Gidget's gluten free lemon bars

Love is in the air at Gidget's Garden. Farmer D and I have been basking in joyous news and Valentine's Day seems like a perfect time to share with our readers; we're going to have a baby on or around August 31st! We're not going to find out the sex beforehand but we hope it will be a farmer.

I had a very strong craving for lemon bars today so I attempted to make a gluten free version because I do not digest gluten but desperately wanted some lemon bars. They turned out pretty good. They aren't healthy but I did use primarily organic ingredients and rarely indulge in this kind of food so I let go of concerns and enjoyed.

The finished product, they aren't gorgeous but they are tasty!

INGREDIENTS:

Crust:

1 1/4 Cup Pamela's baking mix

1/2 Cup Sorghum flour

1/4 Cup Coconut flour

1 Cup butter, softened

1/2 Cup confectioner's sugar 

The mix of flours I used

Filling:

4 eggs

1 1/4 Cup sugar

1/3 Cup fresh lemon juice

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest

1 Tablespoon coconut oil to grease pan

I used our pink lemonade lemons - yum!

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease 13 x 9 inch pan with coconut oil

2. In medium bowl, use pastry blender or two knives to combine butter, confectioners’ sugar and flours until it takes on a gravely consistency, with small pea-sized lumps of butter coated in flour. Pat mixture into baking pan, making sure the crust is as evenly leveled as possible, and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven.

This is what my mixture looked like before pressing into the pan

3. While the crust is baking, beat eggs in a medium bowl. Add sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and lemon zest and stir until well mixed. Pour egg mixture over baked crust. Return pan to oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until set.

   

This is after everything was baked. 

4. Use a sifter to sprinkle additional confectioner's sugar over the top.

Parchment paper may have worked better but I didn't have any. It is a little tough to get the bars out of the pan but not impossible with patience and a rigid spatula. They should be cool before slicing. They taste awesome and they definitely satisfied my craving. This made lots of lemon bars so I will share some and freeze some.

Gidget says, "These are not my lemon bars. Mine would have tuna."

Another cool crop planting before the warm season hits

I was up early this morning and in the garden as soon as it was light enough to see. I started by checking out the bed that I planted with new broccoli and cauliflower plants yesterday. 

Bed with baby cauliflower and broccoli as well as some marigolds and onions to help keep bugs away.

I am putting in one more cycle of cool season crops before we go for the warm season things like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and beans. After spending some time in the back garden and on the roof, I headed out to get some new plants put in the front. The sun in the big raised bed is back now so we should have more success with the new plants than we did with the last.
 

The green arrow peas in front are really taking off.

This was the area I wanted to plant after removing the old plants and adding some worm castings to the soil.

The rest of the bed is well on its way.

I added more broccoli and cauliflower here too. 

The big bed in front is starting to look like a real vegetable garden again.

The Passionflowers are starting to welcome spring by sharing their gorgeous flowers.

Gidget asks, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Photo of the week

Blooms on a Kalanchoe delagoensis plant. 

Market harvest

It was a beautiful day in San Diego. Farmer D had the day off so we worked together to get some plants replaced in our EarthBoxes and some work done in the garden. 

New tomatoes in EarthBox, we also planted lots more broccoli and some cauliflower

Gidget enjoyed listening to music while she supervised our work.

We won't have any strawberries at the market this week but possibly next week.

The Swiss Chard is looking incredible again and we should have several bunches.

We'll have a little bit of Bok Choy.

We have a few pink lemonade lemons.

We'll have quite a few avocados.

Last but not least we'll have some broccoli flowers which may sound weird but they make a pretty and tasty garnish. 

Springtime seedlings

"Be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits."

While Gidget hunted for rabbits, I planted some of the pea seedlings that we started a few weeks ago. In this area of San Diego there is probably still time to start more cool season crops such as peas, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and if you have some partially shady areas in your garden then lettuces and greens should do well.

A mix of cool season plants that we started from seeds a few weeks ago. 

We set this little greenhouse up on the roof several months back and it seems to be working well. I have the pots in trays and water them from underneath by putting about 1/2 inch of water in the tray every couple days or as needed. 

I also have peppers and tomatoes germinating now and will start more of those, some cucumbers and some tomatillos today.  

A few tomatoes popping up. The peppers take a little longer.

The tomato varieties we have going are Three sisters, Yellow pear cherry and Double rich. We should have some seedlings to sell at the market when they're ready.

The peas seeds we started a few weeks ago are ready to plant now so I put some in a large pot on the roof. This pot holds 2 cubit feet of soil, as much soil as an EarthBox which can grow 12 pea plants, but I think the surface area of this pot is a little smaller than the EarthBox so I planted 10 plants.

I placed a trellis across the center of the pot.

Then I planted 5 plants on each side of the trellis. 

"Dear God, please bless the rabbits in the neighborhood and help them find these delicious peas on our roof."

Then and now

Patience really is a trait I have had to learn in order to be a happy gardener but with that said, it is also amazing how quickly things take off and then change again. I'm sorting through pictures and thought I would show some snapshots of how things looked during different times throughout the past 2 years.
 

Banana Tree May 30, 2011

Banana Tree February 7, 2012

Front Garden, lemon tree on the side, April 4, 2010

Front garden, lemon tree, February 7, 2012

Front Garden June 15, 2010

Front garden September 29, 2011

Front garden September 29, 2011

Front Garden February 7, 2012

 

Ficus tree May 12, 2010

Ficus tree February 7, 2012

Back fence March 4, 2011

Black eyed Susan vine June 3, 2011

Black eyed Susan vine February 7, 2012

Passion Fruit June 3, 2011

Passion fruit and black eyed Susan vine on back fence February 7, 2012

Passion fruit (left corner) on front fence June 15, 2011 

Passion fruit on front fence February 7, 2012

Gidget looking at me like I'm stupid June 19, 2011

Gidget looking at me like I'm stupid January 13, 2012

Pink jasmine May 4, 2010

Pink jasmine June 25, 2011 (There are now 2 plants)

Pink jasmine February 7, 2012 (now with 3 plants)

 

Roses May 23, 2011

Roses after pruning January 9, 2012

Lemon Rose geranium April 16, 2010

Lemon Rose geranium December 1, 2011

So if you're thinking about starting a garden this year, you may need practice in patience, but at the same time you may also find that you are amazed by how quickly things grow and change!