Lemon Love

Well, hello again. Welcome to my first post in 2018 and the first in about two years. A lot has happened since I stopped blogging. To keep it very brief, my husband and I are empty nesters, we moved from Illinois to Arizona, and we both have new jobs.

This time around, I am going to back to my original intention of sharing my cooking experiences and recipes that I have either developed, tweaked, or have found from other sources, all in an effort to inspire you to get cooking. I am going back to my roots on the no-frills Blogspot forum. There are no fancy buttons for printing, no recipe card format, or pinning to Pinterest. I will have to figure out how to add those on my own and in time.

I will try to keep my posts short, as I have discovered that many people who look at food blogs just scroll down to the recipe.

My blog is called "My Inspired Table" because my cooking is inspired by many things. I title my posts using an ingredient in the recipe or what inspired me, not by the name of the recipe. I think of my posts as little journal entries.

Today's recipe was inspired by a neighbor's beautiful lemon tree. It is abundant, overflowing with lovely lemons. Every day I pass by it and hope that one falls just over their fence so I can snatch it up. If I had a lemon tree I would undoubtedly make as much limoncello and other goodies as one could make. By the looks of the number of lemons on their tree, it is as though the owner doesn't share my love for lemons.

About a block away from our house is this lovely lemon tree.

The tree is overflowing with gorgeous lemons!

Oh, please fall from your heavily loaded branches!

This cake is so easy to make. Literally, dump the ingredients together and mix well.

I love fresh lemon zest!

After you have mixed the dry and wet ingredients together, gently fold in the berries with the flour they are in.

I took this photo right after the cake was done.

After the cake cools, drizzle the glaze all over while the cake is still in the pan.

Black and Blue Lemon Cake

6 ounces blueberries
6 ounces blackberries
2 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour. Reserve 1/4 cup for the berries
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
Zest of 1/2 a lemon
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
3/4 cup milk
1 stick of butter, melted
2 eggs
2 teaspoons lemon extract

For Lemon Glaze:
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350° degrees. Butter a 9 x 9 baking pan (If using an 8 x 8 you will have to adjust the cooking time). In a bowl, gently toss the berries with flour. Set aside. In another bowl, combine the remaining flour, salt, baking powder, lemon zest, and sugar. Add the milk, eggs, lemon extract, and honey, combining well. Gently fold in the berries and their flour. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean after you insert it into the cake.

While the cake is cooling, prepare the glaze. Mix the lemon juice and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Mix until all of the powdered sugar has dissolved. Drizzle over cake.