Earth Day

(image source: the decorated cookie)

I love our earth and I am thankful for living in such a beautiful place where I am surrounded by nature. Being born and raised in the city of Sao Paulo I know that for many seeing a single tree is considered a luxury. Thank you Heavenly Father for creating such a beautiful place for us to live. I just hope that I'll be able to continue learning and applying ways to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Thank you to everyone who has participated in my giveaway. I've enjoyed reading all the comments about how you practice green living in your kitchen. The giveaway ends tonight and I'll send the winner an e-mail tomorrow.

I want to celebrate Earth Day by making these lollipop sugar earth cookies found in The Decorated Cookie blog. What are you planning on making today to celebrate Earth Day?

Solving Your Kitchen Problems one Giveaway at a Time!

I got 2 packs of Tilty in the mail this past week to review and we've been putting it to good use. I'm in love with their design.
HELL-O finally a sippy cup that is easy to drink out of. I think these would be perfect for kids who are just learning to use sippy cups so I wanna give you a pack. Plus Tilty is BPA free and because it is clear it does not contain any trace of cadmium in them because there are no dyes.

Tilty is an earth friendly cup. Dont you think? So in order to celebrate earth day that's coming up I'll give one lucky winner two tilty cups. Leave a comment about one way that your kitchen or cooking practices is environmentally friendly.

Rules:

• 1 entry per person
• must have a USA address
• giveaway ends at midnight on April 22nd (Earth Day)

good luck!

Lemon Cake | A Barefoot Contessa Variation

The Barefoot Contessa and I were on a break but now our relationship is mended. I have been so sick with this pregnancy. Early on in the pregnancy I was craving one of her dishes. My husband made me the dish and it made me so nauseous. I could'nt even smell it. Now I'm finally feeling better (second trimester is a charm) and Ina and I are on good terms again. So much so that I busted out her wonderful cookbook this week and made some lemon cake. Of course it was totally scrumptious because all her recipes are scrumptious. I added walnuts and made some minior modifications. Here is my recipe below inspired by the Barefoot Contessa's original Lemon Cake recipe.

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons)
• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3/4 cup buttermilk at room temperature
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups crushed walnuts
  

For the glaze:

nocoupons

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions  

(Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 (8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch) loaf pan.)

1. 1. Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, and the lemon zest.  
   2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, add crushed walnuts to the top and smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean. 
   3. Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cakes are done, allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and set them on a rack set over a tray or sheet pan; spoon the lemon syrup over them. Allow the cakes to cool completely. 
   4. For the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and the lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the tops of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides. 

Antipasto

I tend to eat small meals all day long. Joys of pregnancy. We made two antipastos yesterday, Pan Bagna with Green sauce and Eggplant salad with Basil and Lemon. They go perfect on hard crust french bread.

Pan Bagna with Green Sauce

• 4 firm ripe tomatoes
• 1 medium sized avocado
• 1 medium sized cucumber
• 6 ounces of crumbled feta cheese
• 16-20 large basil leaves
• green sauce
  

1. Halve, core, seed and coarsely chop tomatoes
2. Halve, pit, and peel avocado and cut into 1/2 inch chunks.
3. Peel and slice cucumber.
4. Add feta into a large bowl. Add the vegetables to feta. Add green and sauce chopped basil and toss gently.

Green Sauce

• 1 tablespoon capers
• 5 Kalamata olives (my favorite...yum!!!)
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme and mint
• 1 medium size clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1. drain capers in strainer and chop finely.
   
2. Drain and pit olives and chop coarsely.
3. Finely chop walnuts
4. Combine capers, olives, walnuts, parsely and other herbs, garlic, oil and vinegar in small bowl and stir until well blended.
   

Springtime Salad: Cantaloupe, Cucumber, and Scallops

We've been having lovely weather and today was no exception. It was so warm during dinner time that I decided we needed something refreshing to cool us down. This recipe is a variation from the Fruit Cookbook. This is one of my favorite cookbooks, even though I don't use it as often as I would like. However, it's given me so many good ideas on fun things to make with fruit. You could probably find it in your local library or get a used copy for .99 cents at Amazon.


SPRING TIME SALAD

• 1 pound small scallops
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 medium limes)
  
• 1/4 cup Thai fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons (firmly packed) light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded, and thinly sliced
• 1/2 of one cantaloupe, halved, seeded, peeled and sliced
• 1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts coarsely ground
• 1/4 cup shredded fresh cilantro leaves

1. Rinse the scallops and place in a cookie sheets. Season with salt and pepper and broil for 10-15 minutes, stiring ocassionally.
   
2. While the scallops are broiling mix in a medium size mixing bowl the lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, and garlic and refrigerate.
3. When the scallops are ready remove them from the cookie sheet and place them in the fridge for a couple minutes so they can cool down.
4. Stir the peanuts and cilantro into the dresssing
   
5. In a salad bowl mix the cucumbers, cantaloupe, and scallops and then spoon the dressing over the salad.