Lemony Zest :: Kim Lewandowski

Posts Tagged ‘Photos’

Last week, Dan and I prepared a Mexican feast for 26 teachers during the annual capstone event for the graduate professional development class he teaches along with colleagues Dan B. and Richard.

I was so busy making sure everything was done and we hadn’t forgotten anything that I forgot to take pictures of everything when we were done with each dish. But here are a few to accompany the recipes we used.

Appetizers, all by Rick Bayless, served with toasted sliced baguette and tortilla chips

• Roasted Garlic Guacamole
• Crab Salpicon
• Chipotle Peanut Salsa
• Fire-Roasted Tomato Salsa

Prep for Fire-Roasted Tomato Salsa

Dinner

• Classic Red Mole, used in Lacquered Chicken, by Rick Bayless
• Lacquered Chicken, by Rick Bayless
• Easy Corn Tamales, by Marcela Valladolid
• Grilled Corn on the Cob with Garlic Butter, Fresh Lime and Cotija Cheese (but I forgot to bring the cheese), by Bobby Flay
• Classic Mexican White Rice with Sweet Plantains, by Rick Bayless

Mole ingredients

Corn tamales stuffed with chicken (left) or cheese right)

Dessert was a trifle layered with cubed angel-food cake, lemon pudding and fresh strawberries, blackberries and raspberries. I tried making a tres leches cake for this, but it was flat and heavy, so I went with store-bought angel food.

Lessons Learned

• When making tamales, test the batter by checking to see whether a handful sticks to itself; if not, it’s too wet, so add a bit more corn flour
• I need a Kitchen Aid mixer if I’m going to try a tres leches cake; I didn’t fluff up the butter enough, so the cake was short and heavy rather than tall and light
• When I’m cooking for a crowd, delegate the camera work to someone else!

Have I told you I’m on the board of the League of Women Voters of South Hampton Roads? Yesterday was our annual program planning/general membership/holiday party meeting, and traditionally, board members, and sometimes others, bring brunch-type goodies to have during the meeting.

I got up early to make scones and realized I was out of whipping cream. So I used what I had – I substituted a few tbsp. of low-fat cream cheese and a half cup of skim milk for the whipping cream. I’ve made these scones for this event for several years now, and I got more compliments than ever, so I guess low-fat is the way to go.

Cranberry-Orange Scones

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) firm unsalted butter
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries (such as Craisins)
2 tsp. grated orange peel
1/4 tsp. orange extract

Optional: Instead of whipping cream, cut 3 tbsp. low-fat cream cheese into flour with the butter and add 1/2 cup skim milk with the liquid ingredients.

Optional: Sprinkle with candy sprinkles – I used fall colors with leaves.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet or spray with cooking spray.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender or fork, mix butter, and optional cream cheese, into dry ingredients until mixture is the size of small peas. Add remaining ingredients, mixing just until the dry ingredients are moist.

Using a small spoon, scoop out golf-ball size pieces of dough, put on the baking sheet, and pat down lightly, or you can turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a circle 3/4-inch thick, then cut dough into 8 to 10 wedges. I like a more rustic look, so I spoon it out.

Place on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sugar and optional candy sprinkles. Bake 12 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 20 scones.

Several years ago, Dan and I visited Barbados over Christmas. During the trip, we took the 80-mile tour around the perimeter of the island; one stop was Animal Flower Cave, named for the sea anemones that grow in the water there. It was pretty dark inside the cave, but several openings offered interesting views of the outside.

This is my contribution to Photo Friday, a weekly photography challenge.

When garlic starts sprouting in the kitchen, I separate the cloves and plant them in the garden. About a year later, I have a new head of garlic where once I had a clove that was past its prime.

This is my contribution to the weekly photo challenge at PhotoFriday.com.

We have three hydrangea shrubs around our house, and all three have huge, gorgeous blooms and are all different colors. I know that the acidity of the soil determines what color they will be; the interesting thing is that we don’t do anything to the soil to affect the color. One is blue, one is purple, and one is pink. I love the huge flower heads they get.

I’m late again for the the Photo Friday weekly challenge, but I’m posting anyway Last week’s theme was Bloom.

My contribution to this week’s Photo Friday photography challenge, with the topic Stand Out, is another photo from our trip to Ireland in 2003.

This is part of the cemetery around Corcomroe Abbey in County Clare. It was a misty, overcast day, as it tends to be in Ireland. Of course, the benefit is the brilliantly green grass. We had a great time there and would love to go back.