsius. So I was really happy to have nice warm soup for Lunch.


I'm a horrible person and didn't take any pictures... except this one, from my cell phone, of my lunch at work (the post to follow will be for the Cheese Men)

Stay warm out there!