My newly teenaged daughter loves chocolate, but she also loves my lemon squares, and I don’t make them very often, as they are not a majority favorite in my house. The other day I made these lime bars as a riff on the lemon squares and we both liked them even more.

Lime Bars

(click here for printable recipe)

Ingredients:

For the crust:

4 tablespoons melted butter, cooled

2/3 cup roasted hazelnuts

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon lime zest (2 limes)

pinch of salt

For the filling:

2 eggs

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup fresh lime juice (4 limes)

pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Line with parchment paper and spray again. In a food processor, grind hazelnuts, graham cracker crumbs, sugar, salt and lime zest. Add butter and pulse briefly to combine. Press mixture into bottom and about 1 inch up sides. Bake until ightly browned - about 10 minutes. Set aside.

Make the filling: In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and condensed milk. Add lime juice and salt, whisk until smooth. Pour filling evenly over crust and bake until set - about 18-20 minutes. Cool on rack, then chill at least one hour or overnight. Cut into squares using a damp sharp knife, wiping the knife clean between each cut to cut squares cleanly. Store in refrigerator.

Salad
Baby arugula, 1lb
Mushrooms, 2-3 generous handfuls, sliced thinly
Cippolini onions, 3-4, coarsely chopped
1 cucumber, quartered
1 container of cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 head of garlic, minced
Black cherry balsamic vinaigrette, 1 tbsp
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Watercress Sauce
1 large bunch of watercress leaves, washed, coarsely chopped
1 shallot, small diced
2 tbsp plain yogurt
1 tbsp white wine
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp water, if needed

Salmon
1 ¼ lb – 1 ½ lb salmon, portioned
Handful of dill, finely chopped
1 lemon, thinly sliced
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Salad
1. Wash baby arugula thoroughly. Dry in salad bowl.

2. Wash mushrooms and cut in ¼” slices (remove stem first; reserve for another dish like soup. Stems are too rubbery and not as flavorful.) Set aside.

3. Wash and half cherry tomatoes. Marinate in black cherry balsamic vinaigrette.

4. Wash and quarter cucumbers. Season with salt. Add to salad.

5. Coarsely chop cippolini onions. Add to salad.

6. Refrigerate salad until ready to serve. Dress lightly with olive oil, salt, and pepper a la minute. Add goat cheese and cooked mushrooms at the table.

7. Mince garlic and saute with mushrooms on medium heat until brown and cooked through.

Watercress Sauce

1. Quickly sauté watercress leaves with diced shallots until watercress wilts. Add to blender. Puree with olive oil, white white, plain yogurt, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Reserve.

Salmon
1. Portion salmon appropriately. Drizzle with olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper.
2. Finely cut dill and garnish over salmon.
3. Thinly cut lemons and place 1-2 pieces over salmon.
4. Cook in oven at 400* for 20-25 minutes or until salmon “flakes.” Do not overcook! Salmon should not be dry.

Assemble prepared salad with mushrooms, and goat cheese. Add dressing and season. Serve salmon with watercress sauce. Enjoy!

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• Think it all through. Here’s what every grill disaster looks like: the meat is cooking away, or on fire, or ready to come off, and you realize you don’t have any plates. Or tongs. Or that there isn’t a table near you. If you are making cheeseburgers, you’ll need cheese, unwrapped, and enough time to let it melt. Plan what you are going to do, in what order, and have the stuff you need at hand so you don’t become panicked and distracted and upset.

• Speaking of upset: nothing is worse than cooking on tilt. Keep your head. this is just a piece of meat. No matter what happens, it’s not the end of the world. Worst case scenario is that you order Chinese food. You can’t grill with your teeth clenched.

• Oil and kosher salt, kosher salt and oil: it goes on everything, on both sides. If you don’t have oil, that’s OK. But if don’t have kosher salt, just put away the coals and order chinese food. Seriously.

• You always want a very hot grill to start out with. If you can put your hand over it and count to three without discomfort, it’s not hot enough. If you can’t even make it to two, it may be too hot. I don’t recommend using gas grills, but sometimes it can’t be helped. If you do use a gas grill, turn it up all the way and close the lid. Eventually it will get sort of hot.

• Always have a cold side and a hot side. Sear up on hot, and finish on cold. Every time, with every food, no exceptions.

• If you don’t have a Weber grill, get one. Then get a Weber chimney starter. No serious griller ever uses gas. I’m sorry. It’s true though.

• I love wood and I love lump hardwood charcoal, but regular Kingsford briquettes will always get the job done. As long as they don’t have starter fluid in them.

• If you’re cooking, cook. Don’t wander away. Don’t watch television. Don’t take on any other assignments. Your job is to cook. Everything else is someone else’s job.

• Don’t bother with thermometers unless you are cooking something bigger than a housecat. Learn to feel doneness by touch. It’s not that hard. And it’s a skill, like driving or masturbating, that will never abandon you.

• Make sure everybody is ready to eat before you put the food on. I can’t stress this enough. Nothing is worse than knocking yourself out to make something right, and then finding that there are kids running around and the table isn’t set or somebody wandered off, or some moron can’t find his beer, or the salad hasn’t been set out yet. People have to be ready to receive hot food. Otherwise you might as well be microwaving. This is probably the single most common grilling mistake I know.

I’m not saying that this is everything you have to know about grilling. It’s not even a start. But if you observe these ten lessons and hew to them faithfully, I promise that you won’t go too far wrong. (And even if you do, there’s always Chinese food.)

Brooke Shield’s Bold Brows

Bold brows have been having a moment on the catwalk for a few seasons now, and Brooke Shield’s was the original brow girl. We first got a glimpse of these famous beauties in Blue Lagoon, and while the ‘90s saw us all plucking everything we had, it looks like Brooke had the right idea all along.

Grace Kelly’s Nude Nails

Grace Kelly was (and still is!), an icon of beauty and style. She never followed trends or dyed her hair crazy colors, instead she favored a simple haircut, minimal makeup, and nude nails. One look at the Fall/Winter runways proves that although nail art will never go out of style, nude nails are back.

Lauren Hutton’s No-Makeup-Makeup Look

Lauren Hutton is known for her fresh-faced look. Think minimal blush, no eye-shadow, and a light coverage of foundation. Natural beauty never goes out of style.

Twiggy’s Spiky Lashes

Famous ‘60s model Twiggy was known for painting lashes along her lower lash line and piling on layers of faux lashes. The look was a worldwide hit, sparking dozens of copycats, and today, is just as popular.

Marilyn Monroe’s Red Lipstick

Marilyn Monroe had a few beauty trademarks: Her platinum blonde hair, her beauty mark, and her red lipstick. The starlet rarely went outside without lip color, and, year’s later, red lipstick is still an instant pick-me-up for women.

Firsts a few stain removal tips:

o Treat ASAP

o Never rub, blot unless otherwise noted

o Test hidden area first to be sure stain removal tip won’t discolor

o If stain remains, DON’T put item into dryer or stain will set

PLAYIN IN THE GRASS IS A GAS: Rolling around in the grass or down a hill is tons of fun but the grass stain left behind can be challenging. Fill a spray bottle with equal parts of white vinegar and water and spray the stain. Use a damp sponge or a toothbrush (preferably not the one you brush with) to gently work in.

RUB A DUB MUD WITH A SPUD: Remove any mud remnants. Then take a raw potato and slice in half. Rub the inside of the spud onto the mud stain until it lightens. Microwave the remaining half for a tasty, quick and healthy snack!

BLOODY SIMPLE SOLUTION: Believe it or not if you spit on a bloodstain it will help remove it. Key is it must be your own saliva so your child will need to give it a spat! Alternatively, if the clothing is white you can use Hydrogen Peroxide both clean the stain and your child’s boo boo! Just be sure to test on hidden area first to be sure it won’t cause any color damage.

GREASE IS THE WORD: This is a true ‘who’d have thunk’! Break out the old Cheese Whiz and smear it on the bicycle grease stain then throw it into the wash and viola…Grease will be gone! Then, enjoy a snack and spread some on crackersJ If you don’t have any Cheese Whiz you can use liquid dishwashing detergent like Dawn. In this case it’s ok to rub it in right before putting in the wash.

STICK IT TO GUM: The easiest way to remove chewing gum on most fabrics (jeans particularly) is to put an ice cube on the gum so it freezes and gets hard: about 5-10 mins. Then scrape it off with a knife. On more delicate fabrics (other then denim) freeze, but then use an old toothbrush vs. knife to brush off gum.

HANDY DANDY SANITIZER: Our kids love to use their clothing as napkins so next time they finish eating that chocolate cone, gently scrap any excess off with a spoon then reach for clear hand sanitizer (with alcohol). Squeeze a bit directly onto the stain and dab with a micro-fiber cloth. And, next time buy them a vanilla cone.

Julie Edelman aka The Accidental Housewife is the go to gal for easy; real life time, money, and energy saving tips that maintain our home, family and manicure. She appears regularly on the Today Show with Kathie Lee ‘n Hoda, Rachael Ray, and The Doctors.  She is a New York Times best-selling author and her next tome for the home: The Ultimate Accidental Housewife: Your Guide to a Clean Enough House is the sanity saving editor forBeautiful Design Made Simple Magazine; has a webisode series for Fox News Magazine, and hosts her siteJulie’s Tips with her goal to empower, educate and engage fellow housewives along with a daily sanity saving libation.

Since the meal was so basic, I was determined to make a stellar crust that would take this fish stick over the edge. My ingredient to achieve this; rice flour. Rice flour is used extensively in Asia and it produces a skin that is light and crunchy. The flour was seasoned with crushed red chili flakes, coriander powder and a generous helping of black pepper. Once the fish sticks were fried, they were given another layer of seasoning by being tossed in a spice mixture of chaat masala, salt and chili powder. The result was finger lickin’ good.

Recipe for Salmon Sticks
Ingredients
1 lb. salmon (cut in to 1 ½ cm wide strips)
¼ cup rice flour (elephant brand)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. red chili flakes
1 tsp. coriander powder
oil for frying
Handful of cilantro

Dry Spice Mixture
1 tsp. chat masala (MDH brand available at Indian grocery stores or ethnic stores like Kalustyans)
¾ tsp. salt
½ tsp. chili powder

Method

1) Heat oil for frying the fish
2) Combine all the dry ingredients and layout on a large flat plate. Coat the fish on both sides and fry in to the hot oil

Dredging in spiced rice flour

3) When the fish is golden and almost cooked through, remove and drain on paper towels (it should be opaque in the middle)
4) Toss the sticks gently in the dry spice mixture and throw fresh cilantro strands over the top

Saira Malhotra, is of British–Indian descent and is a chef, food writer and cooking instructor based in New York City. Raised in Hounslow, U.K, or rather ‘Little India’, where the air is aromatic with roasted spices, little did Saira know these moments would follow her from being a student in France and Italy to residing in NYC with her husband and kids and parlay themselves unexpectedly in to a culinary career. She is a graduate of the International Culinary Center in New York City. Come visit her at her food blog: www.passportpantry.com where she shares approachable and international recipes

1. Purchased crepes only sound like a good thing. You know the ones I’m talking about. The grocers sell packages of them in the produce section. Got me thinking how creative and delicious it would be to wrap a few of those around some fruit and pop them in a lunch container. Except they act like sponges when wrapped around anything moist. Which means you end up with a big pile of mess by lunch. If you want to pack crepes for lunch, be smart (unlike me) and pack them and the fillings separately, then assemble at lunch.
2. Graham crackers rock. Seriously. Last week I put them to use in all sorts of ways that won approval from both my son (the dude forced to eat my many lunch creations), as well as readers. Start by using them as a stand-in for bread with PB&J. Then turn them into a strawberry “cheesecake” — sandwich low-fat cream cheese and strawberry jam between two crackers. You get a graham cracker crust, creamy filling and strawberry topping in every bite. They also are a great addition to yogurt parfaits. I did layers of fresh fruit, plain nonfat Greek yogurt and crumbled graham crackers. This let me create all sorts of dessert-inspired parfaits, including banana cream pie.
3. Frozen fruit can be your friend. Turn bagged frozen fruit into easy sauces that can be packed cold or warm (in a small thermos) for use with pancakes, waffles, yogurt, applesauce, or even be used for dipping pretzels. Just dump a bag of frozen fruit (I like mango chunks, but any berry is great, too) into a saucepan with a tiny sprinkle of sugar and a splash of lemon juice. Simmer until tender. You can use it as is for a chunky sauce, or puree it for a smooth consistency.
4. Eggs — if McDonald’s can wrap them, so can you. I made Parker a pretty basic omelet. Beaten eggs cooked and folded over cheese and ham until melty and yummy. I gave him half for breakfast, then plopped the other half onto a whole-wheat tortilla and rolled it up to make an egg, ham and cheese wrap. You can do this with just about any egg, no matter how it’s cooked.
5. Popcorn is a whole grain. Even when it’s coated in caramel or “cheese” powder, it’s still a better choice than most potato chips. So embrace popcorn as a fun and filling lunch treat you can feel good about. Pop a bag in the microwave during breakfast, then let it cool and dump it into sandwich bags. Or turn it into trail mix by adding some nuts or seeds and dried fruit. Or take the easy route and buy sweetened or “cheesed” popcorn. No shame in whole-grain convenience.
6. Novelty matters. I got a sample this week of sugar that pops in your mouth. Think Pop Rocks, but without the chemical flavor and colors. Parker was blown away by the stuff and begged to bring some in his lunch to “freak out” his friends. Normally, I’m not a big fan of packing a baggie of pure sugar in anyone’s lunch. But 1 teaspoon of sugar has about 15 calories. And packing that 1 teaspoon got him so excited he didn’t care that I also packed shrimp in the same lunch. Give a little, get a little.
7. Cheese masks many sins. Like popping sugar, a little bit of cheese can go a long way to winning approval for unpopular lunch items. Parker is no fan of spinach. Shocking for an 8-year-old boy, I know! But once I’d chopped it up and mixed it with egg and feta cheese, then baked it in his favorite mini phyllo pastry cups, he was willing to eat it. It’s the same reason a salad — or salad wrap — is way more likely to be eaten when cheesed up. Ham and chicken help, too.

I just received my yearly batch of maple syrup from Circle C Maple Farm, a small family business run by Joe and Cathy Cicero on their farm in New York State. I’ve been ordering their organic maple syrup for the last few years, and as soon as my order came in, I knew what I needed to do: make pancakes.

Before I get to the recipe, here’s the backstory on the maple syrup that inspired me to make them. Circle C Maple Farm is nestled in the Shawangunks Mountains “The Gunks.” My friend Jen Ward is Joe’s niece, and she spread the word about Circle C to all her fancy friends (like me) in New York City, and that’s how I first got ahold of some.

The story of Circle C is that 18 years ago, owners Joe and Cathy looked around their land and realized they had an abundance of maple trees. They started “sugaring,” siphoning the syrup from the trees and cooking it down to make a useable product, but they they only gave it to friends and family. In 2010, they stepped up production and made enough to sell to other people.

Luckily for Joe and Cathy, Mother Nature offered up two very bountiful maple seasons, so these days there’s plenty of syrup to go around. The syrup can be purchased directly from Circle C, in sizes from 1/2-pint to a gallon. The syrup comes in three grades: Grade A Medium Amber, which has a light color and delicate maple taste; Grade A Dark Amber, which is a darker brown and has a robust maple taste; and finally, my favorite, Grade B Extra Dark, the strongest and darkest grade of maple, that’s good for both cooking and table use. I’ve tried all three grades, and they pack a buttery, caramel flavor, which transformed my pancakes into magical discs of flavor.

Now, here’s that pancake recipe. In honor of Joe’s niece, Jen, who’s a health coach and student of Traditional Chinese Medicine, I made these pancakes gluten-free. I think she’d approve. The sweetness comes from roasted sweet potatoes, coconut oil, vanilla, and cinnamon. There’s no sugar in the pancakes, so the taste of the maple syrup poured over them at the end can really shine through. Give them a try!

To order maple syrup, and get in touch with Circle C Farm, visit their website.

Recipe: Sweet Potato Pancakes with Maple Syrup

Makes 8-10 silver dollar-size pancakes

Ingredients

1/4 cup buckwheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dash of cinnamon

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup roasted sweet potatoes, cooled and mashed

1 egg, whisked

7 tablespoons milk (any kind)

2 tablespoons coconut oil, plus extra for cooking the pancakes

Maple syrup, for garnish

Instructions

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, then add the wet ingredients and whisk to incorporate.

Heat a skillet over medium heat for a minute or two. Add the coconut oil, and when it starts to shimmer, drop the batter into the pan in large spoonfuls, leaving a few inches of space in between. When the tops of the pancakes start to bubble, leaving behind tiny holes, gently flip the pancakes with a flexible spatula. When they are browned on the second side, transfer to a plate.

Serve warm and top with maple syrup.

Louisa Shafia is the author, most recently, of The New Persian Kitchen, a book of healthy Mediterranean and Silk Road-inspired recipes. See Louisa’s cooking videos and her schedule of upcoming events at www.lucidfood.com.

It’s no secret that I love oatmeal. I literally eat it all year round. I do however like to mix it up a bit as the weather warms up and make a chilled version of my favorite breakfast food. The best part is, it’s not only super quick to toss together, it can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. This recipe is wide open to interpretation. In fact, I encourage you to play around with your favorite dried fruits and nuts and even spices. The possibilities are endless and only limited by your imagination, so go wild!!

Every  ingredient in this recipe is wholesome so it’s the perfect way to start your day. You’ll feel full without feeling stuffed and it will provide you with plenty of energy thanks to the combination of protein, carbs and fat. I love to store my chilled oatmeal in glass mason jars. You can eat this right away but I prefer the flavor and texture best if the oats are allowed to soak in the yogurt for at least an hour before eating. It’s great to make a few in advance and have them at the ready for whenever I need a quick breakfast or snack. With these babies on-hand you’ll never need to reach for cold cereal again! Weeee!!

Make Ahead Chilled Oatmeal

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1/2 non-fat Greek yogurt

1/2 cup rolled oats, raw

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

*optional-1 teaspoon honey, brown rice syrup,  agave nectar or maple syrup

1 tablespoon almonds, coarsley chopped

1 tablespoon raisins, cranberries or your favorite dried fruit

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl stir together yogurt, oats, cinnamon and honey. Fill mason jar (or any small airtight container) with mixture.

2. Top with nuts and raisins. Tighten lid on jar and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 3 days in advance. Serve chilled.

From: Kappy
To: RR
Sent: Friday, May 10, 2013 10:42am
Subject: A Meaningful Dinner in DC

Hey Rach -
As you know, I went from your high school alma mater’s fundraiser in Lake George to DC to visit my good friend, Jason. He’s the one I told you about - we went to culinary school together in New York and then on to hospitality school in Miami. And then? He joined the Army. He’s been around the world, most recently returning from Afghanistan a little over a year ago. He’s headed back in a few weeks, so I went to visit him before he takes off. I know he appreciates some good eats, so we hit the town to some places most of his Army buddies don’t appreciate quite as much as he does, though he did bring one fellow soldier who was ready for a real meal.

Now, I like to think I’m a pretty mindful eater, paying attention to flavors, textures, atmosphere and, equally as important, the people I am dining with. Food means a lot to me, and meals make memories from an early age throughout a lifetime. These were some of those meals. Eating quality food with two guys who have traveled to Afghanistan and fought the fight for our country and sitting with them discussing things like their MRE meals they eat while overseas… It felt a little surreal. And I felt grateful.

We had a fantastic meal at one of Richard Sandoval’s restaurants, El Centro D.F. We started off with some margaritas and then did the whole chips and guac thing on our way to diving into some real Mexican comfort food. We started off with the Grilled Skirt Steak Huarache. A corn masa flatbread with caramelized onions, cilantro, black beans, Mexican cheeses, crema and salsa roja, in my opinion, it was the winner! However, the Duck Alambre Tacos with rajas, cotija cheese and roasted corn, along with the Shrimp and Crab Enchiladas that we shared, were worthy contenders. For dessert? Another margarita!

The next morning, we headed to Founding Farmers for brunch. This is a pretty hardcore local and sustainable spot, with an attractive menu that made it hard to decide what to get. So what did we do? We got a lot. We started with the Devil-ish Eggs sampler, going for the combo so that we could try the lobster, crab and smoked salmon flavors along with the classic version. We added the Classic Eggs Benedict because we both love it, and the Pastrami Hash (pictured up top), which came with shredded leek hash browns and Creole mustard hollandaise. We also ordered the Bacon Lollis with a cinnamon-brown sugar glaze because…well, you know why - you would, too! Next time you’re in DC, be sure to pay this place a visit.

I was happy to spend time with Jason and his friend over some good food and good conversation. I’ll be raising a glass to him often over the next few months. If you’re so inclined, I hope that you will, too.

And that’s what’s on my plate!
~ Kappy

El Centro D.F.
1819 14th St NW
Washington, DC 20009
202- 328-3131
www.richardsandoval.com/elcentrodf

Founding Farmers Restaurant
1924 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20006
202- 822-8783
www.wearefoundingfarmers.com

Andrew “Kappy” Kaplan loves food. A professionally trained chef, by day he runs Yum-o!, Rachael Ray’s charity focused on kids and cooking, and keeps special projects running smoothly for her. By night he hops course to course, place to place, all across the country. He’s Rach’s own personal dining guide! You can also follow Kappy on Twitter to see what’s On Kappy’s Plate in real-time!