8 uses for lemon juice and simple syrup

I think fresh squeezed lemon juice (it really makes a difference) and simple syrups (especially flavored ones) get the short end of the stick in the kitchen.  Either people don't remember to use them, don't know what to do with them, or think they are too much work to make.

You don't know what you're missing!

I like to make a big batch of each and keep in bottles in my fridge.  Bonus if you put them in pretty bottles.  I always find super cheap but pretty and functional bottles in places like Marshall's.

The simple syrup especially lasts forever because you only need a splash most of the time.  My favorite uses for these two include:

1. a splash of lemon juice to brighten up a soup.
2. lemon juice mixed with powdered sugar over crepes (Jeff is a master of crepes!)
3. lemonade.
4. lemon drops (cocktail, not candy.  Hmm, now I need to try making the candy...)
5. a splash of lemon and/or syrup used with a soda stream.
6. a splash of lemon and/or syrup mixed in tea.
7. a splash of lemon and/or syrup sprinkled over fruit.
8. Add fruit  to lemon juice and simple syrup to make freezer jam.

Making Simple Syrup
Making simple syrup, flavored or plain is soo easy, and just takes a few minutes.  In a small saucepan pour in an equal measurement of sugar and water (say 1 cup of each) and bring to a boil  Stir.  When the sugar has completed dissolved into the water, turn off the heat, let cool, pour into a sealed container of your choice and store in your fridge.  So easy.  If you want to up your game and flavor the syrup, either stir in an extract once the syrup has cooled, steep some teabags for several minutes in the syrup while still hot, throw some herbs (thyme, lavender, whatever) into a mesh bag and steep for a few minutes while still hot... the possibles are almost endless!

Boil the sugar and water

pick an optional mix-in

If your mix-in is not an extract then add and steep in syrup while still hot.  I used three bags of green tea in 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of water, the green tea flavor is mild.

If you want your syrup to be a pretty color be careful about which add-in you use.  Green tea gives a nice mellow flavor, but is an unattractive green color.  I put mine in a blue bottle to hide the color!

Liam and I each have a new favorite drink.  His is Green Tea Lemonade.  Mine is the grown up version, the Green Tea Lemon Drop.  Oh yeah.  That's right.  I added green tea to my simple syrup for a refreshing summery twist on the originals.

Green Tea Lemonade (makes 1 serving)
1/4 Cup green tea simple syrup
1/4 Cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 - 1 Cup cold water

Mix together and serve.

Green Tea Lemon Drop (makes 1 serving)
I used a shot glass for measurement

1 part vodka
1/2 part lemon juice
2 parts green tea simple syrup
lemon slice garnish (optional)


Hopefully this will get you thinking about other fun ways to use lemon juice and/or simple syrup.  I know I'm still thinking of fun uses!

the washi dress

I'm branching out a little here.  I've created a new page called "away from the kitchen" just to share posts that aren't recipe related.  Every once in a while I've thought of non-kitchen things I want to share, but it felt weird placing them on a kitchen related blog.  Here's where you'll find all the random things I'll be adding.

The first non-kitchen post is all about the Washi dress.  I'd been eyeing the pattern for a while because it seemed so universally flattering, easy and quick to make, and basic enough to make several dresses with some minor changes look totally different.

I've always had issues with dresses.  I love them and could live in them, but I find it difficult to find the perfect dress.  By that I mean pockets, not too short, and decent boob coverage.  That doesn't seem like I'm asking for too much, but the perfect dress is just so hard to find!  The washi dress has perfect coverage (for me anyway), and built in pockets!  Eek!  What more could a girl ask for?

The pattern was easy enough for a sewing beginner, and the directions were easy to follow and even contained examples and helpful hints.  The dress from start to finish took me two days, but most of that was cutting out and taping the pattern from the downloaded and printed PDF file, and trying to sew with both kids around.  Here it is: the washi dress from Made By Rae.

Before this dress I NEVER would have thought of sewing clothes for myself out of quilters cotton, but it worked just fine.  I caved when I saw this cute navy and silver fabric!  The washi dress can be made with just about any fabric though depending on what drape you want.  It fits really well too because of the rows of shirring in the back.  I had never worked with elastic thread before, but it was simple, and had an entire page of instruction on shirring for anyone needing guidance.

I'm already planning on making a second washi dress with sleeves for this coming fall.  I highly recommend checking out pictures of other people's washi dresses online to get inspired.  That are so many options for the dress regarding sleeves, trim, necklines.  Some are amazingly cute.  If you need help with the sewing part, Rae's site has some help.

I will say though, even if you're lazy and don't normally, make a quick muslin for at least the dress top just to make sure you have a proper fit, and to make sure the darts are where you want them.  I'm a pear shape and my top measurements are one size smaller than bottom measurements.  Fit yourself to the top because there's extra room in the skirt.

Also, I did make a few small changes to the pattern.  I scooped out the neckline more, skipped the sleeves, and added 1.5" to the top.  If you have a small bust or aren't worried about the higher empire waist making you look pregnant (not my favorite look) than keep the length of the top alone.

THis is driving me crazy posting this because I really hate pictures of myself.  So awkward... Anyway, I had a thing silver belt that was way cuter with this dress but I hadn't worn it in a while and when I tried it on today it didn't fit at all.  Because it was way to big!  Whoo hoo!  Weight loss!

Please excuse my terrible posture that makes the top of the dress look ill fitting.  IT really does fit nicely when I stand up straight.  And did I mention the BUILT IN POCKETS!  They are wonderful.  The perfect placement, and plenty big enough for my big Nikon to fit in.

Liam decided to dress like Phineas today (from Phineas and Ferb) and when someone asked his name he gave an awkward look and responded, "Phineas?"

Family picture on the river!

1 minute microwave mug cookie

Guess what?  Today is an important day!  What day is it you might ask?
It's my blog's 1st birthday!  Anniversary, whatever!
I'm so excited.  :)  A big thank you to the maybe dozen people who read this.  You have followed me for a whole year now and seen over one hundred recipes.  That is so exciting to me.

And hey, what's a birthday, anniversary, whatever without cake?  I love cake.  This cake is even better than normal cake because it uses barely any dishes, tastes great, is portion controlled, and takes less than five minutes between making it, baking it, and clean up.  What's not to love?

I love microwave cookies.  They are satisfying, portion controlled, easy, and my favorite quick weeknight dessert.  I have three versions I regularly make: peanut butter, chocolate chip, and chocolate chip peanut butter.  I also have a basic cookie base, and a slightly healthier base.

This is the basic cookie base.  Literally just dump these all into a coffee mug and mix well with a spoon or butter knife.  You don't even need to grease the mug because the coconut oil in the batter helps enough.  Mix a tablespoon of peanut butter and/or chocolate chips into the batter.  Then microwave the mug for one minute.  Done!

If you want to use the healthier base instead substitute whole wheat flour for the AP flour, and only use 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar.

This is just a random pre-microwave picture of a peanut butter mug cookie.

Have I mentioned how much I am in love with this dessert?  It is warm and part cake consistency, part ooey gooey wonderfulness.  If you don't like the ooey gooey consistency then just microwave an extra 30 seconds.

Just some extra close up photos of each cookie.  This is healthier base chocolate chip peanut butter.

Classic base peanut butter.

Classic base chocolate chip.

1 minute microwave mug cookie

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp melted coconut oil
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar (or 1 tsp granulated sugar)
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 3 tbsp AP flour (or 3 tbsp whole wheat flour)
• pinch of salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp peanut butter (optional)
• 1 tbsp chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

1. Dump all ingredients into coffee mug and mix well.
2. Microwave for 1 minute.
3. Let stand 1 minute.  Grab a spoon and enjoy!

coconut cookie pie crust

Happy Pi day!  Honestly, is there ever a better reason to bake a pie than today?  I forgot all about pi day last year until it was too late to make one and I was soo sad.  Seriously.  I'm really the only one in our house who likes pie, so I figured today was a great time to branch out and try a fun one!

I'm a bit obsessed with recipes from Tate's Bakery right now.  They are all amazing.  I really wanted to try their key lime pie recipe, but I thought I'd add a fun addition.  I made a coconut cookie crust to go with it.  Who doesn't love coconut lime?  No joke, I just drooled a little bit writing that.  I might also have to adapt this crust into cookies sometime because the kitchen smelled wonderful when the crust was baking, and Jeff was so bummed because he had thought I was making sugar cookies.

This crust really is just like a big cookie.  It is really easy to work with for crust because it is easy to mold and squish without being sticky.  Even if the crust dumps out into your pie pan as a huge mess, just push it around with your fingers until you have it molded right where you want it.

There could not possibly be an easier pie crust recipe (from scratch at least!).

 Add the coconut, eggs, flour, sugar, melted coconut oil, and vanilla into a food processor and pulse until a ball forms.

The ball can be soft, but push down softly with one finger to see if its is sticky.  If it is, add flour 1/4 cup at a time until it holds together and isn't sticky.

Place the crust between two large pieces of plastic wrap on the counter.  This will make rolling it out and cleaning up after soo much easier.  As much as I love baking rolling things out is the bane of my existence, but this crust is so soft it rolls out easily.

You really don't have to make this look perfect, just roll the crust out to a general circular shape the general size to fit the base and sides of your pie pan.

This part is a little more awkward, but easily cleaned up.  Peel off the top layer of plastic wrap.  Lift up the crust and bottom layer of wrap and flip it over the pie pan.  Peel off the remaining plastic and push the crust around until it lays evenly in the pan.

Bake the crust at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes until the edges are golden.  Cool before filling.

I used the Tate's Bakery Key Lime Pie filling with my coconut cookie crust.  I'm going to think up some other fillings soon.  Ooh?  Raspberry?  Chocolate caramel?  Dang it.  Now I need to go bake some more pies...

Coconut Cookie Pie Crust

ingredients:

• 2 C shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1 C + 1 tbsp AP flour
• 1/4 C coconut oil, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. All all ingredients to a food processor and pulse until a soft ball forms.  Check to make sure crust holds together and is not sticky.  Slowly add more flour if sticky.
3. Roll out dough between two layers of plastic wrap into a circular form the general size of the pie pan.
4. Peel off the top layer of plastic wrap.  Gently flip the crust and lower layer of plastic wrap over the greased pie pan.  Remove the remaining plastic wrap and gently push the crust into place.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the edges are golden.  Remove the crust and allow to cool before filling.

tartiflette

This dish is comfort food to the max.  And by comfort food I mean completely delicious while being heart attack inducing.  This dish contains bacon, potatoes, cream, wine, and cheese.  Basically, this dish gets tons of compliments, but its a good idea to not mention the ingredients before serving.  Jeff couldn't get enough and ate two huge portions for dinner before he realized what he was eating!  I see this as a great intro to french food for people who think french food is all snooty (ridiculous).

I don't make this dish very often because I usually cook pretty healthy meals, but Jeff loves it, and it makes the whole house smell SO good!  Plus, Liam was pretty darn cute stalking me around the kitchen hinting oh so sly saying, "Mommy, I LOVE bacon!"

Start out by dicing up half a medium sized yellow onion and adding it to a hot pan with olive oil on medium heat.  Stir occasionally and let soften.

Slice up six strips of bacon and add them to the pot.

Cook the onion and bacon for about 5 minutes.

Stir in the moscato and allow it to cook down mostly, about ten minutes.  Surprised about the moscato?  It was on a lark that I used it instead of something drier, but the sweetness really works, and it smells so good!  Jeff even commented that each bite was full of flavor.  He kept waiting for the ball to drop, thinking he just got one really saturated bite, but he said every bite was just as good.

Cut up six medium yukon gold potatoes and mix them in.  Cook stirring occasionally until the potatoes have begun to soften.

Stir in half a cup of heavy cream.  At this point also add a teaspoon of thyme.

Shred the Gruyere and stir it into the pot.  I like to use my le crusuet pot so I don't have to transfer, but if you don't have a pot that can go on the stove AND in the oven, switch containers now and pot into the oven on the middle rack for 30-40 minutes, until golden, bubbly, and beautiful.  I like to bake mine for 32 minutes and then broil for 2 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let sit out for five minutes to set.

Just look at this.  The perfect cold night comfort food meal.

Serve with some good bread to soak everything up.  Enjoy!

 Recipe adapted from Ferdakost

Tartiflette

ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
• 6 thinly sliced bacon strips
• 1/2 Cup moscato
• 6 medium yukon gold potatoes, cut into chunks
• 1/2 Cup heavy cream
• 2 1/2 Cups Gruyere, shredded
• 1 tsp thyme

directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in the glazed cast iron pot on medium heat and toss in the diced onion.  Once it becomes fragrant stir in the bacon.  Stir them occasionally for about 10 minutes.  Stir in the moscato and cook until mostly evaporated.  Add the potatoes and cook for ten more minutes.  At this point preheat the oven for 350 degrees F.  Pour the cream into the mixture and stir for a minute or two.  Add in the thyme.  Fold in the shredded Gruyere evenly.  If you do not have a le crusuet style pot and have been using a regular pot, now dump the food into an oven safe dish and put into the oven for 30-40 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to set on the counter for 5 minutes before serving.  

Note: The bake time can differ depending on the size your potatoes are cut (mostly).  I like to bake my dish for about 32 minutes, then broil for 2 minutes, just to get a nice golden crispy top.

soft & chewy orange creamsicle cookies

When I bake its for one of three reasons.  I'm happy and baking makes me happier, I NEED cookies, or the kids are driving me crazy and I need to bake to help me relax while the kids are napping.  Yesterday was definitely the latter reason.  Crazy hyper little mess makers.  All morning they were full out bonkers.  So nap time was relaxation time, and okay, I really needed a cookie too!

I'd been wanting to try making an orangesicle cookie for a while now.  I just love the combination of orange and vanilla.

These turned out really well especially since it was my first time trying this new recipe I made up.  I figure if I didn't mess it up on the first try, the recipe must be pretty easy.

The cookies turned out just the way I'd hoped.  Chewy, soft, and full of vanilla and orange goodness.  Excuse me, I think I have to go eat another one right now...

   

Orange Creamsicle Cookies
makes 18 large cookies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 Cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 Cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 Cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp orange extract
• zest of 1 small orange
• juice of 1/2 small orange
• 2 1/4 Cups AP flour
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees F.  Cream together butter and sugars.
2. Add in the egg, extracts, zest, and juice one at a time.
3. In a small bowl mix together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.  Slowly add the dry ingredients into the large wet bowl.  Add the white chocolate chips.
4. Use a cookie scoop and drop them 6 at a time onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake 13-15 minutes for large cookies, or until edges are golden.
5. Let stand to 5 minutes to cool and set.

Note:  If you kitchen is too warm put the cookie dough in the fridge for 5 minutes before scooping and baking to help the dough firm up a bit.  This will help if your cookies tend to spread out and flatten too much.