SECRET GARDEN ENTRANCE

More than 10 years ago I found this gate in an antique store in South Carolina while visiting Maren.  I had it shipped home thinking I would use it in a new house we planned to build in St. George.  Two years later I found 2 - 9 ft. lengths of old scalloped iron fencing at a local antique sale. I was very excited and envisioned exactly this placement with the stone pillars.  Plans changed and we ended up in Fruit Heights but I knew when we picked out our lot that this was the place for my fence and gate.   Today it was finally finished and I am thrilled with the results.  It is rusty and may get paint at some point, but I don't mind the rusty look and the fence is charmingly crooked.  It is the perfect entrance to my secret garden and waterfall.   

LEMON CHEESE TART

 

I have made this several times and like it a lot.  It is quick dessert (if you don't do the preserved lemons) with great lemon flavor.   I made it once with key limes and thought it was a little bitter with that much key lime peel (besides it takes forever to get any juice out of key limes).  I might make it again with regular limes and I plan to try it with oranges and a chocolate glaze.  Stay tuned.  I preserved some orange slices for some cupcakes I made recently and decided that it would work with the lemons also.  The lemons were pretty and delicious but my husband picked them off so the picky won't like them.  8 servings.  Store in the refrigerator but  better if served room temperature.

Lemon Cheese Tart
Cake Layer

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

6 T melted butter

2 eggs

2 T lemon juice 

2 T lemon zest 

For the cream cheese filling --

8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1 generous tsp. lemon zest

1 cup confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease or spray a 9" springform pan with vegetable spray.

Stir the Lemon cake ingredients all together until smooth but not overmixed and spread into the bottom of the springform pan.

Beat the cream cheese ingredients together until fluffy.  Dollop gently on top of the cake to about ½ inch from the edge and spread as much as possible.    Bake for 25 minutes on 325 and turn off the oven for another 5 minutes.  Let cool for 10 minutes.

Add 1 T vegetable oil to ½ C. white chocolate chips.  Microwave on half power for 1 ½ minutes or more until melted.  You might have to stir for a minute to get them all to melt.  Glaze the top of the cake.

Preserved Lemon – (Fun but not necessary)  Stir together in a Dutch oven size pan ¾ C sugar and 3/4 C. water. Bring to a boil.   Slice 2 lemons in 1/3 inch slices and lay in a single layer in the pan.  Simmer for 20 minutes turning the slices a couple of times.  Remove carefully and drain in a colander and chill.  Save the boiling sauce for lemonade or freeze it for the next time you want to make this.  Also works with oranges.  .  Sprinkle with a little sugar before putting them on top of your cake.  

MY GOD IS CHEERFUL

President Heber C. Kimball said,  "I am perfectly satisfied that my Father and my God is a cheerful, pleasant, lively, and good-natured Being.  Why?  Because I am cheerful, pleasant, lively, and good-natured when I have His Spirit.  That is one reason why I know; and another is--the Lord said, through Joseph Smith, 'I delight in a glad heart and a cheerful countenance' (D&C 59:15) That arises from the perfection of His attributes; He is a jovial, lively person..."  (Journal of Discourses 4:222)

TAMALE PIE

This is my mother's recipe. We all loved it growing up. Most of my kids liked it too. My mother never put cheese on it but we like the cheese and then serving it with the taco condiments makes it even better. It is an easy quick meal to fix. 

TAMALE PIE

Brown: 1 lb. Ground meat - Turkey, Chicken or Beef 
(This is also a good vegetarian dish.  Add some chopped roasted red peppers or fresh chiles for some interest.  Add 3-4 T. oil if you have a very lean meat or no meat for browning your onions and garlic.)

with 1 small onion and 1-3 cloves of grated garlic (I like more)
Add: 2 T. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 T. oregano leaves
1 can undrained corn
1 lg. Can tomatoes  (28 oz.) 

If you use canned crushed tomatoes don't add tomato juice.  
Simmer covered for 20 min. – remove from heat
Add: 2 C. corn meal
1 can of black olives cut in half or small can of sliced olives

2 C. tomato juice (or 1 can tomato sauce and
1 1/4 c. water or just 2 C. of water.  The water works fine.

Bake in a greased 9x13 casserole dish 350 for 45 min.
Add 2-3 C. grated cheese the last 10 minutes if desired.  Serve with salsa, guacamole and sour cream.

We can't eat an entire casserole so I usually split it up into 3 parts and freeze 2 in a zip lock bag to bake later.  It is good to have something in the freezer that tastes good.  

We like plain guacamole.  This is my quick recipe:  Mash 1 avocado, add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. of chile powder (depending on the size of the avocado) and 1/4 tsp. garlic powder.  Stir together and paint the top with 2-3 T. real mayo.   Stir in the mayo when you are ready to eat.  I won 2nd place in a ward guacamole contest recently.  Even kids like this. 

I also like to make a little condiment salad with chopped tomatoes, cilantro and a little sour cream mixed together.  (See first photo.) 

WHEN THE HOLY GHOST RESTS UPON YOU - Eliza R. Snow

"When you are filled with the Spirit of God, and the Holy Ghost rests upon you . . . do you have any trials? I do not think you do. For that satisfies and fills up every longing of the human heart, and fills up every vacuum. When I am filled with that spirit my soul is satisfied; and I can say in good earnest, that the trifling things of the day do not seem to stand in my way at all. But just let me lose my hold on that spirit and power of the Gospel, and partake of the spirit of the world, in the slightest degree, and trouble comes; there is something wrong ... And is it not our privilege to so live that we can have this constantly flowing into our souls?" (Eliza R. Snow, September 1873)

This is true, beautiful and hopeful.  I want to know this every day. 

BROCCOLI BACON AND FRUIT SALAD

This Broccoli Salad has become a favorite picnic salad.  Recently I wanted a little different dinner salad with some fruit and decided to make this without the pasta.  I usually always have broccoli some apples and oranges in the refrigerator and some precooked Costo bacon in the freezer and now I am trying to keep a can of cashews in the pantry so I can make this whenever I want to (along with some dried cranberries, which I usually have).  Grapes are good too but not something I always have.

I make a double batch of dressing and it keeps for a long time so I can mix this up quickly.  1 C. of Mayo, 1/3 C. vinegar and 1/3 C. of sugar and 1/4 tsp salt.

This makes 4 servings and the leftovers keep for a couple of days -  1 apple cubed, 1 orange cut peeled and cubed (and or some grapes), 1 C. of thinned pieces of broccoli  and 3-4 T. dried cranberries.  Toss with 2-4 T. dressing (to taste) and top with a sprinkling of cashews and 2 piece of cooked bacon, sliced thin.  This is nice served in individual serving dishes.  This has to be very healthy and a nice way to get your broccoli.