Meyer lemons are always a favorite of mine when it comes to baked goods. The citrus – which is in season all year round – is less acidic than other lemons, meaning that it has a wonderful lemon flavor yet seems to be a touch sweeter than most lemons. This Meyer Lemon Poppyseed Loaf is a delicious way to put meyer lemons to good use. It is a moist and easy to make quick bread that is bursting with lemon flavor in every bite, accented by the subtle crunch of poppyseeds.

The bread is easy to put together and features both lemon zest and lemon juice. Most of the lemon flavor comes from the citrus zest, which is the colorful exterior of a citrus fruit. The zest is loaded with lemon oil, a potent flavoring agent. You’ll want to use a microplane to quickly and efficiently remove the zest from the fruit. Once you have zested the lemon, combine it with sugar – which will rub even more oil out of it as you mix the two together – and the rest of the ingredients in the batter. There is a small amount of lemon juice in the batter, as well as some in the glaze.

The lemon glaze that is used in this recipe is very easy to make and a little bit different than most of the other glazes that I make. It is made with lemon juice and granulated sugar, and it is spooned directly onto the hot loaf when it comes out of the oven. The lemon juice will kind of soak into the loaf, while the lemon-flavored sugar sits on top. As the loaf cools, the juice will be absorbed – making the loaf moist – while the sugar forms a subtle crust on top. It has a really bright flavor and a hint of crunch, which makes it particularly delicious!

You can use regular lemons for this recipe for a more traditional lemon poppyseed loaf. It will be just as delicious, with a slightly different (and still very lemony!) flavor profile from the meyer lemon version. The loaf is ready to eat as soon as it has cooled and you should allow it to cool completely before slicing it to allow the lemon glaze to set.

Meyer Lemon Poppyseed Loaf
2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tbsp meyer lemon zest
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup meyer lemon juice
1 tbsp poppyseeds

Drizzle
2 tbsp meyer lemon juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan and the base of the loaf pan with parchment paper to minimize sticking.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, lemon zest, egg and vanilla extract. Stir in vegetable oil and whisk until completely incorporated. Stir in half of the flour mixture, followed by the buttermilk and lemon juice. Stir in the remaining flour mixture and the poppyseeds and mix until batter is uniform. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf pan comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached and the top springs back when lightly pressed.

While the loaf is baking, prepare the drizzle by combining lemon juice and granulated sugar in a small bowl. When the loaf comes out of the oven. us a spoon to drizzle the sugar mixture evenly over the top of the loaf. Do not pierce loaf, simply allow the mixture to soak in as the loaf cools.
When cooled, remove loaf from pan and slice to serve.

Makes 1 loaf; serves 8-12.

The post Meyer Lemon Poppyseed Loaf appeared first on Baking Bites.

Crispy Parmesan Fried Zucchini are savory parmesan and panko coated zucchini bites.  They will quickly become a favorite for an easy and crowd-pleasing snack, appetizer or side dish!

If you love zucchini, but you are looking for an alternative to frying, try Baked Zucchini Fries or Roasted Parmesan Garlic Zucchini Spears. These recipes deliver flavorful zucchini with a light and tasty crisp!

Crispy Parmesan Fried Zucchini

Zucchini is one of my favorite summer sides because there are so many amazing ways to cook it!  This crispy parmesan version has to be one of my best versions so far.  The crunch of a simple panko breading on the outside and the tender zucchini on the inside tastes so good.  You won’t be able to eat just one.They are so incredible you will keep going back for more!

Just because something is fried does not mean it is has to taste heavy and oily.  The panko bread crumbs in this recipe give the outside of the zucchini a light and airy crunch and the italian seasonings keeps the flavor fresh.  The crispy texture of each bite and the nutty parmesan flavor is addicting!  Serve them as an appetizer, snack, or side dish and this will become a family favorite in no time!

Zucchini Ingredients:

These ingredients are all you need to create the perfect crisp zucchini.  The texture and flavor they give this healthy veggie is amazing. This will be the best zucchini you have had!

• Medium Zucchini: Look for a zucchini that is about 6-8 inches long.  It should feel heavy and have smooth dark green skin.
• Salt and Pepper: To taste.
• Flour: All purpose flour works well for frying.
• Eggs: Lightly beat egg in a small bowl.  Dredging the zucchini slices in this will create a thicker more stable crust.
• Panko: Since panko is so light and airy it creates the perfect crispy skin.
• Parmesan Cheese: The nutty flavor of the cheese is the perfect balance to the
• Italian Seasoning: This seasoning blend is so versitile and goes great with the panko and parmesan crust.
• Oil: Olive oil or canola oil need to be heated to 350 degrees before adding zucchini.

How to Fry Crispy Parmesan Fried Zucchini:

Slice and season the zucchini then batter and fry.  The steps to the perfect fried parmesan zucchini are quick and easy to follow.  It is a simple recipe that will be a huge hit!

1. Prepare zucchini: Evenly slice zucchini and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then allow to sit for a few minutes and pat dry any excess moisture with a paper towel.
2. Prepare batter stations: Put the flour in a small bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs. In a third bowl, combine the Panko, parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning.
3. Dip the zucchini: First dip in the flour, then the egg, then lastly in the Panko mixture.
4. Fry: Add the oil to a medium saucepan 1/2 inch up the sides. Then preheat to medium high heat (350 degrees).  When the oil is ready, add the zucchini and fry for 4-5 minutes or until the zucchini is brown and crispy.
5. Serve: Ranch, marinara or any favorite dipping sauce like fry sauce would go great with this parmesan zucchini.

Tips for Frying the Most Crispy Parmesan Zucchini:

The best part of fried parmesan zucchini is the perfect crisp in each bite.  To achieve the soft and flavorful zucchini inside without an over-done crust, it is important to pay attention to a few easy details.

• Even slices: Slice all pieces to the same thickness.  Otherwise, some will be overcooked and some under.  A slicer will give you the most consistent slices.
• Pat dry: Remove as much liquid as possible from the sliced zucchini before frying.  To do this, season with salt and let it sit for a few minutes.  Then pat dry with a paper towel.
• Thin batter: Don’t cake on batter to each slice or it will just fall off as it fries. Go for a nice even thin coating of the delicious batter.
• Keep your oil hot! The oil needs to stay in the 350-375 degrees range.  This will cook the zucchini quickly and not soak in too much oil.
• Even spacing: Space out your zucchini slices in the pan and do not let them overlap.

Storing Fried Zucchini:

This amazing parmesan zucchini does not have to be enjoyed only in the summer, because this recipe does freeze well!  That means you will have some delicious zucchini ready to go well into the fall and winter to keep this family favorite recipe coming for many months of the year!

• Refrigerator Storage: You should store your zucchini in the refrigerator at all times and it will keep well for up to 5 days.
• To Freeze already cooked zucchini: Lay zucchini out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and place in the freezer.  This will allow the slices to freeze individually and save you a headache when reheating.  Once the slices are frozen, you can move them to a ziploc bag and store in the freezer.
• To Freeze raw whole zucchini: For best tasting zucchini you will want to blanch them before storing.  This will help the veggie keep its flavor and color.  To blanch: Add zucchini slices to boiling salt water for 2-3 minutes then add to ice water for 3 minutes.  Drain very well and dry completely before freezing.
• Reheating Directions: When you are ready to pull out your frozen whole zucchini you can thaw it by placing it in the refrigerator overnight or by heating in the oven.  If you thaw in the refrigerator, you will want to cook within 3-4 days.  For cooked zucchini, you do not need to thaw and can reheat it right away.  Bake in the oven at 375 or broil them until they are crispy and sizzling all over.

More Savory Zucchini Recipes:

• Zucchini Chips
• Shrimp Zucchini Boats
• Cheesy Zucchini Fritters
• Best Ever Zucchini Crust Pizza
• Cheesy Zucchini Rice

Pico de gallo is one of my favorite fresh summer condiments because it only takes a few minutes to make and it’s just so fresh and vibrant. The flavor just screams “summer!” I’m always so in awe of recipes that have only a few ingredients, but taste so good and pico de gallo is a great example of that. There’s something magic about the combination of fresh lime and salt that totally transforms this bowl of tomatoes, onions, and cilantro. Simple, magic, delicious.

Originally posted 5-22-2011, updated 6-30-2020.

What is Pico de Gallo?

Pico de gallo is a fresh salsa made with tomatoes, onions, jalapeños, salt, lime, and cilantro. Unlike most jarred salsa that you find in the store, this mix is not cooked, so the flavor stays very fresh and vibrant, and the texture is less saucy and more chunky. 

How to Use Pico de Gallo

If you’re wondering how you use pico de gallo, the answer is “on everything.” It’s a condiment that can be spooned over just about any savory food for an added boost of freshness. Here are a few things I like to spoon it over:

• tacos
• enchiladas
• scrambled eggs
• burritos and burrito bowls
• nachos
• guacamole
• quesadillas
• chicken or fish
• burgers
• or just serve as a simple, fresh chip dip!

Where’s the Jalapeño??

Okay, so there is where I diverge from traditional pico de gallo recipes. I, for whatever reason, despite how much I like spicy food, prefer mine without jalapeño, so the recipe below is written sans jalapeño. If you want to make it in the traditional fashion, simply seed and finely dice one jalapeño and add it into the mix.

What Else Can I Add?

Pico de gallo is a great starting point for any number of fresh salsas. Here are some other ingredients you can add to flesh it out and make it into a more complex salsa:

• pineapple
• avocado
• corn
• mango
• peaches
• chipotle peppers

Shown spooned over Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas.

How to Make Pico de Gallo – Step By Step Photos

Since pico de gallo is a FRESH tomato salsa, it starts with all fresh ingredients: tomatoes, onion, lime, cilantro, and salt. I like to do a 2:1 ratio of tomato to onion, so I used two small tomatoes and half of an onion. I also prefer to use a sweeter onion for pico de gallo, so it doesn’t overwhelm the salsa, so I used a Vidalia onion.

Finely dice the tomatoes and onion, and finely chop the cilantro (about ¼ cup).

Squeeze fresh lime juice over the diced vegetables. For the amount of pico de gallo I am making here, I used about 1 Tbsp of lime juice, or the juice of half a lime. The great thing about pico de gallo is that you can just make it according to your own tastes, without measuring anything.

Season with a pinch or two of salt, then stir everything together. Taste, and adjust the salt to your liking. I used about ¼ tsp of salt. Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes before serving to allow the juices to extract and flavors to blend. Make sure to give it a good stir just before serving to redistribute the flavor.

The post Pico de Gallo appeared first on Budget Bytes.

The very best Caesar salad recipe! This stunner has the perfect balance of creamy homemade dressing, crunchy croutons, and crisp lettuce.

Some foods are classic for a reason. Like frosty vanilla bean ice cream or hot crispy French fries, this classic salad is basic but truly irresistible. Meet the perfect Caesar salad! Yes, you can buy a packaged storebought version with sub-par dressing and soggy croutons. But make all the components at home and it’s a knock out stunner. We’ve perfected all the elements so that you can make them at home. The savory, creamy dressing will instantly become a household favorite. And the crunchy garlicky croutons…well, you’ll be eating them off the baking sheet.

How to make the best Caesar salad

This homemade Caesar salad is absolutely magnificent. From the first bite, you’ll be singing its praises. (Promise.) Here are the ingredients to make an absolutely perfect version of this classic:

• Homemade croutons: Don’t even think about purchasing a box! Tear the bread into uneven pieces to make fluffy, crunchy orbs.
• Best Caesar dressing: Our recipe is so good, you won’t want to buy it again.
• Romaine hearts: We like the romaine hearts, the sweet and crunchy portion of a head of romaine. These are sold usually in packs of 3 in the grocery. You can also use a large head of romaine lettuce.
• Parmesan cheese shavings: You need grated for the dressing, so grab yourself a block of the stuff.

Tips for Caesar salad croutons

You’ll start with the croutons for this Caesar salad. All they need is 15 minutes in a hot oven! You can prep the rest of the salad while they bake. Here are our tips for the best homemade croutons:

• Use great bread: The better the bread, the better the crouton! Use artisan bread, French bread or sourdough bread from the store, or leftover homemade bread.
• Tear the bread into pieces: Tearing the bread into small pieces makes for crispier croutons with crevices that catch the dressing!
• Add garlic powder. Our croutons recipe is for garlic croutons, which have the perfect savory flavor.
• Bake until crispy (about 15 minutes). You’ll use a low temperature, 300 degrees, and bake until just crispy. The croutons crisp up after baking .

The secrets to homemade Caesar dressing

This Caesar dressing recipe is our favorite that we’ve been making for years! It’s a healthy spin on the standard but it tastes just as good. It’s also easily made vegetarian. Here are a few notes on this Caesar dressing:

• Greek yogurt gives it a healthy spin. Instead of going all mayo and oil, we’ve added a little Greek yogurt too. This keeps it creamy but cuts a few of the calories. We use this philosophy in our Ranch Dressing recipe too.
• Use anchovy paste, or don’t: it’s optional! Traditional Caesar dressing gets its savory flavor from anchovies, so we’ve used it here. It adds a huge amount of flavor! But this dressing tastes just as good without it. Feel free to make a vegetarian Caesar dressing and it’s just as good.
• There’s no raw egg. Standard Caesar dressing uses raw egg yolks (like a homemade mayo). But this recipe is so full of flavor, it doesn’t need it.

Make ahead instructions for Caesar salad

Once you’ve got your creamy dressing and crunchy croutons, all you need is romaine hearts and Parmesan cheese shavings to bring together that perfect Caesar salad. Want a few time savers for putting it together? Here’s how to make it ahead:

• Make the dressing up to 1 week in advance. Make it and refrigerate up to 1 week: the flavor tastes just as good!
• Make the croutons 2 days in advance. Make the croutons and let them cool completely. Then store in a sealed container for up to 2 days. The flavor gets gradually staler over time, so the closer to fresh they are, the better.

Variations: make it a main dish!

If you take all this time to make Caesar salad…why not turn it into a main dish meal? If you serve it topped with protein, it makes about 4 servings. Here are a few ideas:

• Chicken Caesar Salad: Top with grilled or cooked chicken for the classic restaurant main dish.
• Shrimp Caesar Salad: Add Sauteed Shrimp, Grilled Shrimp or Shrimp Skewers.
• Chickpea Caesar Salad: For a vegetarian option, top with Seasoned Chickpeas or Crispy Chickpeas.

More variations: grilled, kale, and more

Here are a few more variations on Caesar salad that put a fun spin on this classic salad:

• Make it grilled: This Grilled Caesar Salad features grilled romaine lettuce and grilled avocado to bring big flavor.
• Make it with kale: Our Kale Caesar Salad features leafy green kale with the lettuce, and croutons made from our best homemade cornbread. To die for!

This Caesar salad recipe is…

Vegetarian without anchovy paste. For gluten free, use gluten-free bread for the croutons.

Print

More great salad recipes

We love salads! If you do too, here are a few more great salad recipes to try:

• Broccoli Salad Crunchy and savory sweet, it stars broccoli, raisins, and a flavor-popping dressing.
• Perfect Italian Salad Crisp veggies, crunchy croutons, tangy pepperoncini, and a punchy homemade dressing.
• Antipasto Salad Hearty and full of zingy flavor, with lots of crunchy veggies, olives, artichokes, cheese, and Italian herbs.
• Classic Corn Salad Fresh and full of tangy flavor, with bursts of bright tomato and basil!
• Caprese Salad Pair perfectly ripe, juicy tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and peppery basil.

A Couple Cooks - Healthy, Whole Food, & Vegetarian Recipes

It is most definitely and officially ice cream season here in New York. Within only a few weeks, we had the typical spring to summer transition of suddenly moving from intermittently warm and cool days to sticky, humid, sunny ones. I don’t mind it one bit—it makes it easier to put on my mask and get outside—but I’m craving cool treats. This vegan chocolate cherry ice cream is hitting the spot!

I’d say that this ice cream is a nice balance of effort and ease. The base is really simple: coconut milk, sugar, vanilla, salt. I’ve used cornstarch and then heated the base to make it more custardy, and while it refreezes a little better that way, it ultimately doesn’t make a big difference for all of the steps that it adds to the process.

The cherries are roasted, which brings out their flavor brings them to a jammy consistency, without the effort of actually making a jam. I recommend cooling everything really well before you actually churn the ice cream (more on that below), cherries included.

Roasting the cherries and remembering to put your ice cream machine’s freezer bowl in the freezer overnight before churning are really the most complex parts of making the recipe. Everything else comes together simply, and once it does, you have a wonderfully creamy, faintly coconutty, fruity, and chocolatey dream dessert on your hands.

Chocolate cherry ice cream ingredients

You won’t need too many ingredients for this ice cream. The main components:

Coconut milk

I use full-fat, canned coconut milk to make the recipe. You could likely use the same amount of canned coconut cream to get a similar, but creamier result. Don’t use light coconut milk or the type of coconut milk that comes in a carton: neither one will give you the creamy, silky consistency that makes this ice cream so tasty.

I love making ice cream with a cashew base, too. If you prefer cashews to coconut milk, and you have a high-speed blender that can pulverize cashews pretty easily, then you can follow the instructions in this post to create your creamy base, then keep the mix-ins for this recipe the same.

Cherries

I use sweet, dark cherries for this recipe, and I tested it with both fresh and frozen cherries. Both work well! If you use frozen cherries, you may need to roast them for an extra 5-10 minutes, as they release more juices while cooking.

Chocolate

Any vegan chocolate, dark or milk, is fine for the recipe. I prefer dark chocolate here, and I used vegan baking chunks that I’d chopped down a little. If you like, you could pick your favorite dark chocolate bar and simply chop that up before adding it to the recipe. You’ll need 2/3 cup of pretty finely chopped chocolate (about 6 ounces).

How to make chocolate cherry ice cream

Making a base

Making the “custard” for this ice cream is as simple as blending up 2 (14.5 ounce) cans of full-fat coconut milk with cane sugar, vanilla, and salt. After blending, you’ll want to refrigerate the mixture for about an hour, so that it’s quite cold when it goes into your ice cream maker. If you don’t have an hour, 30 minutes will cut it. If you have a few hours, that’s even better!

Roasting the cherries

I roasted my cherry halves with a tablespoon of additional cane sugar, and nothing more. You could add a cherry to the cherries if you’d like more cherry flavor, but I think they shine through just enough on their own. I found it easiest to pit and cut the cherries in half before roasting (or just cut them in half if frozen), then give them a rough chop on the roasting sheet before cooling and adding them to the ice cream. You can adjust how finely chopped they are depending on how you like your ice cream add-ins to be.

Churning the ice cream

This recipe is written for an ice cream maker for churning, but there are ways to make ice cream without a machine if you don’t have one. Both this post and this post are helpful, and Hannah Kaminsky also has a good tutorial in her (awesome) vegan ice cream book, Vegan a la Mode.

If you don’t have an ice cream maker, but you love ice cream and would like to make more of it, it’s an investment that I can vouch for. There are a lot of inexpensive models, as well as used or refurbished ones. My ice cream maker is something I didn’t think I’d use a lot when I got it, but it now gets plenty of use each summer, and I’m really glad to have it.

You can add the cherries and chocolate to your ice cream in two ways. The first is to add them to the ice cream machine about 1-2 minutes before they finish churning. This will incorporate them evenly and turn your ice cream a lovely, pink purple color. The ice cream will loosen up as soon as you add mix-ins to the machine, but it’ll firm up again after a minute or two of churning.

You can also finish churning the ice cream, transfer it to your loaf pan, and then fold in all of the mix-ins with a spatula. This will create pretty swirls of color as you go. I usually add mix-ins to the machine to distribute them quickly, but both methods work!

Storing your ice cream

After churning, I let the ice cream sit in the freezer for about 30-60 minutes, just to firm up. I store in the freezer, too, in an 8. 5 x 4. 5 x 2. 75 inch loaf pan, covered in aluminum foil. If the ice cream sits in the freezer overnight, be sure to let it soften at room temperature for a little while before serving. I also like to give mine a big stir with my ice cream scoop before scooping. Homemade ice cream is a little more prone to forming crystals than store-bought ice cream, and this helps to keep it creamy.

Roasting and simmering fruit has helped me to eat more fruit overall this summer, and I’m glad for that. If ice cream happens to be the vehicle, I’m especially happy 🙂

If you don’t have cherries, or if you have a lot of strawberries or blueberries or blackberries, I think the recipe would work really nicely with all of those. And, if roasting the fruit is a little too much effort in these hot days, or if using an ice cream maker isn’t for you, or if you’d like something a little more fruity and a little less coconutty, there’s always banana soft serve. Or this refreshing, fruit-based blueberry ginger ice cream treat.

Alright, friends. It’s another hot day here, in spite of an unexpected and dramatic hail storm yesterday! Glad to have leftover ice cream in the freezer, and hope some of you will get to enjoy it soon, too.

xo

The post Vegan Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream appeared first on The Full Helping.

This Fresh Corn Salad is a must-make is you have access to some sweet, fresh corn.

If you are looking for a really easy summer salad to make- maybe something different from green salad that you’d like to serve with your dinner, this Fresh Corn Salad is the one to make! The recipe originally appeared in Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. I love that she took such simple ingredients and put them together to make such a great salad. That’s a great cookbook, by the way. I use it often to make so many delicious recipes in the book.

Ingredients needed:

• 3 corn on the cob
• red onion
• fresh basil
• olive oil
• cider vinegar
• salt and pepper

How to make Fresh Corn Salad:

Cook your corn cobs in salted boiling water for about 3 minutes. Cool off the corn cobs in an ice water bath, and then cut the corn from the cobs. The corn is combined with chopped red onion and fresh basil strips in a serving bowl.

How to cut Basil:

Stack all of the fresh basil leaves you need on top of each other. Roll them up tightly. Use a sharp knife to slice the roll of basil leaves into thin slices. Your strips of basil will all be uniform in size if you do it this way.

Then the corn, onion and basil are tossed together with a simple vinaigrette made of olive oil, cider vinegar, salt and pepper. That’s it! It’s such an easy summer salad recipe to make.

Make ahead instructions:

Fresh Corn Salad is a great make-ahead salad recipe! Simply combine the corn, red onion and vinaigrette. Add the fresh basil leaves right before serving. Keep it covered and refrigerated. You can make it several hours ahead.

Here are a few more salads featuring corn that you might like to try:

• Grilled Corn Salad
• Blueberry Corn Salad with Prosciutto
• Bacon, Avocado and Corn Salad
• Lime and Honey Glazed Salmon with Black Bean and Corn Salad
• Corn and Cucumber Picnic Salad
• Fresh Corn, Zucchini and Tomato Salad
• Fritos Corn Salad
• Fresh Corn and Tomato Salad with Balsamic Basil Dressing

The post Fresh Corn Salad appeared first on Recipe Girl®.