Quiche is the Word
One late afternoon last week, I was mulling over the monumental decision of what to make for dinner. I always have chicken and salmon that can be quickly defrosted. But didn’t want chicken again. Not salmon either. I typically buy beef the day I intend to cook it so didn’t have that on hand. Hmmm. I wanted something lighter and none of this was giving me inspiration. Then I remembered that I had a formed pie crust in the freezer from my recent pie dough mania. Maybe Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche but I announced to my husband that quiche was the word, or more specifically, quiche is what’s for dinner! Now to figure out what to put inside said quiche.
Lemon Meringue Cookies
Whenever I see a lemon meringue pie, I picture my mom half a century ago opening the oven door and carefully placing her meringue-topped pie in the oven to toast. Sadly, lemon meringue was never my favorite pie and I stayed far away from that wobbly egg white concoction on top. I don’t remember even trying this pie as lemon and rhubarb were not high on my list as a kid. I’m pretty sure that mom’s lemon pie of yesteryear consisted of cook-and-serve lemon Jell-o pudding. Child me always went for the pies topped with whipped cream over meringue. However, I didn’t realize that not all meringue is created equal! The adult me loves lemon desserts. With spring in the air, I decided to make lemon meringue cookies. This sounded perfect since I didn’t need an entire pie. However, I didn’t pay attention to the meringue part of the recipe until I was whisk-deep into making it. Consequently, it took me three tries to make my meringue.
Double Strawberry-Pink Cupcakes
If you live in the PNW, you know that spring typically needs some help when it comes to springing! April showers, and even hail, are real. I attribute the dreary weather with why I’ve been unmotivated in the kitchen and hence haven’t been writing here on my blog. (Well, that and we’re prepping for a big move that has me distracted!) But the promise of spring flowers, and longer days have me excited to start making all the pretty pastel Easter-y dishes and desserts. Cheery shades of yellow and orange, springy green, bright pink and even robin’s-egg blue are giving me inspiration. But for now, I want to share my spring dessert debut: Double Strawberry Cupcakes from Tieghan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest. These are chockful of strawberry goodness in the form of homemade strawberry jam and freeze-dried strawberries. Cupcakes that are sure to make you happy with that little sprig of chamomile smiling up at you.