When Life Offers You Lemons...

  

Yes, we know you've heard that one before. But it's especially true with this lemonade. That's because it has cilantro in it, and the healing properties that come with it! You read that right! Brittany Wood Nickerson, who wrote the new cookbook The Herbalist Kitchen, came by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about her Cilantro Lemonade. And while standard lemonade is quite refreshing, it's not known for its cleansing properties.  This drink, on the other hand, is very healthy and can work as a gentle detoxifier. By the way, it also tastes great! Learn more at Brittany's website: thymeherbal.com

Yield: about 3 cups

1 bunch cilantro (about 2 cups packed)
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1–2 lemons)
2 tablespoons raw honey
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups water

Combine the cilantro with the lemon juice, honey, salt, and water in a blender and purée for 3 minutes. The drink will be a rich green color with a beautiful white foam on top. I enjoy drinking the lemonade as it is, with the cilantro pulp, but you can strain it through a sieve or tea strainer before serving, if you like. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.



Cilantro for Gentle Cleansing
You can drink cilantro lemonade on a daily or weekly basis to stay cool in hot weather or to support liver and digestive function and gentle detoxification. It also makes a nice seasonal tonic to help the body transition from colder to warmer weather.

“Excerpted from Recipes from the Herbalist’s Kitchen, © by Brittany Wood Nickerson, photography by © Alexandra Grablewski, used with permission from Storey                                                                   Publishing.”

A Great Mother's Day Dessert Idea!

  

...and it's pretty sweet, just like mom. We're talking about homemade Lemon Curd.  Food Editor Mark Hagen with Taste of Home stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about making it for Mother's Day and more. He says it's so easy to make, not only will you whip up a batch for the holiday, you'll be making it all summer long!

3 large eggs 

1 cup sugar 

1/2 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons) 

1/4 cup butter cubed

1 Tbsp. grated lemon peel

In a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, whisk eggs, sugar and lemon juice until blended. Add butter and lemon peel; cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened and coats the back of a metal spoon. Transfer to a small bowl; cool 10 minutes. Refrigerate, covered, until cold. 

*Test Kitchen tips: • Don’t use aluminum or unlined copper pans or spoons when making curd. They could react with the acid in the lemons, discoloring the curd and leaving  a metallic aftertaste. • To know when the curd is ready, coat the back of a spoon and run your finger through it; if it leaves a path, the curd is ready. It will thicken slightly as it cools.

Roll Those Lemons!

 

You'll be on a roll, with this cake! Abby Dodge, who wrote the cookbook The Everyday Baker, stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about My (her) Mom's Lemony Roll Cake. Now here's the scoop, at its core, this is a Lemon-filled sponge cake that has an incredible dessert flavor at home in either a fancy dinner party or a casual get-together. Abby told Tonia that when the cake is hot from the oven, you roll it up to give it the shape of the name.  Abby also says this cake is bursting with flavor, thanks to the goat cheese that's enhanced with the zing of fresh blueberries. That of course, is combined with the decadence of sugar and heavy cream for an amazing treat you'll be sure to enjoy many times over.

LEMON-POPPY SEED ROLL CAKE WITH WHIPPED STRAWBERRY MASCARPONE

Happy Spring everyone and remember that Everyday is a great day for baking!

Abby

Lemon-Poppy Seed Roll Cake with Whipped Strawberry Mascarpone

Makes 8 to 16 servings.

For the cake

Nonstick cooking spray or softened butter + flour, for preparing
the pan

1 cup (7 oz./198g) granulated sugar, divided

1 Tbs. finely grated lemon zest

1 1/2 cups (6 oz./170g) cake flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. table salt

4 large eggs, divided

1/2 cup (120 ml) neutral oil (safflower, canola or vegetable)

1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk

2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp. poppy seeds

Confectioners’ sugar (sifted if lumpy), for dusting (about 1 cup/4 oz./113 g)

For the filling

1 quart (1 lb./454g) medium-sized, fresh strawberries, rinsed and dried

2/3 cup (4 5/8 oz./131g) granulated sugar

1 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream, chilled

3/4 cup (6 oz./170g) mascarpone

Pinch of table salt

Make the cake

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F (180°C /gas 4). Lightly grease the sides and bottoms of a 13x18x1-inch (33x46x2.5 cm) half sheet pan and line the bottom with parchment. Lightly grease and flour the parchment and lightly flour the sides of the pan.
2. Put 3/4 cup (5 1/4 oz./149g) of the sugar and the lemon zest in a blender or food process and pulse until the zest is finely chopped and the sugar is fragrant. Sift the cake flour into the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mixer (or in a large bowl using an electric handheld mixer fitted with wire beaters), add the lemon-sugar, baking powder and salt and whisk until blended. Add the egg yolks, oil, buttermilk and vanilla. Beat on medium-low speed until blended. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until lighter in color and thin enough to form a ribbon of batter in the bowl when the beater is lifted, 3 minutes. Add the poppy seeds and mix briefly until blended.
3. Put the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl using an electric handheld mixer fitted with wire beaters) and beat on medium-low speed until foamy. Increasing speed to medium, and beat until whites are opaque and climbing about half way up the bowl (the tracks from the whisk will be beginning to hold their shape) forming very soft peaks. Continue beating while slowly adding the remaining 1/4 cup (1 3/4 oz./50g) granulated sugar. Beat until the whites are thick, shiny and form medium peaks. (The peaks should droop over gently.) Do not over beat or the whites won’t expand during baking and the batter won’t rise as high.
4. Scrape about a quarter of the whites into the flour mixture and, using a large silicone spatula, gently stir until blended. The batter will become lighter and make it easier to fold in the remaining whites. Add the remaining whites and gently fold until just blended with no visible streaks of either the whites or batter. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and, using an offset spatula, gently spread into an even layer. Bake until the cake is pale golden brown and the top springs back when lightly touched, 13 to 15 minutes.
5. While the cake is baking, have ready two long strips of paper towels (two large squares per strip), the confectioners’ sugar for dusting, a fine- mesh sieve, and two large racks.
6. Move the pan to a rack and run the tip of a small knife around the edges to loosen the cake from the pan. Let cool 10 minutes. Sift the confectioners’ sugar over the cake in a generous layer. Cover the top of the cake completely with the strips of paper towels and cover with a rack large enough to overhang the edges of the pan. Gripping both racks with towels and with the sheet pan sandwiched in between, flip the pan and racks to invert. Lift the pan from the cake and carefully peel away the parchment.
7. Beginning on one short (or, to serve 16, long) side, roll up the cake and paper towel layer together. Do this while the cake is still war or it will crack. Arrange, seam side down (the seam will not be directly under the cake but just to the side facing down), on the rack and let cool completely.

Make the filling and assemble

1. Hull the strawberries and cut each in half then each half in half or quarters, if large. You should have about 4 cups of chopped strawberries. Scrape about half of the berries into medium saucepan and the sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved then reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring often, until the berries have released their juice and burst when lightly pressed with the spatula, about 6 minutes. Add the remaining berries and cook, stirring, until the syrup is thick and jam-like (you will have about 1 1/2 cups), 6 to 8 minutes. Slide the pan off the heat, let cool completely and refrigerate until chilled. For faster cooling, Scrape into a bowl and set the bowl over a larger bowl filled with ice and a little water, stirring and scraping the sides frequently.
2. Put the mascarpone, heavy cream and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl using an electric handheld mixer fitted with wire beaters) and beat on medium-low speed until blended and smooth, about 1 minute. Increase to medium-high speed and beat until thick enough
to hold firm peaks when the beater is lifted, about 2 minutes. Add the cooled strawberry mixture and, using a silicone spatula, fold until just blended.
3. Carefully unroll the cake and remove the paper towels. It will look a bit wavy, uneven and will be curled at one end. Scrape the filling onto the cake and, using an offset spatula, spread evenly over the cake to within 1/2 inch of one of the short sides, the two long edges and to 1 inch of the remaining short (or long) side. Beginning with the shorter side with the filling almost to the edge, gently roll the cake without the paper towels. Using a long metal spatula, place the cake, seam side down (the seam will not be directly under the cake but just to the side facing down), on a flat serving plate or board. Refrigerate for 2 hours then cover loosely and continue chill for another 2 hours or up to 12 hours before serving.
4. About 30 minutes before serving, remove the cake from the refrigerator. Dust the top of the roll with additional confectioners’ sugar, if desired. Using a serrated knife, cut the cake on alternate angles into wedges about 2 inches thick at the widest end and serve with additional fresh strawberries, if desired.

Starting Planning for Thanksgiving

 

And we aren't just talking Turkey. Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away and if you're planning a big holiday get together, you've come to the right place! In fact, food stylist Tara Teaspoon wrote a whole cookbook about this called, appropriately enough, Delicious Gatherings. She stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about the book, meant to evoke memories of big holiday gatherings of the past, and put modern twists on old favorites you would serve at them. One of those sides she talks about is her recipe for French Cranberry Sauce. It has fresh cranberries, apples, oranges and lemons and is not sticky, gelled stuff you might remember. Instead, it's more of a sweet, tart chutney that goes great poultry, potatoes and stuffing. 

• Pulse shallots and fresh or frozen cranberries in a food processor until finely chopped.
• Zest and orange and juice it, reserving both juice and zest.
• Chop a sweet apple, like Gala, into small dice and stir into the shallots and cranberries.
• Add sugar, orange juice and zest, salt, and chopped parsley.