Add some zest to your life

This lemon cake is fabulous. It got some rave reviews last week when I made it for a family get-together in California. My brother-in-law even said he'd like me to make it for his birthday and mail it to him. I'm sure it would look quite appealing after that. Anyway, you've got to try it. It's a great summertime dessert. It's moist and tangy, and the frosting is divine. The whole thing tastes like lemonade. Once again, I adapted the recipe from one at My Kitchen Cafe.

THE RECIPE:

Cake:

1 box lemon cake mix
1 small box instant lemon pudding
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. lemon juice
3/4 c. oil (I used canola)
4 eggs

Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour into greased pan/pans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. You don't want to overbake or the cake will be dry. Just watch it, and as soon as a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean, you're good to go. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:

1 c. butter, softened
6-8 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon zest

Beat 4 c. powdered sugar into butter. Add juice and zest, then mix until creamy. Add powdered sugar until you reach desired stiffness. It is fabulous with a light, whipped texture, but you need it to be stiff if you are frosting a layer cake or else the top layer will slide off. Garnish as desired. Serve either at room temperature or chilled.

Scone me

Psst. Psst. If you're reading this just as it's posting, you're up too early. But that means that you still have time to wake up your family — the late risers — with the smell of freshly fried scones.

I wanted to surprise Marie with a tasty breakfast on Mother's Day, so this is what she got — fried dough with delicious cinnamon honey butter.

I stole borrowed this recipe from Taste and Tell, a blog I stumbled upon. You get a story with every recipe.

Our story is simple: We loved, loved, loved these scones. Simple, a little time-consuming, but totally worth waiting for.

THE RECIPE:

2 pkg. dry yeast
1/2 c. water
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. boiling water
1/2 c. butter
2 tsp. salt
3 eggs, beaten
5 c. flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, pour the boiling water over the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, the butter and the salt. Add eggs and mix well. Add yeast mixture and 2 cups of flour. Beat with mixer until smooth. Add the remaining flour and mix in. Let rise for one hour and then refrigerate 30 minutes.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough about 1/4 inch and cut into 3-inch squares. Fry in hot oil until brown, then flip and fry until both sides are browned and puffy.

Serve with butter and honey, jam, coated with granulated sugar, or make your own cinnamon honey butter while you wait for the dough to chill.

Cinnamon honey butter:

1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. honey
1 tsp. cinnamon

Combine all ingredients and whip with a mixer until light and fluffy. Try not to eat it all before the scones are ready.

Banana-rama

This banana bread is wonderful. I liked it the best out of three different recipes I tried in the past three weeks. See, I got a ton of bananas when they were on sale for 25 cents a pound. No one's complaining around here, though. Banana bread is a hit at our house. I got this recipe from My Kitchen Cafe. The sour cream makes it very moist and delicious.

THE RECIPE:

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil (I used canola)
2 eggs
1 c. mashed banana (about 3 bananas)
1/2 c. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour (I used whole wheat for half)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together sugar and oil. Add eggs, bananas, sour cream and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Stir just until moistened. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

A reason to get up in the morning

Have you ever had eggs Benedict? I hadn't. Neither had my husband. That's why he wanted it for Father's Day breakfast. I have to say it is incredibly delicious! I never would have guessed it. In fact, I wasn't all that excited. But now I am. I wouldn't mind making this every week! It's so easy and versatile. For example, eggs Benedict are traditionally made with poached eggs and Canadian-style bacon. But you can just as easily -- and deliciously -- make them with fried eggs and ham. Try them, try them, Sam-I-Am!

THE RECIPE:

Eggs, fried or poached (directions below)
English muffins, split, toasted and lightly buttered if desired
Slices of Canadian bacon or ham, heated
Hollandaise sauce, a must-have (directions below)

Place ham on muffin. Top with egg, then sauce. Serve warm.

Poached eggs:

Lightly grease medium skillet. Fill halfway with water. Bring to boiling, then reduce heat to simmering. Bubbles should begin to break water's surface. Break egg into measuring cup. Carefully slide egg into simmering water. Repeat with remaining eggs. Simmer, uncovered, for 3 to 5 minutes or until whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken but are not hard. Remove with slotted spoon.

Hollandaise sauce:

Option 1 -- Buy a packet of powdered mix, which requires you to add milk and a little butter. That's what we did. You'll find it with the other gravy and dressing packets.

Option 2 -- Make your own. There are tons of recipes online.

Summer refresher

This is adapted from an online recipe for watermelon sorbet. It is very easy, and it makes a unique, delicious and refreshing dessert -- perfect for summertime! I added mini chocolate chips because, well, I'm obsessed with chocolate. Plus, they add a little texture and look kind of like watermelon seeds. The sorbet is great without them, too. You could mix the chips into the sorbet, but I sprinkled them on afterward. I scooped my sorbet with a melon baller for fancy presentation.

THE RECIPE:

5 lbs. seedless watermelon, cut into small chunks (about 6 cups)
1/4 c. sugar
3 Tbsp. lime juice
Pinch salt
1/2 c. light corn syrup OR sweetened condensed milk

Puree watermelon in blender. You should end up with 4 cups of puree/juice. In saucepan, bring 1 cup puree, sugar and lime juice to simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. It's hard to tell when it's dissolved, so just know it takes a few minutes. Season with salt. Pour in remaining puree, then whisk in corn syrup OR condensed milk, whichever you chose. Pour mixture into metal pan, cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight.

Let pan sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes. Using a butter knife, break up frozen puree into chunks and blend again. You could use a food processor or hand mixer, but a blender is horrible. Trust me. You could serve it soft like this, or if you want to be able to scoop it, put it in a freezer-safe container and refreeze until firm. Each time you get it out, you'll have to let it sit for a few minutes before scooping.

Any favorite crust recipes out there?

Isn't pizza wonderful? I can't think of anyone who doesn't like it. We decided to make our own pizzas the other night, but we didn't have time to wait for dough to rise. Therefore, I went to the Web for a quick and easy recipe for no-yeast crust. It was completely easy to make, and it tasted fine, but I didn't like it well enough to make it again. Our main enjoyment was in making the pizzas and adding all the toppings. Do any of you have a favorite pizza crust recipe you can share?

THE RECIPE:

2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2/3 c. milk
1/4 c. cooking oil
2 Tbsp. cooking oil

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine ingredients (except 2 Tbsp. oil) in bowl and mix well. Knead dough in bowl ten times, then split into two balls. On lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a 13-inch circle. Place on pan and turn up edges about a half-inch and pinch. Brush with remaining oil. Add desired toppings. Ours took 25 minutes to bake.

Homemade heaven

This recipe makes a fabulous brownie. It's a nice change from the gooey, rich brownies that come from a mix or from other recipes. These brownies have a stiffer, fudgier inside and a lighter, crispier outside. They are made with butter, not oil. They only have a few basic ingredients, so they are a snap to throw together. I got the recipe from my sister's in-laws. Be advised that the batter is almost as delicious as the brownies. It tastes like whipped frosting.

THE RECIPE:

1 c. butter
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
4 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1/3 to 1/2 c. cocoa powder

Start at the beginning and add ingredients one by one to bowl, mixing with electric beaters as you go. Spread into 9 x 13 pan greased with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. Note: I often make half the recipe and put it in an 8 x 8 pan.