Many of you already realize that I almost always put my posts up at the same time every morning.  The exact time being 10:27 AM… just in case you did not know.

Not today.

Although I have about a weeks worth of recipes backed up and ready to post, today I want to share with you something more personal. A little family history.

My mother’s maiden name is Lorts. My grandfather, Andrew Lorts, founded Lorts Manufacturing in 1966 – right here in Phoenix, Arizona and produced large Early American-style pieces – including dining tables, occasional tables, bars, and roll-top desks.

The very lovely picture at the top of this post is of my family in front of the Lorts bar we had in my childhood home. I am 11 years old in this photo, so please think of your eleven-year-old self and do not judge!

In this next picture, I am a much cuter 5 year old, on a family camping trip. Pictured with me are my older brother, Dennis, and my grandfather.  Peeking out behind me is my grandparent’s beloved dog, Thumper.

And behind all of us is one of the very first trucks used by Lorts Manufacturing. If you zoom in on the writing below the tarp, you might be able to make out “Black Canyon Freeway” which was where the original “factory” was located.  We always called it “The Factory” and I always adored going there! I loved the smell of the sawdust and the flat 2-inch thick tennis ball-sized wood pieces we were allowed to pick up and take home. My dad would drive out there to get “kindling” – scrap wood for our fireplace.

This is what the later day trucks (or trailers) looked like.

My grandparents had eight kids, my mom is the oldest. Following her are 3 more girls, then two boys, and finally 2 more girls.

Here they are with their birth order numbers: Uncle Harry (5), Aunt Patti (8), Aunt Dottie (2), Grandfather, Uncle Mike (6), Aunt Beverly (7), my mom – Mary Lou (1), Aunt Katie (4), and Aunt Madeline (3).

The youngest of the two boys, my Uncle Mike, succeeded as owner of the company. Then in 2005, his son, my cousin Ty, and his wife Michelle bought Lorts and still own and operate it to this day.  To say that the style of furniture has evolved with the times would be to say the least. Lorts now makes trendsetting, drop dead, gorgeous furniture and I’m proud to say I own at least a half dozen pieces.

My dad no longer has the bar, but still owns a dining table and chair set and one of the original large roll top desks  Although this photo of one is not his, but lifted from Google images – his is an even bigger mess than this one!

So what brought about all this talk of the Lorts side of my family?  Michelle, Ty’s beautiful wife, bought two places in my 3-week cooking series at Les Gourmettes for Ty as a Christmas gift this past year. The classes wrapped up last night and Ty posted about me and the classes on the Lorts Manufacturing blog yesterday.  That is so sweet and just made my heart sing. So, the very least I could to was to reciprocate and tell you all about Lorts!  Lorts has always been a major point of family pride and to know that this has been kept in our family for over 45 years, is really saying something!

So, thank you Ty and Michelle. Thank you Uncle Mike and Sylvia. And thank you to my beloved Grandfather, whom I adored and miss now and always.

Best Friends and Brothers – my Great-Uncle Harry Lorts and my Grandfather, Andrew Lorts, at my Aunt Bev’s wedding – maybe some 35 years ago.  I have no doubt that these two wonderful men are now playing gin rummy together in heaven.

xoxox

If you read yesterday’s post, then you probably could have guessed that today I would be making something with peaches. You are correct – I aim to please.  If you use purchased pizza dough, then this recipe certainly qualifies as “easy-breezy”.

Summer Peach Pizza

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 pound purchased or homemade pizza dough
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
1/2 package Boursin cheese, crumbled
4 peaches, pitted and thinly sliced
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon honey
2 or 3 slices prosciutto, each slice torn into 4 or 5 pieces
1/2 cup basil chiffonade

If you have a pizza stone, place it on the center rack in oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees or as high as your oven will go for 30 minutes while you prepared the pizza.

Pour balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan, bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the vinegar has reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 12 to 15 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 1/4-inch thick circle. Place on a pizza peel, that has been generously coated with corn meal. If you don’t have a pizza peel or a pizza stone, place on a rimless cookie sheet that has been lightly oiled with olive oil or Pam.

Lightly brush the crust with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Top with mozzarella, Boursin, peaches, and tomatoes.

Place the pizza on the preheated pizza stone. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until pizza crust is golden and the mozzarella cheese is melted.  Remove from oven with pizza peel and tuck the prosciutto pieces around the pizza, then drizzle with, remaining tablespoon olive oil, honey, and balsamic reduction. Sprinkle with basil, cut into slices, and serve.

Serves 2

On Saturday, Lorie and I went on a field trip to Queen Creek.  First stop was the Schnepf Farms Peach Festival where we did not “polish off plates of peach-topped pancakes”, but we did “trek through the orchards” to pick peaches.

I’d love to report that it was a lovely day at the farm, but truth be told, it was too damn hot to be lovely! And schlepping around a box of heavy peaches didn’t help either.

Even though we were hot and sweaty, we still enjoyed all that the farm has to offer, including the petting pens…

... and the vintage Merry-Go-Round.

I'm having a bit of a love affair with vintage scales at the moment... so when I spotted this beauty...

... if only I could just have one of them!

Our next stop was the Queen Creek Olive Mill, for lunch. They recently expanded the store/restaurant/tour rooms and it now includes inside dining seating. Thank goodness, I sorely needed a big dose of A/C.

After lunch, we drove down the road a short 3 miles to The Pork Shop.

Man, I love that place!

And, for the first time, I noticed their paper cutter - it's just like the one I found at the Alameda Point Antiques Faire.  For some reason, that just made me love mine, all the more!

See it there on the back counter?

Lorie bought a few pork chops and a package of brats. I also purchased brats, along with apple cinnamon breakfast sausage, chorizo, and jalapeno cream cheese summer sausage.  Is all this making you hungry? If not, maybe this will.

It's my Mother's Day breakfast that Dave made for me, and it includes peaches in the fruit salad and those yummy sausage patties from The Pork Shop to go with my poached egg. The sausage patties may look a little burnt, but honestly, they weren't! All topped off with a mango mimosa. Yes, it was delicious! Thanks, hubby! xoox

Happy Mother’s Day.

This year marks my first Mother’s Day not having at least one of my kids home with me.

I was actually expecting to feel all sad and sorry for myself, but that would be ridiculous! I have managed to raise two of the most amazing people on Earth.

I adore them and I know that they love me. So what’s to fret about?

If you have your kids with you today, be sure to appreciate that fact and if you don’t – it’s OK – sit back, relax, enjoy a kiwi mojito and know that you are blessed. xoxo

Kiwi Mint Mojito

2 peeled and coarsely chopped kiwifruit
2 teaspoons agave nectar
4 mint leaves
Ice
2 ounces (1/4 cup) light rum
Peeled and sliced kiwi, garnish

In a food processor puree together the kiwi and agave.

In cocktail shaker, muddle the mint leaves. Fill shaker half full with ice, then the add rum and kiwi puree. Shake vigorously and strain into an ice-filled glass.

Makes 1

Photos: The first of the three of us, all dressed up, is from our nephew, Tony’s, 2006 wedding in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he married the beautiful Amy.

In the second photo, taken in 2008, we are outside the Musee de l’Orangerie in Paris, where we had just viewed Monet’s Water Lilies in the round. One of the prettiest little museums in France.

The third photo of the three of us is in the Skydeck Ledge in the Willis Tower (the old Sears Tower) in Chicago. We were there for the wedding of our niece, Katie to the very handsome Eddie back in 2010. (Dave happily snapped this photo, since he would not have been caught dead on the ledge – he has a touch of acrophobia…a little fear of heights issue there).

To round out my Kiwi Wi-kend… here are some more fun Kiwi Images from Pinterest that I found for you to enjoy.

I mentioned the other day that I’m in the middle of my three-week cooking series at Les Gourmettes. The first week was a Mother’s Day brunch menu and I needed kiwifruit for a fruit salad. Yes, I said “kiwifruit”, not just “kiwi”.  That is because kiwi is a bird and kiwifruit is … well, it’s a fruit!

Kiwifruit grows on vines and is named after the flightless kiwi bird, native to New Zealand, with hair-like brown feathers. They lay greenish-white eggs. Kiwi fruits are native to China, where they were originally called “macaque peach”.

Nutrition-wise, kiwifruits contain about as much potassium as bananas, are packed with more vitamin C than an equivalent amount of orange, and are also rich in Vitamins A and E. Plus the black seeds can be crushed to produce kiwi fruit oil, which is very rich in important Omega-3 essential fatty acid.

Since this is a cooking blog and not a blog about birds, it is safe to say that when you see “kiwi” in a recipe here, you can be 100% certain I’m talking about the fruit and not the bird.

So anyhow… back to the kiwi I needed for my class.  I went to the grocery store and the price of kiwi was 2 for $1. I needed 10 kiwi and I wasn’t about to pay $5 for them. I remembered that I’d seen kiwi at Costco. Sure enough, there was a big carton for $5.59. When I say a big carton, I mean 30 kiwi!  That’s more then I needed, of course, but that’s not the point.  The point is, I wasn’t going to pay 50 cents each at one store when I could just as easily pay 19 cents each elsewhere.

Um, yeah, so now I have 20 kiwi sitting here that I have to try and find something to do with. So, it’s gonna be a kiwi weekend.

First up, how about a lesson in how to properly and easily peel a kiwi?

First thing to do is to cut off both ends of the kiwi.  Insert a spoon between the skin and the flesh.

Grasp the fruit firmly in your hand and begin to turn the spoon one direction and the fruit in the opposite direction.

Continue all the way around the fruit.

Push the flesh from the peel.

That’s all there is to it! Now you are ready to slice the kiwifruit and make a tasty little crostini, or krostini in this case.

This recipe uses 4 kiwi. So, four down, only 16 to go!

Kiwi Krostini

1 baguette, sliced on a diagonal into 1/3-inch thick slices
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounce container ciliegine (cherry size) fresh mozzarella balls, sliced
3 ounces thin sliced prosciutto, each slice cut into four pieces
4 ripe kiwifruit, peeled and sliced
1 to 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Sea salt

Preheat broiler.  Place the baguette slices onto a baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Broil until baguette slices are lightly brown. Remove from oven and top with mozzarella. Return to oven and broil just until the cheese is beginning to melt.

Remove from oven and top with prosciutto and kiwi slices. Drizzle lightly with balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle each with a tiny pinch of sea salt. Take outside, weather permitting, and enjoy in the lovely fresh air.

Makes about 24 crostini

Remember how we had a New Year’s Day Brunch and I set up that awesome Bloody Mary bar?  Yeah, that was all well and good back in January, but now, in May – not so good!

Summer cooking classes are only about two weeks away and my refrigerator is so full that I’ll never have enough room for all the shopping and fridge-filling that occurs during the summer! One entire shelf of my sub-zero is just jars… jars of pickled olives, carrots, green asparagus, white asparagus, carrots, onions, garlic, green tomatoes, shallots, peppers, and on and on and on!

I need that shelf and I need it quick! I know, I’ll make a “Pickled Vegetable Salad”.  Now my fridge will be cleared out and my recycle can will be full.  Joy!

As usual, do as I say in the recipe, not as I do. I had the mozzarella cheese on the counter and somehow still forgot to put it on the salad. After dinner, as we were cleaning up the kitchen and putting stuff back into the fridge, Dave asked, “What was the mozzarella for?”  Oops!!!  It would have been really good on the salad – oh well.

“Refrigerator Clean-out” Pickled and Fresh Salad

Pickled vegetables; such as pepperoncini, asparagus, carrots, etc.
2 tablespoons of pickling liquid from one of the jars of pickled vegetables
2 teaspoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh thyme and oregano leaves, divided
1 head butter (Bibb) lettuce, washed and spun dry
1/2 cup cherry tomato halves
1 cup cubed mozzarella

Slicing on a diagonal and into bite-size pieces, chop enough of the pickled vegetables to make 2 cups. Place on paper towels to drain while you make the dressing.

In a small bowl, whisk together the 2 tablespoons of pickling liquid (I used the liquid from the pepperoncini – YUM!), mustard, Italian seasoning, garlic, and sugar. Slowly add the oil, while whisking until well blended.  Season with pepper.

In a medium bowl, toss together the pickled vegetables, 1/4 cup of the fresh herbs, and half of the dressing.

Arrange the lettuce on a serving platter and drizzle with the remaining half of the dressing. Mound the pickled vegetable mixture on top of the lettuce and sprinkle with the tomato halves, mozzarella, and the remaining 1/4 cup of fresh herbs. Toss and serve.

Serves 4

I had planned to put up a recipe today. I have it all typed and entered, I’ve purchased the necessary ingredients, I was ready to roll… until I just decided I didn’t want to make it. Not. Today.

The deal is, I’m in the middle of my three-week Wednesday night series of classes at Les Gourmettes and after prepping all morning and afternoon yesterday and then teaching last night, I just don’t have it in me to make the dish I planned to make today. It’s as if the little bratty girl inside me said, “No, I don’t want to do it and you can NOT make me!!!”

Alright, you spoiled 3 year old, don’t cook today!  Instead I’m gonna show you what I did with that lead glass window I purchased last month at Sweet Salvage. When I first posted about it, I said, “And I seriously have no idea why I had to have this 5-foot tall lead glass window or what the heck I’m going to do with it! Any ideas from you creative people out there?!?”  Not one of you came to my rescue with an ounce of help, so I had to go it on my own.  For the last 3 weeks, it has stood in a corner beneath my staircase. I’d pass it every day, asking myself, “Why did you buy that huge heavy thing and what the heck were you thinking?” 

Then one day, out of the blue, I had an inspired moment.  There is this high ledge, above a closet, next to our front door.  It has held the same sorry and sad items since we moved into this house 13 years ago.  That is a long time to leave something the same… 13 years! I wish I could show you a “before” picture, but I can’t find one and I wasn’t bright enough to snap a photo before I took all the junk that was up there, down.  But trust me, it was a bunch of southwestern pots brought over from our previous house, which was territorial style, along with a big manzinata branch. It all looked old and tired.

And here is what it looks like now. So much better and brighter.

The window is quite fragile… notice the right side of the photo above. The bottom edge of the window is curled, bent, and breaking. So getting the weight off the bottom side was imperative in keeping it in one piece.

I’m pleased with how it turned out and now I can even say that I’m happy I bought it!

When I conjure up red and green, I automatically think “Christmas!” But snowmen, sleigh bells, and Santa are the last things you’ll think of when you see and then taste this refreshing summer salad.

Watermelon Summer Salad

2 cups seedless watermelon cubes
2 thin slices red onion, cut into bite-size pieces
4 pitted Kalamata olives, sliced
Juice of 1/2 lime
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 large mint leaves, stacked, rolled, and then thinly sliced
3 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine the watermelon cubes, red onion, olives, lime juice, and olive oil in a medium bowl.  Add the mint and feta and toss to combine.

Season with freshly ground black pepper and serve immediately.

Serves 1

These cute little crispy prosciutto cups make for an impressive and compact breakfast presentation.

Underneath the egg, you can place any filling you would like, or none at all. I’ve given you several examples of things you might like to add to your cups; such as roasted veggies, pesto, salsa, purchased or homemade giardinera, or simple tomato slices.

You’ll need two muffin tins of the exact same size. The reason you need two tins is so that one can sit directly on top of the other once it is lined with the prosciutto. Doing so, prevents the prosciutto from curling up and shrinking while it is baking in the oven.

The cup in the photo above was done correctly, the cups in the photo below were not. See the difference?  Since the curled up prosciutto cups were too small to hold an egg, I piled one scrambled egg into two cups that I had lined with tomato slices.

This recipe makes six, but can easily be doubled if you have a crowd to feed and happen to have two matching 12-cup muffin tins.

Baked Eggs In Crispy Prosciutto Cups

12 slices prosciutto
6 small or medium eggs
Freshly ground black pepper

Filling of your choice; such as minced roasted vegetables, gremolata, pesto, chutney, salsa, giardiniera, or ripe sliced tomatoes

1/2 cup extra-sharp shredded cheese
Snipped chives for garnish, if desired

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line 6 standard-size muffin cups with 2 slices of prosciutto each, completely covering the surface of each cup.  Place another muffin tin directly on top of the filled muffin tin and press down. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes.

Removes pan from oven and remove the top muffin tin. Place a teaspoon or two of the desired filling, or 1 tomato slice, in the bottom of each prosciutto cup.  Then crack one raw egg into each. Season liberally with pepper.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until the white of the eggs are just barely firm. Sprinkle each with a heaping tablespoon of cheddar cheese and return to the oven for 2 minutes.

Let the eggs rest for a 1 minute and then run a paring knife around the outside of each cup to loosen and gently lift out each out with a spoon and transfer to serving plates.

Garnish with snipped chives, if desired.

Makes 6

After our luxurious and relaxing day at the Willow Spring Spa at the Scottsdale Princess Resort on Friday, the very first thing I wanted to do when I got back home was to make a huge pitcher of spa water. You know what I’m talking about – the glorious fruit and herb infused waters they always have available to you at a luxury spa.

My absolute favorite flavor is one that I call “Summer’s Splendor”.  To make it -  find as huge a pitcher or dispenser as will fit in your refrigerator. Throw in several handfuls of fresh basil leaves, peel and then thinly slice one English cucumber and add it to the basil. Then take 1 or 2 lemons, wash really well, thinly slice, and add to the mix. Fill the picture with cold water and refrigerate.

I like to make this just before I go to bed and then enjoy it for the next day or two. Be sure to give it a good 12 to 18 hours to macerate and let the flavors blend.

Below you’ll find another 12 flavor blends to give you a nice baker’s dozen.

So, put on some soothing music, enjoy your refreshing spa water, and pretend you’re being pampered as you go about your day…cleaning house, catching up on emails, running errands, whatever it is – this simple indulgence will make it better!  As L’Oréal’s famous long running advertising slogan says, “Because I’m worth it.”

1. Slices of ripe peaches and one split vanilla bean*.
2. Fresh sprigs of rosemary and mint with thin lemon, lime, and cucumber slices.
3. Blackberries or strawberries, fresh sprigs of lavender, and lime slices.
4. Slices of oranges, limes, grapefruit and lemons with a large bunch of seedless red grapes that have been sliced in half.
5. Sliced fresh pineapple, two or three slices of fresh ginger, and a handful of mint sprigs.
6. Orange slices and one split vanilla bean*.
7. Peeled kiwi slices, lime slices, and mint.
8. Fresh strawberries – sliced in half (leave the calyx on – that’s the green leafy part) and a handful of fresh basil.
9. Thin lime slices, a handful of blackberries, and mint sprigs.
10. Slices of fresh pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, and lime.
11. Sliced strawberries, lemons, and mint.
12. Thinly sliced orange, and slices of fresh ginger and stalks of lemongrass that have both been slightly smashed.

*The vanilla bean may be used over and over again.

I made this a week ago Sunday and, as with most Sundays, we had my dad over for dinner. Dave and Dad devoured this thing. They loved it so much that they each had not only seconds, but thirds!

If you are lucky enough to have leftovers and want to brown bag it the next day – here is what you do: Pack the greens and the feta together in one container or zip-lock. Pack the mushroom-asparagus-rice mixture in a micro-wave safe container. Nuke the mushroom mixture to just warm it through. Place your greens and feta on a plate and top it with warm stuff. Yum… makes me wish I would have leftover of my own last Monday. :-(

The “bonus pics” in the title refers to some iPhone pictures of a few of the beyond delicious courses we had at Binkley’s last night. How I love that place! You’ll find them below the recipe.

How about this cool photo? Actually it was a totally blurry and messed up picture I took. But then I Photoshopped it with an effects feature called “fresco”.  Now it looks totally awesome!

Warm Mushroom, Roasted Asparagus, and Wild Rice Salad with Feta

1/2 cup wild rice, rinsed
1  1/4 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 onion, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
8 ounces mushrooms; cleaned, trimmed, and sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and then cut into 2-inch pieces
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
4 cups mixed baby salad greens
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

In a medium saucepan, bring the wild rice and broth to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer covered, until the rice is tender, about 50 minutes.

When there is about 30 minutes left of the rice cooking time, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.  Add the onion and sauté until tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook until the onions just begin caramelize, about 12 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms release their liquid, it evaporates and the mushrooms are lightly caramelized, about 10 to 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. On the foil, toss the asparagus with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Spread the asparagus out in a single layer and roast in a preheated oven until tender, about 10 to 12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the spears.

In a large bowl mix together the wild rice, mushrooms, asparagus, dill and balsamic vinaigrette.

Serve the warm mixture on a bed of cold salad greens, topped with the crumbled feta.

Serves 6 to 8

Buffalo Carpaccio

Smoked Oyster Chowder

Prosciutto Wrapped Frogs Legs

Seared Scallop “Pot au Feu”

Hawaiian Monchong

Duck Breast

Leg of Veal

When you are at Binkley’s to celebrate a special occasion, they always print it on your menu, then tie it up with a pretty bow and present it to you at the end of your perfect evening. Pure taste and class in every well thought out detail.

This sandwich was originally going to be made with brie cheese, because I know better than anyone just how much Marissa loves brie. But hey, since Marissa is not here to eat the sandwich, I switched it up and made it with Swiss cheese. To turn it back into a brie sandwich, just take a wedge of brie, slice off the rind, cut off a few slices and let the the cheese come to room temperature before putting the whole thing together.

Oh, and I am having so darn much fun playing with the artistic effects on Photoshop, as you can see in my super cool photos – above and far below.

On a personal little side note: Happy 27th Anniversary to my very patient husband, David. I’m looking forward to our celebratory dinner at Binkley’s tonight. (no need  to worry, we’ve hired a driver because, trust me, there will be plenty of wine-parings involved)  xoxo

Turkey, Swiss, and Fig Sandwich

1 French demi baguette (find at Trader Joe’s)
2 slices Swiss cheese, each sliced in half diagonally
4 dried figs, stemmed and thinly sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 or 4 slices deli turkey breast
Arugula leaves

Preheat broiler to high.

Slice the demi baguette in half lengthwise. Place bread, cut side up, on baking sheet. Toast under broiler until bread is golden, about 1 minute, watch carefully.

Place the figs in a bowl and toss with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, season with salt and pepper.

Layer the bottom half of the baguette with the Swiss, then the turkey, arugula, and seasoned figs. Drizzle whatever liquid is left in the bowl from the figs over the top half of the bread.

Place top half of the baguette on top and press together.

Makes 1 sandwich

We are taking a one day break from our “Take Your Lunch to Work Week” so that I can put up a recipe I made last night for the first night of my 3 week cooking class series at Les Gourmettes.  I want my students to have all four of the links to the homemade versions of several components of this beautiful salad, at their fingertips, and not have to search for them.

The salad includes lemon curd, vanilla extract, limoncello, and granola – all items that can be store-bought or made from scratch. Mind you, while the vanilla extract and limoncello are easy to make, both take time to ferment, so if you’re craving this salad and want to have it NOW, buy those two items for the time being. But also get them going so the next time you just HAVE to have it, you’ll be armed and ready.

Finally, remember that any one of the four would make the perfect gift. Any lucky recipients would love you for life if you handed them a bottle or jar of homemade lemon curd, vanilla extract, limoncello, or granola. At least I know that I would!

Limoncello Fruit Salad

3/4 cup Greek honey-flavored yogurt (I prefer the Greek Gods brand)
1/2 cup purchased or homemade lemon curd
1/4 teaspoon purchased or homemade vanilla extract
4 cups sliced strawberries
2 cups raspberries
2 cups blueberries
1 cup blackberries
5 kiwi, peeled and diced
1/3 cup purchased or homemade limoncello liqueur
2 bananas, sliced
1/2 cup purchased or homemade granola
8 fresh mint sprigs

In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, lemon curd, and vanilla extract and set aside at room temperature.

In a large bowl, carefully toss together the strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, kiwi, and limoncello. Allow mixture to stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes for the fruit macerate.

Gently fold the banana into the berry mixture.

To serve; divided fruit salad between 8 small bowls, place a dollop of the lemon curd-yogurt on top, sprinkle with a tablespoon of the granola, and top each with a mint sprig.

Serves 8