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May

A Darling Thank You Idea with a Twist of Lemon!

Ever had one of those days? I mean, one of THOSE days where nothing seems to go right, from the very moment your baby wakes up whining about those brand new itchy red spots all over her face (say whaaaaa now?) til the moment you lay your head down on your pillow after a day’s worth of burned food, dirty floors, a scolding from the boss, and too much Dora the Explorer?

It is my fervent hope that a neighbor pitched in to help with your carpool duties, or a friend offered to get you a gallon of milk at the market, or your sister allowed you to rage and rave and vent to her over the phone saving you from punching out your husband.

First, please know this: You are a hero for all that you do and all that you give!

Second, if you did find yourself with a hero who pitched in and helped when you were at that very frazzled end of your rope, it would be mighty nice to offer up your thanks, even in a very small way. Gratitude can be a healing balm for all! Seriously.

Today, I’m giving you an extremely easy, simple, and inexpensive idea for offering thanks, but even with its ease and simplicity and low cost, this manages to deliver your message of appreciation loud and clear, with a little sweetness thrown in for good measure!

This little project is a cinch to put together! We start out with some cheerful and delicious little lemon drops like these . . .

. . . or these sweet and tart Lemonheads! I bought both kinds of candies in the bulk section of my local grocery store. It was pretty doggone fun using those little metal scoops, by the way, haha!

The next step in this very complicated process (NOT), is finding a simple container which shows off the candy in a lovely way. I fell in love with this mug when I saw it at the store because it displays the yellow candy so vibrantly, plus it suits a guy just as well as a gal.

A container like the one shown below can be found at Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, or even in the kitchenware section of a larger grocery store. See? Easy as pie!

After you’ve decided on your candy and your container, wipe your brow because the hardest part is behind you! WHEW! I know! Heavy lifting here, right? Now comes the fun part: Filler ‘er up, please!

Mmm, lemon drops. Can’t you just taste them through your computer screen?

Next up comes the little tag you can attach to your gift, making the presentation just so gosh darn cute! I really have done the hard work for you here, people, by making three different printables from which you can choose. See the links to my free printables at the end of this post!

Say! Did you happen to catch my Luscious Lemon Bars with Shortbread Crust recipe post? GUYS! GUYS! GUYS! Those lemon bars would pair absolutely perfectly with this gift idea! No, seriously! They would! Consider baking up a batch of those delish lemon bars if you want to forego the candy option! YUHHHH-UUUM!

Add a simple little ribbon to the whole shebang, along with the free printable tag of your choice, and off you go to make someone’s day just a touch brighter!

If you desire, wrap your gift in a bit of cellophane (I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I do like my cellophane!), top it all off with a length of darling ribbon, add your tag, and you really will be someone’s angel when you give this away! YAY! Isn’t it fun to be an angel?! Yes. Yes, it is.

And in the spirit of giving thanks, I offer my thanks to you for stopping by! Thanks, guys!

Here are the fun and free printables:

Grab this bright and happy printable here!

Get this fun printable here!

Get this adorable printable here!

Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart,
it could hold a rather large amount of gratitude.

― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Be sure to check out other awesome Thankful Thursday gift ideas by pulling down the categories option on the menu bar above, and selecting “Thankful Thursdays.” They are pretty darn fun, people!

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May

Luscious Lemon Bars with Shortbread Crust

If I could give you only one reason to make these Luscious Lemon Bars with Shortbread Crust, it is that even the sight of them will transport your kitchen to its happy place! So pretty! So vibrant! So fresh!

If you are stubborn and need a second reason to whip these up, here you go: This lemon bar recipe creates, hands down, the very best sweet and tangy lemon bar and shortbread your mouth will ever have the chance to meet. There! That’s a good enough reason for anybody!

Have you ever bitten into a lovely looking lemon bar only to find that it was a rubbery, bland, square of tasteless goop? If so, I’m just so, so sad for you. I’m begging you to make this recipe! With its perfect creamy lemon filling and its crisp and crumbly shortbread crust, this recipe will return lemon bars to the very top of the food chain where they rightfully belong! No rubberiness! No blandness! Full of mouth-watering taste! Full of lemony tang! Full of delicious sweetness! Go! Now! Save the lemon bars’ reputation, and make these today! You will NOT regret it. Your family will NOT regret it. Your tastebuds will NOT regret it. Cross my heart and hope to die.

And, if you are really, really stubborn and need yet one more reason to make this recipe, these bars are real troopers and maintain their fresh and lemony deliciousness for up to a full week in an airtight container in the refrigerator, thus making them the perfect choice for a make-ahead dessert. Uhhhh, the only problem with that is, because they are so very delicious, there is a 99% chance that they will be completely consumed before you can even say “Hey! Hands off Grandpa LaVerl’s birthday treat!” I will take no blame for that.

Recipe: Luscious Lemon Bars with Shortbread Crust
~Serves: 24~Prep Time: 15 minutes~Total Bake Time: 40-45 minutes~

Ingredients for crust:

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar (plus more for dusting)
1 cup butter, room temperature

Ingredients for topping:

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
4 large eggs, slightly beaten
Juice from two large, juicy lemons (1/2 cup fresh lemon juice)*
2 t. lemon zest, loosely packed

To make the crust:

Preheat oven to 350º. Grease and flour a 9X13 pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and confectioner’s sugar. Cut in butter with two knives or pastry blender until combined and crumbly. Alternately, combine in the bowl of food processor.

Press mixture into bottom of prepared 9X13 pan. Mixture will be crumbly, but press firmly with the palm of your hand or the bottom of a measuring cup to smooth it out and evenly disperse crust in pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

To make topping:

While crust is baking, prepare topping by adding sugar, flour and baking powder to a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Add slightly beaten eggs, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix well and pour on top of hot, baked crust. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Allow lemon bars to cool completely then dust generously with powdered sugar. Refrigerate. Cut into 24 bars. You may want to dust them again with a bit of powdered sugar. Enjoy!

These bars store very well for up to a week in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

*Bottled lemon juice can be substituted for fresh lemon juice.

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Be sure to stop by for my Thankful Thursday post! I’ll be showing you a very sweet and lemony thank you gift idea to go along with these very sweet and lemony lemon bars!

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May

Deep-Fried Tempura

Aren’t you so glad it is Friday? Or, should I say, aren’t you so glad it is FRY-DAY! Yes! Yes, it is that awesome day of the week where we here at iPinnedIt crank up the ol’ death trap of boiling oil and fry up something fun! If you’ve missed out on our previous deep frying forays, be sure to check out all of that fun here, and here, and here!

Today’s FRY-DAY frying festivities include all sorts of yummy vegetables! In my head, that makes this is all very healthful, right? Never mind that a deep vat of canola oil will be dousing the vegetables. Never mind that part. Let’s make a pact that we will pay no mind to that part.

Don’t be intimidated by this! The chopping of the vegetables is literally the hardest part of this process, so if you can wield a knife well enough to prepare a run-of-the-mill vegetable tray, you can certainly make tempura!

Here are my beeeeeautiful matchsticks of sweet potatoes.

Check out my happy, bright green zucchini rounds! I love zucchini. Just so you know.

Gorgeous eggplant also joins the fun. My eggplants here were smaller in size which is perfect for this recipe.

Asparagus is perfect for tempura as it adds such an interesting shape to the mix! I had so much fun snapping these into pieces; it was strangely satisfying.

See? That wasn’t all that difficult, was it? Wipe your brow; the hard part is done!

The tempura batter only requires two ingredients: A good tempura batter mix and ice cold water. Stir those two ingredients together, leaving a few lumps (that’s a good thing!), and you are set to get this party started!

After dipping a handful of vegetables in the tempura batter, verrrrry carefully put them into the hot oil, allowing them to fry, turning occasionally for even browning, until the batter is a very, very light, barely golden color. Remember, you want those vegetables to retain some of their crispness.

After removing fried tempura from oil, place on paper towel-lined plate to drain and cool slightly. Breath in that wonderful deep-fried aroma! Few things can beat that.

Hey, grammar wonks! I was just wondering: Is “deep-fried tempura” redundant?

Serve the tempura right away. In other words, have your diners wait for the tempura rather than have the tempura wait for your diners since this does not “hold” very well for very long.

Delicious tempura sauces for dipping can be purchased in the Asian aisle of any grocery store, or you can make your own. (I share a link to a really good tempura sauce recipe below.)

Okay! That’s it! I think the only thing left is to master those unwieldy chopsticks! Anybody got any pointers for me? Please? (Says the girl with clumsy fingers.) Please enjoy!

Recipe: Deep-Fried Tempura
~Serves: 4~Prep Time: 15 minutes~Fry Time: 15 minutes~

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled
2 small eggplant
2 zucchini
1 bunch thin asparagus
Tempura batter mix
Ice cold water
Canola or peanut oil for frying
Tempura dipping sauce
*Other ingredient choices: Prawns, shrimp, squid, scallops, green beans, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, potatoes, broccoli

Directions:

Prepare the vegetables for frying by julienning the peeled sweet potatoes into pieces approximating a thick-cut french fry. Slice the unpeeled eggplant and zucchini into 1/4″ rounds, discarding ends. Cut or break asparagus into 3″ lengths. If using other suggested ingredients, prepare them to all be of a similar size for even cooking. Make sure all vegetables are patted dry with a paper towel.

Prepare batter according to directions on box taking care to use ice cold water. Do not over mix! Small lumps left in the batter are desirable.

Fill an electric frying pan, electric wok, or large, deep-sided skillet with 2-3″ of canola or peanut oil. Heat to 375º.

Working in batches, place a portion of the vegetables into the batter and either stir with a fork or simply use your fingers to make sure batter completely coats vegetables.

Very carefully, lower batter-coated vegetables into cooking oil. Do not crowd the pan. Allow vegetables to fry for approximately 4 minutes, turning occasionally for even browning. Remember, the tempura tastes best if vegetables are still a bit crisp, so do not over fry!

When battered vegetables become a very, very light, golden brown, remove fried tempura from cooking oil to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, and continue process with the rest of the vegetables. (Make sure cooking oil has returned to 375º before frying another batch of vegetables, otherwise a greasy, soggy, and icky product will result.)

Serve deep-fried tempura with tempura dipping sauce*, steamed rice, or udan noodles. Oh! And chopsticks!

*Commercially-made tempura sauce is available in the Asian aisle of most grocery stores. If you prefer to make your own, a good recipe is found here.

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Be sure to come back next week for another Friday Fry-Day! My local fire department will be standing by . . .

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