use real butter

Recipe: lemon bars

I realized today that I don’t bake anymore. I make pastries. I used to bake a lot, and by baking I mean making foods that were easy to distribute and share like cookies, brownies, bars, pan cakes, bundt cakes. These days I make things that are difficult to share unless I’ve invited you to my house to eat. Stuff that gets plated, or cannot be easily transported or mailed. This struck me with some sadness, so I shook it off and made a quadruple batch of lemon bars (I can hear Heather squealing with delight right now).

**Jump for more butter**

I felt like a new person (or rather, the old me) today! I got up, worked out on the rower and the bike, vacuumed, and then set to work in the kitchen. I had been feeling uninspired. We had a ton of fruits and vegetables threatening to go south if I didn’t cook or prep them right away, so that’s what I did – I attended to my produce. If you’re anything like me, you 1) love fresh food and 2) hate to waste it. Having our compost bucket in the kitchen takes some of the guilt away when I have to toss slimy green onions, molded strawberries, or shriveled lemons. But really, I just don’t want to throw my money (i.e. good produce) away.

* First I topped and washed 2 pounds of strawberries for freezing (to be puréed for buttercream frosting in winter).

* Then I simmered 6 organic chicken drums in a pot of water to begin making Brunswick Stew.

* Next I made soy sauce chicken by tossing 4 organic chicken drums in a medium saucepan with green onions, ginger root, star anise, soy sauce, sugar, and water. Simmer for 2 hours covered, then cool.

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: tea jellies

When thunderstorms rage overhead, I try not to work on the computer. So this afternoon I busied myself in the kitchen cleaning the dishes listening to the sound of hail pounding on the deck and roof of the house. It lasted a little longer than anticipated and I wound up digging through the cupboards, looking for something to trigger an idea.

Summer calls for refreshing food, which is why I love salads, fruits, cold dishes, iced drinks, and jellies. A child of the 70s, I actually ate a lot of Jello&trade, not jellies. Although I did eat almond gelatin with fruit, grass jelly, and lemon agar jelly – all Chinese desserts, I didn’t get the full scope of Asian jellies available to the masses until I began frequenting Asian grocery stores in college. These days you’ll find an assortment of tiny jelly cups with a piece of jackfruit suspended in the matrix. They are delicious and apparently deadly if swallowed incorrectly. I imagine that would apply to almost anything though.

**Jump for more butter**