Lemon and coconut bars~

Lemon coconut bars~

  Add this to your Easter menu, those lemon lovers will thank you!

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 3/4 cup cold butter, cubed
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Juice of 2 large lemons
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 cup coconut

1. Combine flour and icing sugar in a bowl. Add butter cubes and using a pastry blender cut in the butter until you have fine crumbs.
2. Press the mixture evenly into a greased 9" x 13" pan.
3. Bake at 350º for 15 minutes.
4. While the crust is baking, beat eggs, sugar, baking powder, lemon juice, and zest together until well combined and the mixture has turned a pale color. 
5. Pour mixture on the crust, sprinkle coconut over the top and return to the oven to bake another 25 minutes until golden.
6. Cool on cooling rack and cut into bars. Dust with icing sugar and serve.
7. From Mennonite Girls Can Cook (blog)

Today I am testing this luscious butter bean recipe from the English Kitchen's recipe which was pinched from someone else.  I figure if we put it out there, there it is, so use it. I am changing it up as well and making two large dishes of it, one for today and one for Easter's second meal.  I am also using soaked (dried) butter beans rather than the canned.  I am also using pepper bacon and Mr. T.'s bloody Mary mix.  Hey, this is turning out to be my recipe after all.

1 tbs. vegetable oil (I used the bacon fat)

cup of pancetta; also pepper bacon

one whole onion; plus packet of Lipton dry onion soup

1 tsp dry mustard; instead I used several squirts of the hot chili mustard from Stalin's market

2 tsp. tomato paste

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

 1 tbs. soft brown sugar (I used at least 3/4 cup)

several squirts honey (She used maple syrup, but I didn't have any of that.

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 can of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice, undrained (14 ounces) I used enough Mr. T's to cover the beans before putting in the oven

2 can butter beans (I used soaked dried beans so that made two large casseroles of baked beans.)

I added a lot of cooked pepper bacon and the pancetta.

Actually you cannot miss with a baked bean recipe--let yourselves go and add what you like.  Taste and refine, taste and refine.

My rendition about to go in the oven.  Family already swooning.