Sweet Lemon Bread by Kathy Facione

1 1/2 C flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 C softened butter or margarine
1 1/2 C sugar
3 eggs
3/4 C milk
2 Tlb. lemon juice
1 lemon's rind, grated
3/4 C blanched almonds, chopped

Topping:
1/4 C sugar
Juice of one large lemon

Bread:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 9x5x3 loaf pan. In bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt together: set aside. In large mixing bowl, cream butter/margarine and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one by one. In 3 equal batches, alternately add dry ingredients and milk. Stir in 2 Tlb. lemon juice and rind. Fold in nuts. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, spreading evenly with rubber spatula. Bake 1 hour and test for doneness. (During last 15 minutes, cover loosely with aluminum foil, if necessary to prevent bread from becoming too brown).

Meanwhile, in bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar and juice of 1 lemon, stirring with fork until sugar is dissolved.

Leave bread in pan and place on wire cooling rack. Make tiny holes in top of bread with toothpick. Pour lemon/sugar mixture slowly across top, giving time for topping to be absorbed into warm loaf. Allow 15 minutes to set. Remove bread from pan and finish cooling on wire rack. Makes 1 loaf.

Lemon Cake PIe

LEMON CAKE PIE

Single pie crust for 9 inch pie pan
My killer French pie crust recipe:
(For smaller pies)
2 and ½ cup pastry flour (pastry flour is 2/3 cp flour and 1/3 cp cake flour)
3 tsp sugar
¾ tsp salt
½ cp firm butter cut into ½ in cubes
½ cp shortening cut into cubes
5 to 9 T. ice water
Sift flour, sugar and salt. Coat butter and shortening with fork in the flour mixture then blend until you get a coarse pea like consistency. Then add cold water and form into balls, roll out into discs. Wrap saran wrap around it until ready to roll out and place in pie dish. (Lightly coat pie dish with PAM spray). Keep everything very cold – refrigerate often. That’s one of the secrets to great pie crust!
(For larger pies)
3 cp pastry flour
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
¾ cp butter
½ cp shortening
8-11 T. Ice cold water
Follow same instructions as above.
You can put these crusts into the freezer to use within a week.

1 and ½ cp sugar
1/3 cp flour
1 pinch salt
zest of one lemon
juice of 2 lemons
3 large eggs, separated
1 and ¼ cup milk
2 T. unsalted butter, melted.
Instructions:
Place rack on lowest position in oven. Preheat oven to 375.
Line bottom and sides of 9 in pie plate with pie crust. Decorate edges as desired.
In a medium bowl, stir together melted butter and sugar. Stir in flour, salt, lemon peel and lemon juice.
In a small bowl, beat egg yolks with milk until well blended, stir into lemon mixture.
In another medium sized bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until they hold distinct but moist peaks. Gently fold egg whites into lemon mixture. (Don’t mix it too much). Pour filling into the prepared pie crust. Bake until top is browned and the center juggles only slightly when pan is gently shaken. (45 min to 80 min – very variable). If top browns excessively, drape with foil. Let cool before serving.

Recipe from Becky Behrends

Lemonade Pie by Kathy Facione

6 oz. frozen lemonade concentrate
8 oz. Cool Whip
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Graham cracker pie crust

Mix sweetened condensed milk, Cool Whip and frozen lemonade with mixer until blended.
Spread in pie shell. Serve chilled.
Can be made with orange juice, lime juice, pink lemonade, etc. Can garnish with a slice of the appropriate fruit.

French Bread

From the kitchen of: Amy Day

2 pkg Yeast
1/2 c warm water
2 c hot water
3 T sugar
1 T salt
5 T Olive Oil
6 C Flour
1 egg white

1. Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water for 10 minutes. Mix well in a Bosch Mixer-- hot water, sugar, salt, olive oil, and 3 cup of the flour. Stir in dissolved yeast. Stir in remaining flour and mix well. Let dough rest for 10 minutes. Stir vigorously on "2". Rest 10 minutes. Repeat 3 more times.

2. Turn out the dough and knead until lightly covered with flour. Divide in 1/2. Take each 1/2 and roll into a 9x12 rectangle. Starting at the long end, roll in. Pinch together the ends. Make 2 loaves. Let dough rise for 30 minutes on baking pan. Gash. Brush top with egg white and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Tuna-Mayo Rolled Sushi

by Mika Patch

Shopping List:

5 sheets of Sushi Nori (roasted seaweed)
2 1/4 cups of Japanese short grain Rice (sticky rice)
2 1/2 cups of filtered water
4 TBSP rice vinegar (regular white vinegar is okay, but rice vinegar is better)
3 TBSP sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tuna cans
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2-3 leaves of Romain hearts cut in half
1 English cucumber
1 Avocado (optional)
15 pieces of peeled cooked shrimp or imitation crab sticks (optional)
Bamboo Sushi Roll mat (I have seen it at Hiller's or any oriental stores)
Soy sauce
Wasabi paste (optional)
Gari (pickled sweet ginger) (optional)

How to make it:

1) Wash the rice in water a few times, drain, add water and cook according to the package directions.

2) Mix rice vinegar, sugar and salt, and microwave it until sugar dissolves. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix well. Wait for the rice to cool.

3) Squeeze all the water out from the tuna cans, and mix very well with mayonnaise. You can add more mayo if you wish.

4) Cut vegetables in long strips.

5) Place Sushi mat on the table, place Nori (seaweed), and thinly spread rice over Nori. Place a long strip of green leaf lettuce in on rice, put tuna-mayo mixture on top, avocado, cucumber, and shrimp (see picture). Roll it very carefully. Cut into 8 pcs. Garnish with pickled sweet ginger on the side. Dip in soy sauce and wasabi and enjoy! Makes 5 rolls (40 pcs).

Making Sushi rolls requires some practice. I recommend reading or watching some information on the Internet before you first make them. I found following Website on how to make California Rolls. Very helpful.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Appetizers/CaliforniaRoll.htm

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

from Loretta Harbertson


Cook one pound of Orzo 47 pasta for about 11 minutes, stirring often to keep from sticking.

Drain and rinse well, place in a large bowl to cool, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, mix well, sprinkle with some
garlic salt and savory salt.

When cooled add:
1 can sliced black olives, drained
5 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
4-5 slices of oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, minced
1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/2 of a 6 oz container of tomato-basil Athenas feta cheese, crumbled
3 oz of solid, water packed feta, cut in small cubes
1/3-1/2 cup sherry vinegar or seasoned rice vinegar (rice is sweeter)
Zest of one lemon

Mix all together, add freshly ground pepper, drizzle with more olive oil if needed. Add salt to taste.

Makes a large salad that keeps well.

Baklava

BAKLAVA-(about 30 squares or diamonds)

3C. Chopped, toasted nuts, (pecans, pistachios, or walnuts, or almonds)
Make sure they are chopped fine or coarsely grind. Set aside
Stir together in a small bowl:
1/2 c. sugar
1 T. grated lemon zest
1 t. ground cinnamon

Melt: 1 C unsalted butter

You need to preheat oven to 325 degrees and butter a 13X9 in baking dish
Unfold and stack on counter (make sure you have room to work here) one pound of phyllo dough at room temp. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap

Start with 2 phyllo sheets, brush with butter and add 2 more phyllo sheets to a total of six or eight sheets. Next sprinkle half the nuts and half the sugar. Cover with 2 sheets of phyllo and butter and repeat until there are 6 sheets left. Cover with the remaining nuts and sugar mixture, and repeat the layering 2 sheets with butter until finished, reserving some butter for the top sheet. Cut into diamonds, or squares about 1 1/2 X 1 1/2 inches. for serving in baking cups. Bake 30 minutes, and reduce the oven temp to 300 degrees and continue to bake until it is golden brown, about 45 minutes.

While baking, combine in saucepan

1 1/2 C. sugar
1 1/2 C. water
1/3 C honey
1 T. Lemon zest and the zest of one full orange

Bring mixture to a gentle boil, stirring to dissolve sugar and reduce to a simmer for 15 min.
When baklava is done, pour the syrup all over the baklava and let cool completely before serving. Best is used within a couple of days. Phew!

Modified from Joy of Cooking Cookbook, by Rombauer, Rombauer Becker, and Becker