LEMON NUT BREAD

I love to make almost everything in this cute little lemon cookbook. I have had this book for well over twenty years and I continue to make the same things over and over as they are so good, such as this lemon bread.
What I like about this recipe is that the bread is not dry it is moist and gets even moister as you add lemon juice with sugar over the top after poking the top with holes. I am saying it is a mouthful of tart lemony pleasure.
Recipe will follow.

So this morning I am off for a fresh food for the fridge and our Superbowl fare. We decided this morning we would snack on salsa, guacamole and corn chips during the first part of the game and then we are having tostado's for dinner. I will make them with burger simmered in taco sauce that is how I like them loaded with the works.
Sunday will be my hubby's only day off. He has had no days off since he started this volley of jobs since returning from the coast and it continues for another week or so. 

As much as I hate to face it I must start getting things together for Cover Oregon for hubby's health insurance. His private insurance monthly rate is going to almost double. So we are hoping he will qualify for getting a tax credit at the end of the year. This whole health insurance fiasco really gripes me. It is good that everyone will have health insurance but why is it always the middle class that has to pay?  We do not have extra dollars for our insurance to double. I do realize we are covered now for some things that we were not before but still we were making our own choices. Enough! This is no rant it is just that I have to jump through hoops now to see if we can get some justification here in the form of a tax credit.

Later. I have now returned from my errands. So the afternoon is mine to be productive or wasteful. I need to make home made ranch dressing for tonights steaks salad. I had no idea of what to have but I do have a lot of things that need using in the freezer and flat iron steak is one of them. So I will make a nice salad with assorted greens and veggies. I will put the seasoned flat iron steak in a hot cast iron skillet and cook it till med rare, let it rest until the juices settle then slice thin and serve along side of or over the top of the salad with ranch dressing.
We like to do this quite frequently as it is a tasty easy meal and not to unhealthy for a body. There is always steak leftover and that provides my hubby with a big tasty sammie the next day and a protein fix for me to nibble on.

Here is the recipe for this great moist lemon bread.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
Grease and flour two bread pans med size or three tiny ones.
Bake 45 minutes.

1 cup sugar 
1/2 cup butter softened (1 stick)
2 large eggs beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
lemon zest from two lemons
3/4 to 1 cup chopped walnuts(optional but we love them, gives the bread a crunch)

With a mixer cream sugar and butter, add the beaten eggs and milk and beat thoroughly.Add the flour and baking powder and when all is well combined add the lemon zest, then stir in the nuts.

Scoop into the prepared pans and bake.
Cool five minutes, then prick top(I use a wooden skewer) and drizzle over the top a mixture of a 1/2 cup of sugar and three tablespoons fresh lemon juice.

This little bread is great for a dessert or a snack with a cup of tea or good with your morning coffee.
I like to take it in the RV as it is handy, just slice off a piece or two. Keep it in the fridge if you like it moist.

There is a tart lemon cookie recipe in this little book as well as yummy lemon sauces and chicken dishes, lemon curd and the richest most fattening lemon pound cake that has ever passed through my lips. I love this book.

I would like to set time aside later this afternoon to scan some photo's of our St. Martin Caribbean vacation. That was the last tropical trip we made and I celebrated my 55th birthday on that island. What a exciting time we had. Gourmet eating area's were abundant. We stayed on the French side of the island so the food was really special. St. Martin is known as the gourmet capitol of the Caribbean. All I know is we surely enjoyed dining on the freshest seafood just plucked from the ocean. The spiny lobsters they serve are scary prehistoric looking creatures. The folks that live on the island are French and there are a lot of French tourists. Americans are the minority and we loved that.

I am now going to tend to a few house chores that must be done today as they are driving me bats!
Tomorrow I will be here as usual.