lovin' lemon.

 
There's something about spring that reminds me of lemons. I'm not sure if it's because of the yellow daffodils that are popping up everywhere this time of the year, or whether it's the lemony smell throughout the house as everyone begins their spring cleaning, but lemons and spring just seem to go together. Lemon is one of my favourite flavours!  I'm not big into really sweet desserts, so the tartness of lemons cuts the sweetness just perfectly and adds a fresh citrusy flavour that I've always loved. I'll openly admit to eating the E.D. Smith lemon spread right out of the jar.
This past week I started to page through some of my recipe books looking for a snack to bring to our family Easter get-together. My Opa (Dutch for grandfather) recently moved into a long-term care facility as his health is not what it once was. I knew he'd be coming over for dinner, so I wanted to make something a little special for him. His ultimate favourite is lemon-meringue pie, but I'm not quite ready to tackle that recipe just yet. I thought some lemon squares would be a good compromise.
I've experimented with other recipes for lemon squares before, but I was looking for the ultimate recipe. One that combines a good shortbread crust with a filling that is both gooey and super lemony. My search led me to a fellow bloggers site. This recipe for lemon squares is from Moira at Who Wants Seconds and in my opinion, is worthy of the "ultimate" title...I think my Opa would agree too :)
 
 

The "Ultimate" Lemon Squares

Crust

- (2) cups of all-purpose flour

- (1/2) cup of sifted icing sugar (Confectioner's Sugar)

- (1) cup of butter (frozen)

Filling

- (4) eggs, beaten

- (2) cups of sugar

- (1/3) cup of lemon juice (freshly squeezed tastes best)

- (2) tsp lemon zest

- (1/4) cup of all-purpose flour

- (1/2) tsp baking powder

- icing sugar for dusting

FOR THE CRUST:
Adjust oven rack to the middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and line the base and sides of the dish with parchment paper. Note that the sides of the dish in this picture aren't fully covered with the parchment paper, however, if you can cover the sides completely, the squares will come out of the dish MUCH easier.

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter (using the large holes of a box grater) into the dry mixture. 

Toss the butter pieces to coat, then rub the pieces between your fingers for a couple minutes, until the flour turns coarse and the mixture holds together when you squeeze it. 

 
Pour the mixture into the lined pan and press firmly with your fingers to form an even crust. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

FOR THE FILLING:
Whisk eggs, sugar, flour and baking powder together in a medium bowl. Add the lemon juice and zest and stir well. Pour mixture into the pan on top of the warm crust.

 

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the filling feels firm when touched lightly. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 30 minutes. Grasp the parchment and carefully lift the bars onto a cutting board. Cut into serving size squares or bars, wiping your knife clean between cuts if necessary. Sieve confectioners' sugar over bars and serve.

best ever banana bread.

On a recent trip to the grocery store, my husband Joe and I were stocking up on fruit. We grabbed a couple apples, a couple oranges, and Joe went to grab a couple bananas. He came back with 8 bananas and I was puzzled. It's just the two of us, and I'm really not huge banana eater, but Joe was sure he'd eat them all.  About a week later, there they were, 3 brown bananas sitting on the counter. I knew it! When I asked Joe about it, he admitted it was all part of his plan because now I'd have to make banana bread...very sneaky!

I have tried hundreds of different recipes for banana bread over the years, but I must say, this is one of the best. I wanted to make a banana bread that was super moist, super banana-ey (?) and slightly less dense and greasy than many others I've tried. A lot of traditional banana bread recipes call for vegetable oil, and while I've always tried to consider this tasty snack one of my 5-10 daily servings of fruit, the grease ring it left on my napkin made me question my theory. After much experimenting and recipe altering, I do believe I've hit the jackpot.

This recipe calls for plain, fat-free yogurt, but feel free to experiment with 2% yogurt, flavoured yogurt, or even sour cream.

Banana Bread

- (1) cup mashed bananas
- (1) cup plain, fat-free yogurt
- (1/4) cup of margarine
- (2/3) cup of white sugar
- (2/3) cup of brown sugar
- (2) eggs
- (1) tsp. vanilla extract
- (2) cups of all-purpose flour
- (1) tsp. baking soda
- (1) tsp. baking powder
- (1/4) tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease one 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. This recipe JUST fits in here, so if your loaf pan is slightly smaller, you may want to consider dividing the batter between two loaf pans. 
Mash bananas until lumps are gone and combine with yogurt in a bowl. Set aside. 

In a large bowl, cream together the margarine, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time and add the vanilla. Stir in the banana mixture. 

Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a separate bowl and stir into the banana mixture once it is well mixed. Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the loaf comes out clean.

Cutting Back?

As far as baking goes, this recipe has already cut out a couple major calorie culprits. Be sure to use the plain, fat-free yogurt if you're looking for a healthier alternative and opt for a whole grain flour instead of all-purpose flour. You can try either whole wheat flour, brown rice flour or spelt flour. Substituting the entire amount of all-purpose flour with a whole grain flour can sometimes change the consistency of the bread, so I would recommend using 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of alternative flour.