Vintage Lemonade

In the 1800s, a simple yet revitalizing lemonade recipe emerged, combining freshly squeezed lemons, cold water, and just the right amount of sugar flavored by the peel. This classic concoction provided a delightful balance of sweet and tangy flavors, offering a perfect way to beat the summer heat. Embrace a taste of the past with this timeless lemonade recipe that continues to stand the test of time.

Ingredients

• 5 lemons

• 1 ¼ cups white sugar

• 1 ¼ quarts water

Directions

1. Peel the rinds from the 5 lemons and cut them into 1/2 inch slices. Set the lemons aside.

2. Place the rinds in a bowl and sprinkle the sugar over them. Let this stand for about one hour, so that the sugar begins to soak up the oils from the lemons.

3. Bring water to a boil in a covered saucepan and then pour the hot water over the sugared lemon rinds. Allow this mixture to cool for 20 minutes and then remove the rinds.

4. Squeeze the lemons into another bowl. Pour the juice through a strainer into the sugar mixture. Stir well, pour into pitcher and pop it in the fridge! Serve with ice cubes.

Lemon Yogurt Cake

A lemon pound cake made with yogurt instead of sour cream.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, room temperature

• 2 cups white sugar

• 3 eggs, room temperature

• 1 teaspoon lemon extract

• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 (8 ounce) container lemon flavored yogurt

Directions

• Step 1

  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.

• Step 2

  Beat butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat one egg at a time into the butter mixture; add lemon extract with last egg.

• Step 3

  Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Alternately mix in the flour mixture and the yogurt, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat just until incorporated.

• Step 4

  Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Easy Garlic-Lemon Scallops

In this simple scallop recipe, large sea scallops are sautéed in butter and garlic and served with a lemon-butter sauce. They will melt in your mouth!

Ingredients

• ¾ cup butter

• 3 tablespoons minced garlic

• 2 pounds large sea scallops

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ⅛ teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cook for a few seconds until fragrant.

2. Arrange scallops in a single layer in the skillet; cook until golden brown on one side, about 2 minutes. Turn scallops over using tongs and continue cooking until firm and opaque, about 2 minutes more. Transfer scallops to a platter, reserving butter in the skillet.

3. Whisk lemon juice, salt, and pepper into butter; pour sauce over scallops to serve.

Cheesy Lemon Chicken Pasta

Pecorino Romano and Parmesan give cheesy flavor to this easy lemon-chicken pasta dish that's sure to please the whole family!

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package linguine pasta

• 1 cup frozen peas

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 (8 ounce) package button mushrooms, sliced

• ½ cup diced onion

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks

• kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste

• ½ (8 ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese, cubed and softened

• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice

• 2 teaspoons lemon zest

• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

• ¼ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

• ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley

Directions

• Step 1

  Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook linguine at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes, adding frozen peas during the last 2 minutes of cooking time. Drain pasta and peas, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid.

• Step 2

  While the pasta is cooking, heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and onion; cook until mushrooms are brown, 5 to 7 minutes.

• Step 3

  Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook in the same skillet over medium-high heat until browned and no longer pink, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms back to the skillet. Add cream cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest; stir until cream cheese is melted. Remove from heat.

• Step 4

  Fold in Parmesan and Pecorino Romano cheeses, then parsley. Toss with pasta and peas, adding reserved cooking liquid as necessary to make a sauce.

Presto Dill Pesto

Dill pesto is one of my favorite ways to kick up the flavor on broiled or baked fish. It's also very good served over grilled or roasted veggies. I use a small bunch of dill from the garden or my hydroponics system during the winter.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch fresh dill, chopped

• 1 tablespoon walnuts

• 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese

• ½ lemon, zested and juiced

• 1 clove garlic, peeled and quartered

• ⅛ teaspoon salt

• freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1 pinch red pepper flakes (Optional)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

• Step 1

  Place dill fronds (a few stems are OK), walnuts, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes into the bowl of a food processor. If you have a mini or small food processor, it will be large enough for this recipe.

• Step 2

  Pulse until everything is minced well, scraping down the sides as necessary. With the machine running, drizzle in the olive oil, blending for a few seconds until smooth.

• Step 3

  If not serving immediately, store the pesto in an airtight container and chill until ready to use.

Fresh Lemon Bundt Cake

With fresh lemon, this cake is the perfect, refreshing dessert for a spring cookout.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened

• 2 cups white sugar

• 5 large eggs

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice

• 1 large lemon, zested

Directions

• Step 1

  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a bundt pan.

• Step 2

  Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color. Add eggs one at a time, alternating with flour, allowing each egg and portion of flour to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next. Stir lemon juice and zest into flour mixture until batter is just combined; pour into prepared pan.

• Step 3

  Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes.