Fresh lemon pound cake

Babies are cute and adorable but they’re also a handful – their moms usually do not have time for anything else but them. A very good friend of mine is the mother of a beautiful baby boy and when she invited me to first visit her son I knew I could not go empty handed: besides a present for the baby I brought a freshly baked cake for her, too (which she told me later made a wonderful breakfast)

Lemon crumble tart - and Pinterest

I’d like to start this post by telling you that I adore Pinterest: it’s a great way to keep track of interesting things and I usually find my morning humor dose there. Some of you have written to me asking me not to block my photos from being posted on Pinterest, and I tell you: I haven’t done that, and wouldn’t do it. I see no problem in my recipes getting pinned by you, much to the contrary.

Little lemon syrup soaked coconut cakes

I’ve probably written about this already here but there it goes: I usually fear (a little) watching again now the movies I loved as my much younger self – there’s always the risk of deception, the “what the heck was I thinking?” feeling. Luckily this hasn’t happened often and the movies I’ve seen lately have permanently cemented their place in my heart. One example is “The Crying Game”: I

Cherry preserves and lemon bars

Being addicted to baking it is always a joy for me to see butter and eggs in my fridge and flour and sugar in my pantry; if there are lemons, too, then I’m in heaven. :)

I had some gorgeous lemons hanging around and after making risotto and cake with them I wanted something a bit different; that was when Alice Medrich’s lemon bars crossed my mind: they are the best lemon bars I have ever

Buffalo mozzarella, artichoke and lemon pizza - a great idea for the weekend

Mark Bittman is trying to convince people to make pizza at home and his argument is that not only is it budget-friendly but the pizza also tastes better – I have got to agree with the guy. :)
The last time I ordered pizza at my house was nearly 7 years ago and so far we haven’t missed it – actually, to be honest, the pizzas we ate at other people’s homes (because I am the only “crazy person”

Sticky lemon and poppy seed cake (with a secret ingredient)

Not that I need a reason for baking a lemon cake (we all know that) but to be honest this recipe got my attention because of the addition of finely ground oats to the batter – what might seem like a plan to trick picky eaters into eating more fiber turned out to be one of the best cakes I’ve made: great texture, moist and oh, so delicious.

***

I can’t remember how I got to this link, but I

Lemon laced gingersnaps

Back in the day when I was little the kids at school used to call me all sorts of names: some were because I was too small, others because I had lots of freckles and also because my skin was too white (kids can be quite cruel sometimes). The two “nicknames” I remember the most are Vicki and Casper – yes, the Friendly Ghost. :S
That came to mind when I baked these gingersnaps: they look kind of

Lemony nectarine cake + Bill Condon

I always say that a good director can get blood out of a stone – that is why I had a feeling that “Breaking Dawn” would be the best movie of the Twilight saga. I adore some of Bill Condon’s work – both "Gods and Monsters" and "Kinsey" are part of my list; he got a good performance out of Brendan Fraser – a miracle! – and made it possible for me to stand Beyonce and Eddie Murphy for two long

Feta, ricotta and lemon pasta with olive breadcrumbs

This recipe combines two types of cheese, black and green olives, lemon, a touch of thyme + a delicious topping in only one pasta dish, which turned out fantastic; I guess I should rename it and call it “Steven Soderbergh pasta” – after all, who besides him can gather so many stars in one single movie? I can only think of the late Altman.



Feta, ricotta and lemon pasta with olive breadcrumbs

Little almond crostate with roast pears

Spring is here! It’s time to say goodbye to my beloved pears, apples and strawberries (I know that sounds bizarre to some of you but strawberry season here is in the winter). That’s fine: mangoes and watermelons arrive to make me happy – and stone fruit is just around the corner.

One last pear recipe to celebrate the end of winter while I search for recipes with a spring feeling... :)

Apple and lemon cakes

No inspiration for today’s post. Not one ounce of it. But please do not let that keep you from baking these cakes: they’re delicious and oh, so tender.

Apple and lemon cakes
adapted from Donna Hay’s apricot cakes

125g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (218g) granulated sugar + a little extra for sprinkling
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon

Lemon ginger cake - a baking session inspired by The Cure

There are songs I’ve loved since I was a kid but even after learning English I still don’t understand certain parts of their lyrics – thank heavens for the Internet. :)

Last week I spent much of my lunchtime listening to some of those songs and following the lyrics online. “The Caterpillar”, one of my all time favorites – which video is great, too – was an almost complete mystery to me;

Mini blueberry pies with a lattice top and finding solutions to small problems

My sister and I go to the movies on a pretty regular basis and she says that her favorite time of all was when we watched "The Wolfman": the clerk refused to sell her a ticket because she was not old enough to watch the movie (the same movie, on several other theaters, had been rated for people younger than her); it was a Tuesday right after lunchtime and there was no one in the theater; we

Baked lemon ricotta doughnuts - all the deliciousness of doughnuts without frying

I love doughnuts – as do many of you, I believe – but the idea of frying them... Not so much. I’m not a fried food kind of cook – I love eating it, not making it. That is why I was quite taken by this recipe: the doughnuts are baked instead of fried and they turned out beautiful, very tender, absolutely delicious.
The filling is oh, so good – I ate several spoonfuls of it before actually

Lemon, lime and coconut bars and good/bad additions

I know, I know, I’ve made lemon lime bars before (and those were delicious, by the way). But there’s a special addition to these: coconut in the crust, which works beautifully combined with the lemon/lime filling.

While some additions are wonderful – in the case of these bars – some are disastrous: who would have thought that a simple mustache could do that much harm? ;)

Lemon, lime and

Ginger cookies with lemon icing and acquired tastes in life

Certain things we learn to love really early in life, while others are an acquired taste. I remember going crazy for Scorsese right after watching “Goodfellas” (the first of his movies I ever watched), but not until I was a young woman I fully appreciated the beauty of “The Godfather”. Go figure.

Not a ginger fan until my late twenties, I can eat a bag of crystallized ginger in no time

Lemon cranberry madeleines and being repetitive

I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but I have to bring this subject up again: not only is “Love Lost” an amazing song but its video is equally wonderful – click here and then tell me if you agree with me. Or not (just so you know it, I’m a complete sucker for music videos). ;)

And speaking of being repetitive, I’m bringing lemon madeleines back – with dried cranberries, this time.

Saffron scented chicken pilaf

Like a good Brazilian, I love rice – not only the good old plain rice that is usually paired with beans here, but all sorts of dishes with this ingredient. And, of course, rice pudding. ;)
That is why I could not take my mind off this recipe after watching Nigella make it: my beloved rice combined with chicken and nuts in a one-pot-wonder. Delicious, easy to make and economical as far as dish

Pecan, coconut and lemon bars

I’m a creature of habits, and I’m OK with that.

Going through Amanda Hasser’s amazing compilation of recipes, my heart stood still when I read the words “lemon” and “bars”; I immediately thought that you’ve already seen enough lemon bars around here, but I went on and read the recipe anyway. I’m so glad I did: these were not regular lemon bars. These were a match made in heaven of a chewy,

Lemon molasses marble cake - a cake with a workout

This cake was the first recipe I tried from this book, which is full of amazing recipes and perfect for a sweet tooth like me; lemon cake, no surprise there, but the idea of marbling it with a molasses cake sounded too good not to try.

Indeed the flavor combo is delicious and the cake is very tender; do not be put off by the different steps of preparation – think of them as a great workout,