Sugar Free Lemon Curd

It's winter..  It's cold... I'm grumpy...  It gets dark early...  BLEHHHHH!!  

I need something bright and sunny!  Something to remind me of warm summer days.  I need some LEMON CURD!!

It's the perfect addition to SO many things.  Dollop on top of my morning yogurt.  Spread it on whole grain toast or sugar free angle food cake.  Drizzle it over Sugar Free Cheesecake - or, my particular favorite..  get a spoon and find a quiet corner where the two of us can be alone...


Sugar Free Lemon Curd

Serves: 1 cup

½ cup Meyer lemon juice (Fresh squeezed are great, but bottled will work)
⅓ cup Splenda Granular
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
6 tbsp of butter cut in to cubes and kept cold

Whisk the lemon juice, sweetener, eggs and egg yolks together in a cold saucepan.

Turn the heat up to low and add the butter a little at a time, stirring continuously.

There are eggs in this mixture! Too much heat will give you lemony scrambled eggs.  This is all about heat control, so I move my pan on and off the heat for short periods - always whisking.

Once all the butter has melted, turn the heat up to medium-high.
Continue to whisk until it thickens. When it is done is should coat the back of a spoon and be about he consistency of the conditioner you use on your hair!!

Remove from heat and pour through a mesh strainer to remove any scrambled egg.

Store in the refrigerator.

Cook's Notes:

• The original recipe calls for ⅓ cup of sugar, please adjust your sweetener accordingly. That's 8 yellow Splenda packets or 2 Tbs + 2 tsp Truvia
• If you use regular lemons, you will want to add more sugar or sweetener. Meyer lemons have more natural sweetness. Bump the amount up to the equivalent of ½ cup.

Spanish Chickpea and Chorizo Soup

I wanted to make an authentic Spanish chickpea chorizo cocido (stew), but:

A. I can't find REAL Spanish ham (pata negra or a hunk of Serrano) on the bone. B. I didn't have any homemade chicken stock in my refrigerator. C. It's too late to soak my chickpeas overnight. D. I am not in sunny Spain and it just isn't the same.

However, with a few substitutions this version should be very good in its own right!

I am not going to call it a "dumbed down" version, just because it doesn't take all day to make - I actually think of it as "smartened up!" I used canned chickpeas, a box of chicken stock, and Serrano ham in the package. Luckily, my market has authentic Spanish chorizo. I made this soup/stew in less than an hour.

This is the perfect cold weather soup/stew. The heat from the chorizo opens your sinuses and this makes for a wonderful hearty winter meal.

Spanish Chickpea & Chorizo Soup

Serves 6

olive oil
6 oz. chorizo sausage, finely chopped
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 lb fresh spinach, washed and chopped (or whole leaf frozen spinach)
8 fresh tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped (or 24oz. can of plum tomatoes)
1 15oz can or jar of good-quality cooked chickpeas, drained
4 cups chicken stock
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2oz pata negra, Spanish Serrano ham (or prosciutto), finely chopped
extra virgin olive oil

For Garnish:
2 hard-boiled eggs

Put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into a large pot and add the chorizo. Allow to heat up and cook for a couple of minutes until the fat comes out of the chorizo, then add your onion, garlic and celery. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Stir it around and get some color happening. Add your spinach, tomatoes, chickpeas and chicken stock. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for around 40 minutes.

At this point you can remove about a third of the mixture and purée it in a food processor. Pour it back into the pot, give it a good stir and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove from the heat and stir in the pata negra or ham and 2 or 3 tablespoons of good Spanish extra virgin olive oil. Divide into bowls and grate some hard-boiled egg on top.

Cook's Notes: In Spain, many places grate a hard boiled egg on top of the cocido. Don't skip this garnish, it's almost like putting a dollop of ricotta on bolognese sauce, or sour cream on top of chili, or ranch dressing with hot wings. You get my drift?