The weekends have been full recently. I have taken on a couple catering jobs, there have been house guests, birthdays, baby showers and such. All good things, but full. No glorification of busy here, believe me, I like the fullness, makes the quiet and stillness sweeter. No matter the pace, a little breakfast and coffee is my favorite - it gets my buns out of a warm bed. Usually eggs when I can sit and enjoy, granola when I need to be quick, and now, this lemon loaf keeps reappearing in the rotation.
I am not exactly fulfilled by the tinkering of a recipe, maybe a little bit, but it's either good or it's not - I log it away or forget it. This is the fourth time I've made this lemon loaf. The tinkering part is out of character, the lemon obsession is part of my consitution. Meyer lemons are sweeter and less puckering than a standard, likely Eureka, lemon. I made the original (Deb is known for dependable recipes), then I have been adapting it, to be both dairy and gluten free in the following renditions. Each of them have looked different. Each of them have been tender and moist, an understated sweetness and perfectly lemony. It's just the brightness you need with coffee on a chilly morning.
The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour. I wanted to play around with some gluten free flours and came out with the amounts below. I realize it may be a high maintenance combination for some of you, and a GF All Purpose blend of your choice would be fine as well. If there is no need for you to make it gluten free, use the unbleached all purpose, but I wanted to give the option for those that prefer or need it this way. The original will pop up in the center, the GF version stays slightly flat on top. My oven is being moody and the temperature has been inconsistent, so mine fell. Tastes fabulous regardless of appearance.
2 large eggs
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup whole milk yogurt, buttermilk or coconut milk
2 heaping Tbsp. meyer lemon zest
2 Tbsp. meyer lemon juice
2 tsp. lemon extract
1/3 cup turbinado sugar
1/2 cup natural cane sugar
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1/3 cup oat flour
1 Tbsp. flaxseed meal
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
lemon glaze
1/3 cup meyer lemon juice
2 Tbsp. natural cane sugar
Preheat the oven to 350'. Grease a 9'' loaf pan.
Whisk the eggs, olive oil, yogurt (or alternative), zest and juice of the lemon and lemon extract together well.
In another mixing bowl, combine both sugars, almond flour, rice flour, oat flour, flaxmeal, salt, baking soda and baking powder and mix together. Add half of the dry mix to the wet, stir to combine, add the rest or the dry and stir everything together. Pour the mixture into a prepared 9'' loaf pan.
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. While the cake bakes, make the glaze. Combine the lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat and cook until the sugar dissolves. When the cake is finished, let it cool for 10 minutes before inverting (if you choose). Prick holes in the top and pour the glaze over the warm cake. Let the cake cool completely while it absorbs the syrup. I enjoy mine with pom seeds because I honestly can't get enough of them.
Sara Forte
2019-02-12
Meyer Lemon Loaf
8
A bright, gluten free lemon loaf that goes perfectly with coffee on a chilly morning.
2 large eggs
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup whole milk yogurt, buttermilk or coconut milk
2 heaping Tbsp. meyer lemon zest
2 Tbsp. meyer lemon juice
2 tsp. lemon extract
1/3 cup turbinado sugar
1/2 cup natural cane sugar
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1/3 cup oat flour
1 Tbsp. flaxseed meal
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
lemon glaze
1/3 cup meyer lemon juice
2 Tbsp. natural cane sugar
380 calories23 grams fat40 grams carbohydrate7 grams protein
Preheat the oven to 350'. Grease a 9'' loaf pan.
Whisk the eggs, olive oil, yogurt (or alternative), zest and juice of the lemon and lemon extract together well.
In another mixing bowl, combine both sugars, almond flour, rice flour, oat flour, flaxmeal, salt, baking soda and baking powder and mix together. Add half of the dry mix to the wet, stir to combine, add the rest or the dry and stir everything together. Pour the mixture into a prepared 9'' loaf pan.
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. While the cake bakes, make the glaze. Combine the lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat and cook until the sugar dissolves. When the cake is finished, let it cool for 10 minutes before inverting (if you choose). Prick holes in the top and pour the glaze over the warm cake. Let the cake cool completely while it absorbs the syrup. I enjoy mine with pom seeds because I honestly can't get enough of them.
We had an impromptu dinner at a friends house on Monday. There was a group text started in the late morning to have dinner that evening on a friends patio. They have a gorgeous view and the weather had warmed up a bit. Nothing fussy or elaborate, just grilling up a big piece of salmon, rice and I planned to bring a salad to share. There were chips and salsa. There are always chips and salsa at a backyard dinner now that I think of it. I crave this kind of thing - the patio dinners with friends. Going out to eat is pleasant, but it's meals with people I love that I soak right up - in a home, dirty dishes and all, mine or theirs, all of it. We drank wine, lingered around the table and laughed. I haven't practiced much of my mantra about the communal aspect of food, which is why I'm recently making more of an effort to have people over for dinner, or to gather some way, in any sense of the word. You see, when your identity is defined by cooking and blogging and writing books and recipes, people assume you make really good food all the time. But the thing is, a lot of the time I mess up, and it's not always good, and I've tried my hand at short ribs for Hugh or guests FOUR times and I can't get them right. So passively, I've let my errors every now and then back me into a corner of not having people over as often as I'd like. Some nights we have breakfast tacos for dinner, and you can't have people over for dinner and feed them breakfast tacos... except you CAN! I just learned that this week, inspired by a dinner with people whose company I truly enjoy. I am going to have people over and it doesn't have to be expensive or a grand effort, just an act of generousity with the intention of spending time together over a meal. It's an uncomplicated plan, really.
If you come to my house for dinner, there will be vegetables. I cook them much better than I do short ribs. I know I'm a little spotty when it comes to cooking meat, but I can make salad. I made a big batch of this dressing to have on hand, and then kept everything pretty and simple to go along with a protein of choice. Maybe some grilled shrimp or get a fresh fish filet at the market. The salad is just right - the easy, likeable sort. The perfect salad to share.
sprouted kitchen
WINTER GREENS + CRISPY QUINOA SALAD // Serves 6
When cooking quinoa for this salad, especially to help it crisp up here, you want to use a 1/1.5 ratio of quinoa to liquid when cooking. For example, I cooked 1/2 cup rinsed quinoa in 3/4 cup vegetable broth. You want a drier, slightly undercooked quinoa before you fry it up so it gets crispy.
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
3/4 cup cooked and completely cooled quinoa
1 head butter lettuce
2 cups arugula
3/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
1 cup pomegranate seeds
// meyer lemon yogurt dressing //
1/4 cup meyer lemon juice
1 clove garlic, finely minced or grated
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. dried italian herbs (mine is a mix of oregano, parsley + basil)
pinch of pepper
1/3 cup whole milk greek yogurt or sour cream
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
sprouted kitchen
sprouted kitchen
Heat the coconut oil over high heat in a frying pan. Once it's hot, add the cooked quinoa and saute for about 2-3 minutes until dry and crisp. You want the steam to release and hear the crackling, add a bit more oil if needed. Set aside to cool completely.
Prepare the dressing. Whisk the lemon juice, garlic, vinegar, honey, salt, herbs, pepper and yogurt in a bowl. Whisk in the oil, taste for seasoning and alter as you wish. This can be made up to a week in advance.
Toss both greens in the dressing to coat, top with the crispy quinoa, hazelnuts and pom seeds and serve immediately.
