I love lemons. With their sour and fresh flavors, they add a spark to most dishes, from lemonade and cocktails to marinades and sauces for veggies and proteins. A burst of fresh lemon juice is a wonderful pick-me-up for seafood dishes, and lemon zest is a great addition to many baked goods.
I’ve been craving lemon pound cake lately and decided to make one as a special treat for Gabe and Lexi as soon as they arrived from Phoenix to spend several weeks with us. I knew I wanted to make a lemon bundt cake with pudding in the mix, which helps to make it moist, and found this great recipe from Jocelyn Delk Adams of Grandbaby-Cakes.com. Since baking is an exact science, I followed her recipe closely, with the exception of reducing the sugar by half a cup.
Of course I wanted this recipe to be more of my own, so I decided to garnish the cake with fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries are great choices), fresh lemon slices, and a few sprigs of fresh mint form my garden. The result? A lemony, moist and scrumptious cake that tastes as great as it looks!
My girlfriend (and awesome cook) Ronda has brought her mother-in-law’s (Joan J) colorful and fabulous bean salad to several potluck gatherings throughout the years. Each time she does, I always go back at least for seconds, if not thirds or fourths. This is a die-for vegan dish, perfect to make year-round since you use canned beans. Not only easy to make, this recipe is extremely versatile. For instance, if you don’t like garbanzo beans (or any of the other varieties), don’t use them and substitute a bean you like. Hate black olives? Use green ones instead or just omit them. Not fond of green peppers? No worries, use more red or yellow peppers, or again, just omit them.
