Creamy Vegan Lemon Bars

These lemon bars are the brain child of craving lemon bars the second spring hit, being gifted a huge bag of Brandless Oats & Honey Granola while trying to avoid eating granola (due to my lack of self-control when it comes to this crack snack), and the response to an Instagram poll where lemon bars won in a landslide.

These lemon bars are vegan. No, I don't follow a vegan diet, I tried and gained what felt like 5 lbs. in 5 days due to eating pasta and carbs in replacement for protein and dairy. However, I've found that cooking and baking while trying to modify for various diets is a challenge and a fun experiment. It also doesn't hurt to watch your intake of added sugar, animal products and excess dairy. Due to the granola, these bars are not gluten-free, but the are vegan, dairy-free, egg-free, and free of processed sugar. 

Quick plug for Brandless before we move on. This recipe is not sponsored by Brandless, but I have to brag on them. The granola, the parchment paper and the knife (yes the knife) that I used in parts of this recipe are all from Brandless. It's my new obsession. They are a fair-trade, non-GMO, mostly organic, no added sugar food and household item company where everything is $3. And for each purchase made on Brandless, a meal is donated to Feeding America. 

Creamy Vegan Lemon Bars
yields 16 bars

Ingredients:
1 cup raw cashews* soaked
1 cup coconut cream (the hardened portion at the top of a can of full-fat coconut milk)
zest of 2 lemons
juice of 2 lemons
1/4 cup agave
2 cups plain granola, I used Brandless Oats & Honey, but any kind of honey, almond, or vanilla flavor will work. 
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1-2 Tbsp. powdered sugar (optional)

Directions:
Place your cashews in a bowl and cover with very hot water. Let soak for 1 hour. Line an 8x8 square pan with parchment paper, letting the edges hang over the sides and set aside. 

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a high powered blender or food processor, pulse the granola until it is the texture of fine crumbs. In a small bowl, mix melted coconut oil and granola crumbs.  Press mixture into prepared pan. Using the bottom of a measuring cup or drinking glass, make sure crust is pressed firmly into pan. Bake for 10 minutes until edges are slightly golden. 

While the crust is baking, start working on the filling. In a high powdered blender, add soaked cashews, coconut cream, juice and zest of lemons and agave. Blend together until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides.. Taste and make sure flavor is where you want it. I added a bit more lemon zest after tasting. You want the lemon flavor to be bright and it to be slightly sweet.

Spread filling mixture over the baked crust. Reduce the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 20 minutes until the edges are firm and the center slightly jiggly (LOL jiggly). Let rest for 10 minutes. Chill for at least 4 hours in the fridge or overnight. 

Using the parchment paper to assist you, pull the lemon bars out of the pan. Cut evenly into 16 squares. Lightly sift powdered sugar over the top. Fine served at room temperature, but store in the fridge for optimal freshness!

Annie

Bites of My Life

Nothing better than a holiday weekend, nothing worse than the end of a holiday weekend. It was so nice to just hang out with my family, enjoy the springy weather, and eat some delicious food. It was a relaxing weekend, but I'm tired just thinking about having to start a new week. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way. 

-I've been so inspired by the dishes and ingredients in my new cookbook, I used them to create last week's dinner.  Sumac chicken thighs with garlicky broccoli topped with pomegranate molasses and tahini.
-So much hype for the gummy bears from Sprouts, I had to check it them out for myself. My opinion is still on the fence. Haven't had that "life changing" moment yet that everyone claims. 
-With this being the week leading up to Easter, I was surrounded with candy. And I gave in...
-Fried okra tasting at The Jones Assembly!
-Friday night flight. 
-#TABturns4
-Plants that don't succ. 
-"So urban" walking to dinner with these goons. 
-Sunday best. 
-Mom sets the best table!
-Jesus washed away our sins, so I didn't regret any of this sinfully delicious spread.
-Couldn't stop snacking on this combo of salty cashews and m&m's. No doubt Easter m&m's are the cutest.

Annie

Lemon Loaf

About two weeks ago an old co-worker/work bff sent me a food video of a riff on Starbuck's Lemon Loaf, with the message "I love their lemon loaf, but I don't think I could handle buying all of those ingredients and doing a million steps..." I easily took this as a challenge to recreate the recipe in a more approachable manor.

Side note really quick. The word "approachable" keeps following me around. I've really honed in on realizing my style of cooking and baking is "approachable." I work to create recipes that any one can make and enjoy. I hope you agree. 

When my friend plotted the idea in me for this lemon loaf I was more than happy to follow through. I love a good banana or pumpkin bread, but this lemon version is just what my spring taste buds were craving.

If you are planning an Easter brunch for this weekend or have any spring baking to-do's, add this to your list. It is friends and family taste tested approved! I love leaving my bake goods out on the counter, to come back to find only a plate of crumbs. This is the best compliment in my opinion.

Lemon Loaf
yields 8-9 pieces, 1-9x5 loaf

Ingredients:
3 eggs
8 oz sour cream or greek yogurt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. lemon zest (about 3 lemons)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Icing:
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. lemon juice (1 large lemon)
1 Tbsp. of butter, very soft

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan and set aside. 

In an electric mixer, cream eggs, sour cream (or greek yogurt) and sugar. Mix in oil. Add vanilla extract, lemon zest and lemon juice. Scrape down the sides then add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix until fully combined. Pour into your prepared pan and bake for 40-50 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire wrack for at least 15 minutes. Remove from pan and place back on wire rack until completely cool (or for the impatient like myself, throw it in the freezer for a bit). While cooling, make your icing.

You want really soft butter, but not fully melted. Whisk soft butter, powdered sugar and lemon juice until the consistency of thick glue. Pour over the top of your cool loaf and let it drip down the sides. Garnish with lemon zest. Once the icing is set, slice into pieces!

Similar to Starbucks-yes? Better than Starbucks-yes. Make/bake and you will see. Happy Spring!

Take a lick?

Annie

Spring Green Frittata

I used to never eat eggs for breakfast. At brunch, give me all the eggs, but during the week I was a regular with smoothies, oatmeal, yogurt and granola. Once I did Whole 30, I quickly realized with oatmeal and yogurt out, eggs needed to join the breakfast rotation. I'm now eating more eggs in the morning, but I've always loved them for lunch and for dinner. What I'm getting at is that eggs are equally a breakfast, lunch and dinner staple for me. 

My favorite childhood meal my mom used to and still makes is her hashbrown quiche. While it is very much a breakfast dish, we only ever made it for dinner. Last week I picked up the Mushroom, Spinach and Cheese Frozen Quiche from Trader Joe's. If you haven't tried their frozen quiches yet, I urge you to. Such a good freezer staple. I heated up my quiche this weekend for lunch and served with an arugula salad. All this egg and quiche ramble is a long way to let you know what inspired this frittata. 

I've done this before, but I love making a frittata and then toasting a wedge to have for lunch each day during the week. This veggie packed egg dish is really satisfying mid day and actually reheats great! With spring fever I was inspired to keep things springy and green. Leeks, zucchini and spinach with a little salt and pepper is all you need for this dish! Leeks are a personal favorite. They look like massive green onions and kind of taste like them too. 

Cooking for one? Make this frittata and reheat through the week. Cooking for a crowd? This dish is perfect for an Easter brunch or a girl's lunch.

Spring Green Frittata
serves 4-5

Ingredients:
1 large leek, thinly sliced including greens and whites
1 medium zucchini, sliced in half and thinly chopped
1 large handful of spinach
1 Tbsp. butter, ghee or olive oil
8 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions:
Preheat the broiler setting on your oven (your oven should have a broiler setting, but if it doesn't this is about 525 degrees). Place a 10-inch cast iron pan or heavy bottom, broilerproof, non-stick pan over medium heat. Add your ghee or oil and heat. Add your sliced leeks and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook with the leeks for 2 more minutes. Sauté together until both veggies are tender. Add the handful of spinach, stir and cook until wilted. Should only take about a minute.

In a large bowl whisk eggs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Make sure your veggies are evenly spread out in your pan. Pour the eggs into skillet. Cook until almost set, about 3 minutes. Once the bottom is starting to set but the middle is still jiggly, place into your oven to broil. Broil until frittata is puffed and the top is golden, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the top with salt, cut into wedges and serve! Serve next to arugula tossed in a light lemon/olive oil dressing!

Annie

Somebunny is Thankful

How great is my mom's table? She always has the prettiest set up!

I love Easter, I've always loved Easter. Every year seems to be full of different traditions, but it's always a really nice day that falls at that time of year where you are itching for something to celebrate. 

We were sitting around the table finishing up Easter lunch on Sunday and got on the topic of what a good holiday Easter is. First and foremost it symbolizes what God did for us to have this amazing life on earth. His resurrection hits a little harder than a baby being born on Christmas. It hasn't been overly commercialized and it's relatively low stress. It's a great holiday if you have plans, but also not a huge deal if you don't have some extravagant day planned. It's kind of a make it what you want holiday all done for good measure. It's just a good holiday. 

Growing up most Easters consisted of dying eggs then scrubbing for hours to get the multi colors off our fingers so mom could paint out nails! A fun treat when you were under the age of 12 or so. Then Easter morning we would wake up to a basket full of goodies the Easter bunny brought us. Only to dump it all out to use for the egg hunt around the house using our dyed eggs from the night before. 

Then it was time to put on a special new dress we had spent extra time shopping for, head to church for a traditional Easter service, then typically go out for brunch or cook lunch at home. 

The past couple of years our Easter has consisted of a beautiful church service then an afternoon of cooking and enjoying the meaning of the day with family and friends. This year it was mom, dad, middle sis and brother-in-law. Brother-in-law's family, one of my cousins and one of my closest friends. A motley crew, but a great crew!

We sipped mimosas and stuffed our bellies with ham and cheesecake. 

There was a little bit of miscommunication between Kathleen and I. I blame it on our generation of only communicating through text messaging. We had been planning to make this Coconut Carrot Cake Cheesecake (a check off the Spring TDL) for about a month now. While going over who would make what and when everything would get made, I thought Kathleen was on homemade oreo duty and I was on cheesecake duty. Through our cryptic messages, Kathleen thought she was in charge of both. 

We showed up having both made the cheesecake...It's better to have more cheesecake than no cheesecake right? With competitive nature we turned it into a "who made it best competition." If I were the judge, Kat won for best exterior and I won for best interior, but I'll let our guests be the judge. 

My cousin just moved to the city and he loves our homemade oreos. We knew with his attendance at Easter, oreos had to be apart of the menu. It's a recipe from the archives, it was actually the first recipe I ever posted, so bare with the authenticity.

It's not a holiday at the Tucker's without a feast. To counteract all the sweets we had spiraled ham, healthified green bean casserole, cheese grits, strawberry salad, deviled eggs and my brown butter herb gruyere scalloped potatoes. I recently received this Thick & Thin Mandoline from Kuhn Rikon and I've been holding out to use it until Easter! I've never made scalloped potatoes because the task of having to hand slice 3 lbs. of russets didn't quite appeal to me. This mandoline makes it so easy. Just make sure to use the guard! I sliced a liitle piece of my finger amongst the potatoes...

All these Easter bites were pretty sinful, but a big thanks to the man upstairs for washing our sins away. And for that I am ever thankful!

Annie