baked lemon lavender doughnuts

To make these doughnuts, I adapted this recipe from Sur La Table by adding the following to the batter:

- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon chopped culinary lavender

Hint: fill a zipper bag with the batter and then cut off one of the corners – this makes it much easier to fill the doughnut pans!

Then I made a simple glaze using:

- 3/4 cup icing sugar
- the juice of one lemon, strained (give or take a bit – add this to the sugar gradually so that the glaze is thick and opaque)

Dip the doughnuts in the glaze and sprinkle with lemon zest and culinary lavender… Enjoy!

cuban dinner

[ Cuban sandwiches served with coleslaw and kettle cooked potato chips ]

Hot and humid summer weekends are all about late, leisurely dinners outside. Inspired by repeated requests for mojitos, Cuban sandwiches seemed like the perfect choice. For a cool treat to end the night, I prepared a Watermelon Lemonade Sorbet from Jeni Britton Bauer’s book, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream at Home.

The beauty of sandwiches for dinner is that it doesn’t require more effort than a trip to your local deli. Although I didn’t have a Cuban sandwich in Havana, I made sure to pick up some kettle cooked potato chips as a nod to those sold by street vendors throughout the city.

Gather:
- roast pork, thinly sliced
- ham, thinly sliced
- swiss cheese
- dill pickles
- buns
- mustard

[ a mojito, recipe from here ]

[ watermelon lemonade sorbet, served with a sprig of mint ]

pa amb tomàquet

This traditional Catalan dish is perfect for lunch on a hot day. Since it is best served as soon as it has been prepared, I like to lay out the ingredients at the centre of the table so that everyone can assemble their own. To complete this meal, serve with mixed greens with a light vinaigrette, olives, thinly sliced jamón serrano, cheese and fresh fruit.
Gather:
- the best baguette you can get
- ripe tomatoes
- garlic
- olive oil
- sea salt and black pepper

Serve:
- Cut the baguette and toast lightly under the broiler
- Cut a clove of garlic in half and rub it on the toasted baguette, do the same with the tomato.
- Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Drizzle with olive oil

…finish your meal with local fresh fruit (here it’s strawberry season). Enjoy!

 

saturday morning

Freshly baked croissants and pains au chocolat, homemade granola and blood oranges… Saturday mornings are reserved for leisurely breakfasts.

Maple Granola

This variation on the Granola Base recipe from Whole Living is the perfect accompaniment to tart yogurt.

2 cups Rolled Oats
½ cup Slivered almonds, chopped
3 tablespoons Wheat germ
¼ cup Pepitas
¼ cup Dried Apricots, chopped
¼ cup raisins, chopped
¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 Egg white
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ tablespoons Olive Oil
¼ cup Maple Syrup

• Preheat oven to 350°
• Combine oats, almonds, wheat germ, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl.
• In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites, salt, olive oil and maple syrup until frothy. Pour over oat mixture.
• Lay mixture out on a large baking sheet to bake. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning mixture every ten minutes (I found that a spaghetti spoon is the perfect tool for this).
• Add fruits and allow the granola to cool before storing in an airtight container.