Lemon Curd and Blackberry Lemon Custard: One Base, Two Great Products

A few weeks ago, one of the bakeries at the farmers' market had an abundance of meringues, and he offered them at no cost with any purchase. I picked up a fresh loaf of cinnamon raisin bread, took advantage of the complementary meringues, and headed home.

However, I now had to figure out what to do with these meringues.

I decided I would try my hand at a berry tart with a meringue base rather than a pastry crust. For that, I would need lemon curd, a product I love but had never made before. True to her "back to basics" claim, this recipe (see link below) by Ina Garten was easy to complete and the lemon curd was delicious.

Have leftover curd? This ice cream recipe (see link below) from Family Circle is a cinch and absolutely delicious.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lemon-curd-recipe-1941910

http://www.familycircle.com/recipe/blackberry-lemon-custard-ice-cream/

Peach Melba Muffins

I love the bounty we receive in this area during the summer months. Fruits and vegetables are everywhere, but often it can become so overwhelming, especially those delicate items that have a very short shelf life.

In this regard, raspberries are the worst. I love raspberries, and I look forward to when their harvest begins, but if I can get 72 hours out of a pint of freshly picked raspberries, it's a red letter day. This morning, I woke up to find my pint from the farmers' market with little more than a couple of hours left, so I knew I needed to use them up. I decided to pair them with some ripe peaches I got over the weekend, and behold - this recipe was born.

I decided to fiddle around with an old banana bread recipe in the hopes that the muffins would be super moist. However, it's important to remember that if you do decided to use a stand mixer instead of a hand mixer for the wet ingredients, remove the bowl from the base and mix the dry ingredients and fruit by hand. This will prevent the batter from getting tough.

You need:

1 stick unsalted butter
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. sour cream
1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 small peach, peeled and cubed to the size of the raspberries

Preheat the oven to 350. Line your muffin tin with liners. Usually, I don't like to do this, because the paper waste bothers me, but the fruit is super sticky. Makes clean up and storage easier.

In the bowl of your mixer, beat together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and sour cream and beat until well combined. BY HAND, incorporate the dry ingredients until JUST combined. Add the fruit and mix carefully by hand.

Scoop evenly into muffin tins. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.