Here we are, Labor Day has passed, summer is almost over. Recent weeks have been  devastating for Santa Cruz County and California with huge fires burning and thousands of people evacuated. Many people lost their homes and all their belongings and some lost  their lives. My heart goes out to all of them. For a couple of days Santa Cruz had the worst air quality in the world. My husband and I decided to  go to our mountain cabin. I packed some personal stuff, just in case. I also took one of my favorite cookbooks called Chez Panisse Fruit  by Alice Waters that had not been packed away during my remodel. From this book I would like to share a scrumptious recipe for a blueberry lemon tart. I have made many recipes from this book and have never been disappointed. I make her apricot jam every year and never get tired of it. I like everything about this book, the recipes, the layout, and the illustrations. I also have been fortunate enough to eat at Chez Panisse in Berkley many times. Alice Waters is a great cook and shares her talent with children and young adults, which I think is wonderful. She was a pioneer in the farm-to-table movement. 

I baked the lemon tart twice, once in the first week of August and then again last week. Even my husband who usually goes for the sweeter versions when it comes to dessert liked this tart.  

The flavors in this tart are phenomenal, with the crispness and rich butter flavor of the páte sucrée, and the sweet tart flavor of the blueberries combined with the zesty lemon curd. It is a perfect combination for your taste buds. If you bake this, I hope you enjoy this tart as much as we have.

If you are interested in some different lemony or blueberry desserts click on the photo for my blogpost and the recipe.

I asked for new lemon recipes on a Facebook site I belong to and the response was amazing. I got over three hundred responses with a lot of wonderful new recipes. Thank you to all of you. I will share two new recipes here and save the Facebook post so I can try  some amazing looking recipes later. I am a little pressed for time because I am leaving for a trip to France in two days where I will cook my heart out in a very special kitchen. If all goes well I will tell you about it later.

I made Limoncello and lemon curd. The curd is delicious and easy to make if you have a Vitamix. This is the first time I made limoncello and after reading more about it I don’t think that it is authentic, but again it was easy to make and I had a little taste today. Not Bad! I also made 6 jars of preserved lemons. I must say I had a production going and loved it because I was in my element.   Click here for the lemon curd and the limoncello recipes.

Preserved lemons capture the heavenly perfume of the lemon and excite your palate. It brings out the best in my avocado toast and many other dishes.
​ Click here for the recipe.

This is a nutty, chewy , nor-too-sweet cake which is made with whole lemons and ground almonds. Click here for the recipe

This tart lemon sorbet made with buttermilk has been an old friend of mine for years.
​Click here for the recipe.

Perfect for an afternoon snack, this simple lemon tea bread is compact and infused with lemon juice. 
​Click here for the recipe

Some more  of my recipes using plums. The plum jam is tart but full of flavor. It's baked in the oven so you don't have to sweat over a hot stove and there is no stirring.  Click on the photos below for the recipe.

Here is the link to the YouTube video where I found this recipe. It's in German but Thomas  speaks very slowly and it is fun to watch him make the tart. I think this would be a great project for young cooks. 

I am disappointed that I didn't get to make my roasted apricot sorbet, my apricot dumplings, or my apricot jam. Hopefully I will catch up next year.  Click on the photos for the different posts and recipes. Have  a happy and healthy summer, my  friends.

Continue to read about my Maui trip on my Wanderlust blog . Click here! 

After all this traveling, I am ready to cook some food at home. Since it is crab season here in Northern California, it’s time to make my cioppino. Click here for the recipe.

If you need a more substantial meal that is absolutely delicious try my Jägerschnitzel. I just made this breaded pork cutlet with a creamy mushroom sauce and I enjoyed every bite of it.  It's the perfect meal for a rainy evening. Click here for the recipe.

This is a German chocolate walnut tart with a shortbread crust. It is a chocolate lover's delight.  Click here for the recipe. 

These chocolate walnut delight bars are great for a crowd. The office will love you for these tasty morsels. Click here for the recipe. 

I was looking through my Christmas baking folder for some inspiration (which I need desperately these days) and came upon a recipe from a 2002 Gourmet magazine issue. I had written “excellent” on the recipe. Last year, I made a a similar cookie recipe from Luisa Weiss’s Classic German Baking called Baseler Brunsli (click here for the recipeBaseler Brunsli). Both these cookies belong to the family of Lebkuchen. You can find many different recipes for Lebkuchen throughout the German-speaking countries. Lebkuchen is a blanket term for German gingerbread, and this particular recipe is a smoother and more cake-like version, with a hint of chocolate, hazelnut and almond too. I love them because they are not overly sweet, but my American family is not a big fan of this tasty treat. They will go for the sweeter shortbread, sugary kind of cookie. That’s why I bake a variety of different cookies, put them in my tins and have one I like in the afternoon with my tea.

This year will be a special Christmas because my niece and her husband are visiting from Germany. It doesn’t happen very often that I get to celebrate with my German family and it is always very special to me when they come to my home in California. So, I am baking and decorating as much as I can. Check out my post from 2016 with most of my family’s favorite cookie recipes. (click here)

If you feel like a savory treat for the holidays, try my country pâté. It’s a great party pleaser.(click here )

Fall has arrived  and I have been happily cooking away in my kitchen with my new-found treasure Zwetchgen, a small unassuming purple plum that is called Italian plum in this country. In their natural state these plums have very little flavor and taste bland—but once  baked, they transform into a treat , perfumed, tart, and sweet. I made several batches of my plum butter and I am thrilled to have them in my pantry (garage). The flavor is amazing, rich and earthy. But I also made several cakes. 

Every September, from 1983-1989 the New York Times printed Marian Burros’ recipe for plum torte. Here is a link to the recipe (and I love reading all the comments). I have made this cake twice now, and have adjusted the recipe to my taste. I also baked a tart with a custard that my Swiss friend made for me in Switzerland. It was delicious and I hope to post it one of these days. My French girlfriend made a tarte aux quetsches, unfortunately I didn't get to taste it.  Zwetschgenkuchen in Germany is usually baked with a lot of plums and a yeast-based sheet cake. Marian Burros’ Plum Torte recipe is a no-fuss, easy-to-make dessert. It is similar to other cake recipes with fruit that I have made many times. My tasters approved, but my fussy husband thought it was a little dry.

I also like using plums for my galette. Click for the recipe here.

I love different flavors in my main dishes, and there is always some sort of sauce in my fridge. Whether it’s a Romnesco or a green sauce, vegetables are usually the main ingredients. I love trying new flavors and ingredients. I don’t like my food to be boring.
Click here for my Schnitzel bonanza 

Every year, I make apricot jam. It is a recipe from Alice Waters' beautiful book Chez Panisse Fruit. I tweaked the recipe for the jam, which I use when I bake, over ice cream, and perhaps a spoonful all by itself.
​It is absolutely divine, click here for the recipe 

With my surplus apricots, I made a delicious galette using my blueberry galette recipe. It uses almonds in the dough and for the bottom of the crust. This is an easy recipe that can be made with different fruits such as plums, peaches and more.
I happened to have some olalliebeeries that I added to my apricots.
Click here for the recipe.

My German apricot cake (Aprikosenkuchen} has always been well-liked and will be a real treat with the roasted apricot sorbet. The added marzipan in the cake really does the trick.
​This is apricot bliss!
​ Click here for the recipe.

If you are looking for a light but very tasty meal, this apricot, shrimp and jicama salad is for you.
​ Click for the recipe here.