Calamari....

This was such a delicious supper for a warm, breezy night. I fried up about a pound of squid rings and served them with peperoncini and lemon.  The cold glass of chardonnay I sipped on brighten  and lighten the flavor.  Here's the recipe.

• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 of a can of beer
• salt and pepper 
• vegetable oil

Beat eggs, add flour,  whisk together with eggs then add the beer and salt and pepper.  Dip rings in the batter and in fry in 375 degree oil for roughly two minutes.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, peperoncini and fresh squeezed lemon juice all over.

 We thoroughly enjoyed this easy Sunday night meal.  Eating out on our deck really helped too. It was a pleasant way to say good bye to the weekend.  

Low Fat Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Chia Seeds

Read here why I try to sneak in a tablespoon of Chia seeds in almost everything I eat, including these delicious low fat pancakes.  I combined ingredients from three different recipes and came up with these.  Enjoy!
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour,
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 large egg
• 4 1/2 tbsp liquid egg whites
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
• 2 tbsp chia seeds

Directions:

1. Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda in a medium bowl.  Next,  whisk in the ricotta, egg, liquid egg whites, vanilla, buttermilk, lemon zest and lemon juice in a large bowl until smooth. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.  Do not over mix.
2. Pour 1/4 cup batter onto a well oiled cast iron pan.  Cook until the edges are dry and bubbles begin to form, about 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes over and cook until golden brown, about 2 or 3 minutes more.

I served my pancakes with home made warm blueberry sauce and Grade A Dark Amber New Hampshire Maple Syrup.

Grilled Salmon with Pesto......

This is beyond easy.  After squeezing the salmon filet with lemon juice, I spread my homemade pesto all over the top.  Wrapped the whole thing in a double layer of aluminum foil threw it on the grill and grilled it for 10 minutes.  This moist grilled salmon shared the plate with a  mixed green salad tossed with a simple lemon vinaigrette.  Delicious!

I enjoy trying to cook tasty healthy meals for my family and you can't get more healthy than salmon. This piece gave us three decent sized portions packed with omega-3 fatty acids. 
I'm feeling healthier already!!!!

Mmmm, the House Smells Wonderful........

According to one of the many helpful tip pins on Pinterest, if you would like your house to smell like the Williams Sonoma store follow these simple directions. 

1. One lemon sliced thin
2. Two sprigs of rosemary
3. One teaspoon vanilla extract
4. One cup of water to start and more as the day wears on

Toss it all in a sauce pan and let it simmer on the stove top all day.  Did it smell like Williams Sonoma?  I'm not quite sure, but it did add a wonderful clean fresh fragrance to the house.

It certainly camouflaged Bella's wet dog smell.

Lemon Brownies...

I found this recipe on a lovely blog called Mountain Breaths. Mountain Breaths found the recipe on one of my other favorite blogs There's Always Thyme To Cook.  I went back to my bookmarks and sure enough there it was bookmarked and saved from when There's Always Thyme To Cook posted it in April.   I say thank you to both blogs, the lemon brownies were out of this world delicious.  Here's the recipe!!!

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter at room temperature
• 4 eggs
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• additional lemon zest for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees: Line the bottom of a 9x13x2 inch baking dish with parchment paper and spray with Pam.  In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and salt: add butter.  Stir together eggs, juice from 1/2 lemon and zest from 1 lemon.  Stir into batter and pour into prepared pan.  Bake for 30 minutes or until set, use a toothpick to check.  Remove from oven and cool on a rack.  When brownies are cool prepare glaze by stirring the powdered sugar and 2 tbsp. lemon juice together and then spread over the cooled brownies.  Once again I added a few drops of my pure lemon oil from King Arthur's Bakery.

When Life Gives You Lemons......

You make Ina's Lemon Bars of course,

FOR THE CRUST

• 1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

FOR THE FILLING

• 6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup all purpose flour

Confectioners sugar, for dusting
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

For the crust, cream the butter and the sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixed fitted with the paddle attachment.  Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed.  Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball.  Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2 inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2 inch edge on all sides. Chill.

 Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned.  Let cool on a wire rack.  Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour.  Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set.  Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners sugar.