Lemon Pudding Cakes

I have to share the best (and easiest) dessert...  I discovered this recipe in one of my monthly Cuisine At Home magazines that I get delievered.  It is amazing!!! Not only is it quick and easy it is delicious.  Carlos even loves this.  Now if you know Carlos you know that is saying alot because he's more of a fried chicken kind of guy rather than a dessert loving man.  I don't have a picture of the finished product but trust me it is worth a try. Oh and I almost forgot to add that they are only 206 calories per cake!!!!!!

2 eggs separated
1-2 tsp. minced lemon zest
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice ( i used bottled from time to time)
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
5 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. table salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup fresh blueberries ( i usually use a little more - enough to cover the bottom of each dish)

Beat together egg yolks, zest, lemon juice, butter and sugar with a hand mixer on medium.  Combine flour and salt in separate bowl.  Add flour mixture alternativley with the milk to yolk mixture, beating well after each addition.  Beat egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff peaks form.  Fold whites into lemon batter until incorporated.  Place four 6-oz ramekins in an 8-inch square baking pan with tall sides.  Drop a few blueberries into each ramekin.  Divide batter among ramekins, pouring batter over blueberries.  Pour boiling water into bakin pan until water reaches halfwy up the sides of ramekins.  Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees or until tops of cakes are lightly browned.  Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack for 10 minutes.  Enjoy :-)

These are the ramekins I use.  I love dishes and often wish that I had a bunch of houses just so I could have different sets of dishes at each house ( I think I get that from my mom!). I do love the look of a clean white dish but I found some others that would be oh sooo cute to bake these little pieces of heaven in:

Organic Produce Co-Op

I joined an organic produce co-op through my local health food store about a month ago and I have to share that I am loving it. Not only are we getting organic fresh produce each week, we are being forced to try things we would never have bought otherwise. I simply go the the health food store each Friday and pick up my half share box. It costs $24 and contains different stuff from week to week. It's kind of fun opening it up and pulling everything out. Sometimes we get stuff that I don't even recognize. Here is a sample of what I receive each week...

Pumpkin Soup

Tonight I made pumpkin soup and it was DELICIOUS!!!! I can't take all the credit since I got the recipe from my sister (even though I don't think she's ever made it). It is definitely a recipe that needs to be shared...(the picture doesn't do it justice-trust me)

2 medium pumpkins

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ginger

1 cup half and half

toasted pumpkin seeds (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the pumpkins in half, scoop out the seeds and place skin side up in a casserole dish with about one inch of water. Bake for 45 minutes or until soft. Scoop out the pumpkin flesh into the food processor and puree until smooth. Pour pureed pumpkin into saucepan and add chicken broth, water, syrup and spices. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat and add the half and half. Serve with garnished pumpkin seeds if desired.

Sea Salt Caramels

I had a serious sweet tooth this weekend so I decided to make some sea salt caramels. I have NEVER made any candy from scratch before but since I've been making all my baby food lately I'm gettin' pretty brave in the kitchen. I used a recipe from Barefoot Contessa but had to alter it to use grey sea salt instead of the fleur de sel. They turned out so delicious that I gave most of them away and only ended up with these two...

Recipe

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon fleur de sel, plus more for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper, then brush lightly with oil, allowing the paper to drape over sides of pan.


In a saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup and 1/2 cup of water and bring to a boil over medium- high heat. Continue to boil until caramel is a warm golden brown color. Don't stir - just swirl the pan to mix. Be careful not to burn it!


In the meantime, bring the cream, butter, and 1 teaspoon fleur de sel to a simmer in a small pan over medium heat. Remove from heat, set aside and keep warm.


When the caramelized sugar is the right color, slowly add the cream mixture - it will boil up violently. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon and cook over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until mixture reaches 248 degrees (firm ball) on a candy thermometer. Very carefully pour the mixture into the loaf pan and refrigerate until firm.


Once the caramels are cool, remove from loaf pan, sprinkle with the salt and cut into squares. Use pieces of parchment paper to wrap and twist the caramels. Store in the refrigerator or at room temperature.