Free printable tag for your lemon curd

Have I mentioned that I LOVE lemon curd? I really do. I need to find a healthier option, but until then, I will enjoy it as a special treat. But seriously, it is one of my most favorite things ever.

I canned a few jars of it this week and needed a nice little gift tag for it. Fold it in half and write a nice message inside the card. Lemon curd should be consumed no later than a year after it’s been canned (who would wait that long?!), so make sure you write the appropriate dates on the back.

Fold it, punch a hold  towards the top fold, and hang by a pretty ribbon or bakers twine.

lemon curd tags

*Will post a picture soon, my printer is out and I need to get them printed. If you are having problems with the quality, email me or leave a comment.

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Natural Dishwasher Detergent Fail

Looks like I have been M.I.A. these last few weeks. I have just been busy doing random things and haven’t spent too much time on the internet. Give me another couple of weeks and I should be back here full-swing!

Anyways, I wanted to post about homemade dishwashing detergent. There are plenty of recipes out there for you to substitute store bought cleaner for you dishwasher with something natural and homemade. The many recipes I looked at involved 2 or more of these ingredients:

  • Borax
  • Baking Soda
  • Castille Soap
  • Vinegar
  • Lemon Kool-aid (or citric acid)

Despite using various ratios and different recipes my dishes did not turn out very clean. Even with the vinegar and lemon kool-aid rinse the dishes still came out cloudy with a powdery film.

Maybe my dishwasher is too old or our water too hard, but we had to turn back to store bought dishwasher detergent.

Anyone else successfully use homemade dishwasher detergent?

 

 

Gazpacho Recipes

We picked up our CSA box yesterday; it was full of an assortment of vegetables and fruit and even a very tasty watermelon. The weekly newsletter included two recipes for gazpacho. I’ve never made gazpacho before, but it seemed like a great way to use several different vegetables at once.

There was a recipe for Watermelon Gazpacho from All Recipes, and a recipe for Gazpacho Soup from Raw Foods Diet Center.

The Watermelon Gazpacho had a lot more ingredients so I decided to try the Gazpacho Soup.

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Quick and Easy Garden Pizza

Use leftovers and extra veggies for a simple meal

I’m a fan of Food Renegade, and as part of their Fight Back Friday, here is simple recipe for a healthy meal with lots of vegetables.

Sometimes we have trouble eating all the vegetables we get in out CSA Box or sometimes we just don’t feel like cooking. The solution?

Easy Garden Pizza

Ingredients:
Premade or precooked crust – I use organic gluten-free or sprouted-wheat crust
Olive Oil
Seasonings (basil, pepper, garlic, etc)
Vegetables (we use organic vegetables from our CSA Box or garden)
Cheese (we use raw cheddar, mozzarella, Parmesan, or goat cheese)

The winning combo for us this vegetable season?
Yellow squash
Eggplant (a great way to use this veggie if it’s not your favorite)
Leeks
Red onions
Peppers
Tomatoes
Garlic

I brush the crust with olive oil and 2 spoonfuls of fresh organic salsa. I sprinkle minced garlic throughout.
I top with sliced and chopped vegetables, then sprinkle with cheese. (if using leftover meat, place on the pizza before the cheese).
I then sprinkle basil and sun dried tomato flakes all over the pizza.

Place on a pizza stone after following crust directions for temperature. Should be ready in 8-12 minutes. We find the pizza pairs perfectly with a fresh salad with oil and balsamic vinegar.

This recipe can easily be changed to be gluten-free, vegan, or vegetarian.
A friend of mine uses veganaise as a dip to serve with pizza.

Don’t be afraid to use whatever vegetables you have on had. You can put anything on pizza and it can be healthy!

Summer Berry Goodness Part 2

Blackberry Season!

I went over to a friends house yesterday and helped garden and pick blackberries. Blackberries are very protective of themselves – they like to grow large thorns and try to persuade you not to pick them. But you have to tell yourself the the blood, sweat, and tears is all worth it. And usually it is.

Because I loved the blueberry compote so much, I decided to make some blueberry-blackberry compote and some lemony shortbread tart crust. My husband thought there was too much lemon – but I thought it was perfect.

The crust is made with almond and coconut flour and gluten-free like the muffins I made a couple of days ago, but the crust is crisp and tart and not sweet and soft.

I made half the crust recipe and just broke the crust into pieces and covered them in compote. Here is the recipe to make a full tart:

Blueberry Blackberry Lemon Tart

Makes about 8-10 servings

Blueberry-blackberry compote

2-2 ½ Cups of berries (any mixture of the two will do)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp stevia
1 tsp honey
(or sweeten to taste)

Combine ingredients in saucepan and simmer over low-medium heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally and smashing berries to release juice. While berries are simmering, prepare the tart crust.

Lemon Tart Crust:

1 cup almond flour
1 cup coconut flour
1 stick of butter, softened at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
3-6 tbsp water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a tart pan

Combine flours, then add in chunks of butter and blend with a fork, to make crumbs.  Add vanilla and lemon, and continue to stir. Add 1 tbsp of water at a time until your dough reaches a consistency where you can roll it into a ball and it does not crumble. Press into a tart pan. Take a fork and poke holes around the crust before you put it in the oven, to prevent crust from rising. Bake 8-12 minutes or until it starts to brown and is firm to touch.

Let crust cool. Pour berry mixture over tart and serve warm or refrigerate and serve chilled.

My "deconstructed tart" with yogurt drizzled on the top

*This dessert is quite tart. It would probably be best served with something sweeter – vanilla yogurt or ice cream. I prefer the muffin top cookie things with the compote than the lemon tart and compote combo.

Summer Berry Goodness Part 1

Over the next few weeks I am sure that I will be posting lots of blueberry recipes. We usually get about a container of blueberries every week from our CSA box and although I love blueberry things, I’m not a huge fan of just plain blueberries.

Yesterday I had an amazing urge to eat berry pie; blackberry, huckleberry, blueberry, or any combination of dark tangy berries. Flour and sugar filled desserts I am trying to stay away from, so I created something to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Easy Mini Almond Banana Muffin Tops with Blueberry Compote

Muffins covered in yummy blueberry compote

I didn’t mean for them to turn out like muffins (I was aiming more for a crisp cookie), but these tasted yummy just the same.

Makes 4 small servings or two large desserts

Ingredients:
Blueberry Compote
1- 1 ½ Blueberries
2 TBSP lemon Juice
1 tsp Stevia Powder
1 tsp honey
(Or sweeten to taste)

Put all ingredients into small sauce pan and toss to coat. Set burner to medium low heat. Crush berries and stir occasionally. Cook for about 10-15 minutes until berries have popped and mixture is mostly liquid.

Almond Banana Muffin Tops:
1 egg
2 TBSP butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp honey
½ Banana
¾ Cup Almond Flour
¼ Cup Coconut Flour
¼ tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a bowl, mix together egg, butter, vanilla, honey, and banana. Add flours and baking soda and mix until blended smooth. Split between 4 greased muffin cups or spoon onto baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until they start to brown and are firm to touch

Spoon blueberry compote over muffins. Drizzle plain yogurt (I love the Strauss plain whole milk yogurt with no sugar added), or if you can’t resist; your favorite vanilla ice cream.

My husband might tell you that I licked my bowl clean. I will then tell you that there is no proof.

The next morning for breakfast I had a bowl of yogurt with some of the blueberry compote on top and a piece of muffin. So delicious.

a piece of muffin with lots of yogurt and blueberry compote on top