Lime Curd Tart

Every now and then I crave a good curd. A homemade curd. A lime curd to be exact.

Alright, I'm lying. I've never really craved a good curd; however I think I will now that I've made my own.

I remembered seeing Ina making lime curd one episode — I believe for dipping long-stemmed strawberries into for a brunch. As it turns out, she also turned the curd into a tart filling and got another episode out of it. Genius!

I threw together said tart for my parents' annual party for the Festival of Ballooning, a big event that has been going on in their little town since they moved there in 1985.

Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the lime curd tart before 1) the sun went down, and 2) people ate half of it. Just keep that in mind for the photo above, mm'kay?

So back to the recipe. It takes delicious lime curd and fills a sweet shortbread crust to the brim with it. And if you're willing to do some patient stirring, you're going to see how easily the lime curd comes together.

Lime Cilantro Quinoa Salad

Let's just say that if cranberries are the ninja fruit, then quinoa (keen-wah) is the ninja grain! Oh, except it's not a grain — it's actually a seed. But it sure seems like a grain. Anyway, it's a great base for making salads that you can either serve as a main or side dish. For breakfast, lunch, or dinner, in fact!

Quinoa is great for vegans and vegetarians because it packs a lot of nutritional punch (protein, manganese, magnesium, iron, copper, and phosphorus). It's also a nice change of pace for carnivores like me, and you can take a lot of liberty with the dressing you use and ingredients you add. It's a very customizable base for whatever you can think up!

I adapted a recipe I saw on RadMegan's blog. It has nice flavor and will be a great salad for summer, when the herbs and tomatoes are growing in the garden and corn is fresh and local at farm stands! Furthermore, this recipe is quick to make and keeps nicely in the fridge for a few days.

Brown Butter Cranberry Lime Muffins

Cranberries are a major commercial crop of New Jersey, which means that I can buy them fresh by the pound at the market — you may not find this to be exciting, but I really do.

Around this time of year I try to find at least 14 (give or take a few) ways use cranberries, and here's a distinctly fabulous (and interesting) muffin recipe that I adapted from Joy the Baker's lovely site.

This muffin isn't overly sweet thanks to the tartness of the cranberries — a tartness I very much appreciate. Then you have the browned butter, which creates a different flavor than you may be used to in an average muffin. And finally the scent of lime emanating from the container these were stored in — heavenly! I added some turbinado (raw, natural) sugar to the top for a sweet crunch.