Key Lime Tart

The filling is the same as for a traditional key lime pie, but rather than a graham cracker crust (yuck!) this one uses a tart crust. Instead of a whipped cream topping, I top with strawberries.


Crust

1 1/4 cup flour (156 g.)
1/4 cup sugar
zest from 2 small limes or 5 key limes
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg yolk
2 tsp. water

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375

1. Combine zest, flour, and sugar

2. Rub with butter between your fingers until it resembles course meal

3. Whisk together egg, water, and vanilla

4. Pour egg mixture oven flour mixture and combine

5. Press into a tart pan; prick all over with a fork

6. Bake for 16-18 minutes, very slightly browning

7. Lower oven temperature to 325 and allow crust to cool while you make your filling


Filling

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
4 egg yolks
zest from 4-5 key limes
1/2 cup+ key lime juice

DIRECTIONS

1. Whisk together all ingredients

2. Pour into cooled crust

3. Bake at 325 for 15 minutes

4. Remove and allow to cool before placing in fridge; refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving


I like to top this with fresh strawberries. To make a glaze, combine 1 T. jam (any flavor) with 1 tsp. water; microwave for 15 seconds, then brush or spoon over berries.

Shephard's Pie

A very filling and hearty dinner!

Ingredients

2 lbs. potatoes, peeled
1 package ground beef
1 large onion, chopped (set aside 2 T. and chop very finely)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup shredded or finely diced carrots
1-2 cup peas (frozen)
1-2 cup green beans, cut in half (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, divided
3 T. butter
1/4 - 1/2 cup milk
2 T. tomato paste (can use ketchup)
1/2 cup red wine or chicken stock or water
2 T. flour
6 T. Worcester sauce
3 T. A1 steak sauce
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil for cooking

Directions

1. Boil potatoes until they are soft enough to mash. While they are boiling...

2. Saute carrots in olive oil until starting to soften and turn more orange in color; add onion (minus the tablespoon) and continue to cook until onions are soft and just starting to look translucent; add garlic and saute for a minute or so before adding beef

3. Add beef and pepper and cook until browned; drain excess fat

4. Sprinkle flour over the whole thing and mix in well

5. Add in 1 T. butter, peas, and green beans and stir until mixed

6. Add Worcester sauce, steak sauce, tomato paste, and red wine/chicken stock/water, then reduce until it resembles a nice meaty stew

7. Meanwhile, mash the potatoes with 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, finely chopped onion, and the milk (just enough to make it creamy) and salt and pepper to taste.

8. Butter a 9x13 dish, then distribute the beef mixture along the bottom

10. Spoon on the mashed potatoes, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup cheddar

11. Place into an oven preheated at 400 degrees and cook for 20 minutes (stew should be boiling and potatoes just starting to brown).

Ginger Honey Salmon

Ingredients

4 salmon filets
2 T. lime juice
2 T. honey
2 T. soy sauce
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1 1 x 2 inch knob ginger, finely chopped
1 T. black carraway seeds (can substitute black sesame seeds)
Salt and pepper to taste
olive oil for cooking

Directions

1. Mix together lime, honey, soy sauce, black carraway seeds, and 1/3 of the shallots and half the ginger; add salt and pepper to taste

2. Cook rest of the shallots and ginger in olive oil over medium heat in a large frying pan until fragrant (about 5 minutes)

3. Place the salmon on the frying pan, and brush the salmon generously with the honey-lime sauce (I was lazy and used a turkey baster

4. Cook on medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, or until cooked through on one side

5. Flip, brush on more sauce, and continue to cook on medium-high heat until cooked through

Lentil Soup

This is an easy and simple soup (other than dicing potatoes, which is sort of a pain) that is perfect for a quick snack or a cold night (just in time for summer!) This recipe makes a LOT of soup, which is okay because it makes good leftovers. Or you could just cut the recipe in half.

I like my soup a little chunky, which means I don't puree it at the end. If you're a pureest (ha!) you can certainly puree it if you feel like it. In that case, you probably won't need to dice the potatoes quite so small.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups red lentils
3 medium-sized potatoes, peeled diced into 1 cm cubes
1 medium white or yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, very finely chopped or put through a press
1/2 cup lemon juice (approximately; to taste)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. oregano
About 8 cups of water, vegetable stock, or chicken stock (or any combination thereof)
salt and pepper to taste (LOTS is good!)

Directions

1. Dump all ingredients into a large pot and cook on medium until it starts to boil

2. Reduce to medium-low heat and continue to boil/simmer for about 40 minutes (the lentils should have split nicely, so the color is not only nice and opaque but it actually starts to taste like lentils and not water); salt and pepper to taste.

Cheesecake (for Passover and otherwise!)

Now, considering the fact that I probably know everybody who reads this blog personally, I'm guessing that nobody made the cheesecake. At least, I hope not.

Confession time: that was my first every cheesecake and it was, frankly, marginal at best. I basically put it up as a starting off point to improve.

THIS, however, is actually a good cheesecake. It almost didn't get baked since I was too busy eating bowl scrapings (salmonella be damned!)

I made this as a passover cheesecake with a walnut crust (a little bitter, to be honest), but if you want a more traditional graham cracker crust then see the bottom of this post. For non-Passover cheesecakes, you can also replace the almond meal with regular flour.

CRUST

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup ground walnuts (these are hard to find when it isn't passover; you can also grind plain walnuts in a coffee grinder)
5 T. butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Mix together the walnuts, butter, and sugar, then press into a spongiform pan as you would a graham cracker crust, making sure they go at least 1 inch up the sides (preferably more)

3. Bake for 8-10 minutes, then remove from over and allow to cool. If you aren't making the filling straightaway, keep it in the fridge.

FILLING

3 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 T. almond meal
Zest from 1 lemon
Juice from 1/2 a lemon (optional; this will make it REALLY lemony, too much so without a topping)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 large pinches of salt
4 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325

1. Mix the cream cheese, sugar, and almond meal together with a wooden spoon until well-blended and all the lumps are out (this is done pretty easily at room temperature, and nearly impossible if the cream cheese is cold.)

2. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt, then stir until well-blended

3. Stir in the eggs, then the sour cream, until smooth and not lumpy.

4. Poor into crust, then bake for 45-50 minutes until the edges are set 1 inch from the middle

5. Open the oven door and allow to cool in the oven for an hour

Best if made in advance


Graham cracker crust:

Use 16 graham crackers instead of the walnuts. Rest is the same.

Watermelon-Feta Salad

Just what it sounds like.

This simple salad makes an excellent snack, and you'll be surprised at how well the flavors blend together!

Ingredients:

1 whole watermelon flesh, cut into chunks or rolled into balls
1 bunch of fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1/2 cup (or more) feta cheese, crumbled

Just combine and enjoy!

Sut Muzlu (Turkish Banana Smoothie)

This is a yummy and healthy way to start your day, and surprisingly filling!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups milk
1 whole ripe banana
1 heaping soup spoon of almond meal (crushed almonds)
1 small spoon of honey
(a couple ice cubes if you want it cold)

Directions:

1. Blend together half the milk and the banana in slices

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend on high until well-blended and bubbly at the top. Serve immediately.