Lemon-Ginger Pudding

Ingredients

• 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
• Zest of 1 lemon, plus juice of 1½ lemons
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• ¾ cup half-and-half
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions

1. Grate ginger into a medium bowl. Add lemon zest and juice and set aside.
2. Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium saucepan. Add milk and half-and-half, and whisk to combine. Bring the ingredients to a simmer over medium-high heat while whisking constantly, until the mixture is thick and starts to bubble, 6 to 8 minutes. Turn off the heat and use a wooden spoon to stir in the ginger-lemon mixture and butter, slowly stirring until butter is completely melted. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and into medium bowl.
3. Cool for 10 minutes before covering flush with plastic wrap and refrigerating (at this point you can also divide the pudding into 4 dessert bowls and cover each flush with plastic wrap). Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Ingredients

• 2 pints fresh blueberries, washed
• 1 fresh squeezed lemon
• ½ cup wildflower honey
• 1 tsp ginger, fresh puree
• 2 tablespoons green apple balsamic
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 quarts soda water

Directions

1. Use a blender to puree the fresh ginger.
2. Leave the ginger in the blender and add blueberries, honey, lemon juice, sugar, balsamic, and soda water.
3. Blend together and chill.
4. Serve garnished with a slice of lemon.

Barley Risotto with Asparagus and Lemon

(Makes 4 servings.)

Excerpted from 5 Easy Steps to Healthy Cooking by Camilla V. Saulsbury © 2012 Robert Rose Inc. www.robertrose.ca Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 cup pearl barley
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 4 cups reduced-sodium ready-to-use vegetable broth, divided
• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup frozen petite peas, thawed
• ½ cup packed fresh basil leaves, chopped, divided
• ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and barley; cook, stirring, for 5 to 6 minutes or until onion is softened. Add wine and cook, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes or until liquid is evaporated.
2. Stir in 2 cups (500 mL) of the broth. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Add the remaining broth and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until barley is tender and mixture is creamy (there should still be some liquid).
3. Stir in asparagus and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in peas, half the basil, cheese, lemon zest and lemon juice; simmer for 1 minute or until heated through. Serve sprinkled with the remaining basil.

How to Make Paneer

Ingredients

©2011 Firefly Books. Written by Jody Vassallo. Photos by James Lindsay.

• 8 cups unhomogenized milk
• 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions

1. Put the milk into a heavy-bottomed pan and bring it to a boil. Add the lemon juice and stir slowly until it curdles and forms curds and whey.
2. Line a colander with cheesecloth and pour the curds and whey through the colander.
3. Tie the top of the cheesecloth and weigh the mixture down with a can for 30 minutes, or until it is firm. (The longer it’s pressed, the firmer it will be.)
4. Remove the mixture from the cheesecloth and store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container until you are ready to use it.

Lemon Drop Scones

Makes 12 scones.

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup nonfat plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup liquid honey
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Large rimmed baking sheet, lined with parchment paper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, yogurt, honey, butter, lemon zest, lemon juice and oil until well blended.
4. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just blended.
5. Drop dough by 1/4 cup measures 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 14 to 19 minutes or until tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool on pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then transfer to the rack to cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm or let cool completely.

Tip: An equal amount of white whole wheat flour may be used in place of the whole wheat pastry flour. Alternatively, use half whole wheat flour and half unbleached all-purpose flour.

Storage Tip: Store the cooled scones in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let thaw at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours before serving.

Gazpacho Grandé

• 1 hot house cucumber, halved and seeded
 (not peeled)
• ½ red bell pepper, cored and seeded
• ½ yellow bell pepper, cored and seeded
• 5 plum tomatoes
• 1 red onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 24 ounces canned tomato juice
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• ¼ cup good olive oil
• ½ tablespoon kosher salt (optional)*
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Put each vegetable separately in food processor fitted with steel blade and pulse until coarsely chopped. Do not overmix. After each vegetable is processed, combine in large bowl and add garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Stir and chill for 4 hours before serving.

A to Z Soup (Avocado Zucchini Soup)

Avocado Zucchini SoupPhoto © the California Avocado Commission

(Makes 4 servings)
Ingredients

• 4 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 green onions, sliced into ½-inch pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 cups zucchini, thinly sliced
• 2 large, ripe California avocados, seeded, peeled, and chopped

Directions:
In large pot with lid, heat 1 cup broth, onion, green onions, garlic, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. When boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for
15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add remaining broth and zucchini and bring to boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes. Remove lid and allow to cool. In food processor, purée zucchini, broth, and avocado in batches. Return to pan; stir gently. Serve in soup bowls and garnish to taste.

Cool Cucumber Soup

• 2 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and grated with box grater/food processor
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced
• ½ cup low-fat sour cream
• ½ cup Greek yogurt
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• Salt and white pepper (if you have it, black if you don’t), to taste

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in food processor. Transfer to bowl, stir, and chill. Serve topped with any of the following: chopped cucumber, fresh dill or mint, dollop of sour cream or yogurt, diced avocado, snipped chives, or green onions.

MMM… Soup (Mango-Melon-Mint)

• 2 mangoes, peeled, pitted, and chopped
• 2 cups cantaloupe, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons plain yogurt

Directions:
Purée all ingredients in food processor or blender and chill for 2 to 3 hours. Pour into glass bowls, garnish with mint leaves, and serve.

Lemon Pound Cake

Lemon Pound Cake with Raspberry Sauce

(Makes 12 servings)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter
• 3 cups sugar
• 6 eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure lemon extract
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk

Preheat over to 325 F. Grease one bundt pan. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In separate bowl, beat butter with sugar. Add eggs, one at a time and beat well after each egg. Mix in lemon and vanilla extracts. Slowly add flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture. Blend until smooth. Pour batter into greased pan. Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes.

Raspberry Sauce

• 12 ounces of frozen raspberries
• 1/2 cup sugar

Place raspberries and sugar in sauce pan and bring to boil. Pour into sieve to remove seeds. Refrigerate until use. Serve with a tablespoon of sauce drizzled on plate and a dollop of whipped cream.