I get to entertain again today (I *love* having people over!), and I was feeling in a summer mood. The theme that coalesced: cherries and limes.
I made some lime shortbread:
Ingredients:
-
1/2 butter (1 stick) at room temperature- 1/2 cup (room temperature)
-
1/3 cup sugar
-
zest of 2 limes (about 1 tablespoon)
- juice of 1 lime (about 1.5 tablespoons)
- pinch of salt
- 1.5 cups flour (I used a mix of buckwheat, tapioca, and brown rice)
- 3/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
- lime juice and turbinado sugar, plus some extra zest if you’ve got it
Procedure:
- Preheat the oven to 350º. (The recipe I borrowed from says 375, but my first batch turned out a bit dark.)
- Cream (or beat) the butter and sugar together until fluffy.
- Add the lime zest and juice (I also added a splash of vanilla extract).
- Add the salt, xanthan gum, and 1 cup of flour. Mix until flour is incorporated.
- Add the rest of the flour slowly until the dough forms a ball.
- Turn onto a floured surface and roll 1/4″ thick.
- Cut and place on greased baking sheet (or silpat, of course). Brush with lime juice and sprinkle with sugar and remaining zest.
(OR: pinch off balls about 1/2″ in diameter and place on prepared baking sheet. Dip a flat-bottomed drinking glass in sugar and press each ball into a disc.) - Bake for 10 minutes (the original recipe says 15-20, but again, at 15 minutes mine were too dark.)
- Cool on a rack. Enjoy with friends
I also made some cucumber white Tazo tea and added some lime slices and lime juice.
And I put together some kirsch cheese with crackers and cherries:
The whole spread:
(the red ramekin is for cherry pits and stems)
I still had some dough left over in the fridge from a healthy version of the lemon poppyseed cookies I made last week (I swapped out most of the butter for applesauce), so I used it in a batch of cookies for WB with cherries and lime sugar on top:
And while I was waiting, I made myself a brunch quesadilla with almost everything from the farmer’s market- lentil sprouts, microgreens, and a few yellow tomatoes, topped with cheese, pesto, and barbecue sauce because I couldn’t choose a flavor:
A strange tomato that was included in the quesadilla, after I “decapitated” it:
Dinner was rushed, boring and uneventful because we’ve got to get out the door for…swing dancing! (It included the leftovers from the party, except for a few cookies.) I am so excited that WB is still interested…it’s fun to be able to swing dance again, and I know it will be more fun once we’re done with the big, awkward group classes and into fun stunts and patterns.
It was great to hang out with my friend – she’s training for a full marathon, so we commiserated about the strangeness of long runs, the awkwardness of camelbaks, and the joy of running in the humid heat of this city. (And some good things, of course, like that awesome feeling of accomplishment at the end of the run that you really didn’t think you could do.)
I took some when I first redecorated, but they don’t quite do it justice. It was a basic gray cube, but I spruced it up with black and yellow, along with a small moss-topiary-thing, a glass container of rocks, a cute candy dish (a necessity for social well-being), and a few other “objets” (a mirror hung from a ribbon, Ansel Adams prints, and some tiny “antlers” that I made and “mounted”). I’ve learned the value of having a clean, comfortable, expressive workspace in the kind of work that I do – just enough touches to feel like somewhere you are inspired to spend time, a place for everything (and everything in its place, of course), but still very proper and professional. I’ve also learned that I like visual reminders, no matter how digital I am – calendars, places to hang projects that are in-work, timelines and gantt charts and inspiration and KPIs or other success factors…that way, I think my mind is working even if it wanders.
