Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And everything you do,
Yeah they were all yellow …

- Coldplay

While I was in Italy, the incredible Barbara of winosandfoodies.com announced the details of the 2009 LiveSTRONG With a Taste of Yellow event. This is an event that Barbara created as a way of supporting Lance Armstrong’s LIVESTRONG Foundation. This year, LIVESTRONG DAY is on October 2nd.

Every year, when Barbara announces the details of her event, I am reminded of the importance of being united. With the simplest of gestures, by cooking or baking something yellow, we can all stand together in the fight against cancer.

It’s a powerful thing that Barbara does.

I’m honoured that I can take part.

For this year’s contribution to Barbara’s event, I’m submitting these little cakes that I actually made awhile ago using an ingredient that I tried for the very first time: Meyer lemons.

As you can imagine, Meyer lemons are difficult to source in Toronto. But one day, quite by surprise, I found some beautiful ones at my local grocery store so I loaded up on them.

Before I baked with them, I decided to taste them and was surprosed by their taste. I found the lemons to be a bit sweeter than regular lemons with less sourness. They seemed less acidic as well.

Happy with my purchase, I couldn’t wait to bake with them. I chose to try the Meyer Lemon Cake recipe from Chez Panisse Cooking by Paul Bertolli. Instead of making a 9-inch cake, I used a mini-bundt pan and made ten baby cakes.

The cakes were so pretty and the lemon flavour was very subtle. I glazed them and added a bit of lemon zest and some sweetened whipped cream when I served them.

If you have a moment on October 2nd, 2009, take some time to celebrate LIVESTRONG DAY and Barbara, for her incredible accomplishments.

Ciao!

Here are some Meyer lemon recipes that you might enjoy:

The Best Damn Meyer Lemon Cake
Meyer Lemon Cake with Lavender Cream
Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake

While I wish I had time to participate in more food blogging events, the fact is that it’s just not possible.

However, there are a few events that I refuse to miss and one of them is Barbara’s A Taste of Yellow event.

In support of LiveSTRONG Day, this event brings foodbloggers around the world together in a show of solidarity and unity in the battle against cancer.

In 2007, Barbara had 149 bloggers take part in the event and we’re all hoping that even more will take part this year.

I lost my father to cancer in 2001. Both of my maternal grandparents passed away because of cancer. And I can’t even count the number of friends and extended family members who have lost loved ones to this disease.

But for every loss, I know that there is a victory. Every day around the world there are people living with and beating cancer. And every day, everywhere in the world, people are making it their life’s work to find a cure.

A Taste of Yellow is about standing behind cancer survivors, those who have lost loved ones to cancer and those who battle cancer every day and saying, “We’re with you!”

I cannot thank Barbara enough for creating and hosting this event. She is an example to us all.

Live Strong! Every day!

Ciao!

A Taste of Yellow is hosted by Barbara of winosandfoodies. The event ends on April 19th. Please check out the details and participate!

The cake pictured above is a Lemon-Lime Coconut and Macadamia Nut Cake based on a recipe from Bill Granger’s cookbook, Bill’s Open Kitchen.

When making this cake, be sure to grease the pan very well. It has a tendency to stick. Also, be sure not to overbake it as that can cause the cake to stick to the pan as well and to have a rather hard crust.

Ingredients:

1 cup macadamia nuts
1/3 cup self-raising flour
a pinch of salt
6 egg, separated
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. finely grated lime zest
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup, sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup icing sugar
1 tsp. lime juice
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. each of grated lime and lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a 9-inch round or square pan. Set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the macadamia nuts, the flour and the salt. Process briefly until the nuts are finely chopped and you have a fine, crumbly mixture. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg yolks and the sugar. Beat on high speed for two minutes. The mixture should be thick and light-coloured.

Add the extract and the lemon and lime zest and mix for 30 seconds.

Add the coconut and the nut mixture and mix on low speed until just combined.

In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the egg and nut mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 30 minutes. Check with a cake tester to see if the cake is done. If it’s not, bake for another 5 minutes and check again. The cake should not take more than 40 minutes.

Remove the cake to a wire rack and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes. With a thin-bladed knife or spatula, loosen the cake from the sides of the pan and carefully invert onto the rack to cool completely.

Once cool, make the icing. To make the icing, combine the icing sugar, lime and lemon juice and lime and lemon zest in a bowl. If it’s too thick, add a tiny bit of hot water to loosen the mixture. Pour the icing over the cooled cake. For decoration, you can tint the icing with food colouring.

The cake will keep for several days at room temperature in a covered container or well-wrapped.

Enjoy!

Technorati tags: a taste of yellow, Live strong day, cake

I heart yellow.

Yellow is the sun. Yellow is bright and warm and always makes me happy when I see it.

Yellow is a friendly smile and blooming flowers. Yellow is everywhere a loved one is.

Yellow is courage. Yellow is Barbara of winosandfoodies.com and The Taste of Yellow event to celebrate LiveStrong Day.

Yellow is strong. Yellow is fearless.

Yellow is a hug. Yellow is a night out with friends.

Yellow is laughing until you cry. Yellow is the funny story everyone begs you to tell.

Yellow is the book you’ve read a thousand times. Yellow is the movie that makes you cry. Yellow is the funny pair of socks that you’ll never part with.

Yellow is intelligence. Yellow is compassion. Yellow is lending a helping hand.

Yellow is the picture of the one you love. Yellow is the song that you love. Yellow is music.

Yellow is bravery. Yellow is staring down the bad guy.

Yellow is the cure for cancer.

Yellow is my father.

I heart yellow.

Ciao!

Lemony Lemon Bars with Raspberry Coulis

Adapted from Afternoon Delights by James McNair and Andrew Moore.

Note:  These bars are a bit unusual in that they are creamier than your average lemon bar. I’ve added a bit of cream to the bar to give it a creamier texture. These bars can be a bit difficult to cut but I find that refrigerating them before slicing and using a hot knife helps a lot. The recipe will yield anywhere from 24 to 30 bars, depending on how small you cut them.

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 large eggs
• 2-3/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tsp. grated lemon zest

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a 9 x 13-inch pan.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat at medium high speed until the mixture is creamy and combined. Add the salt and mix to combine.
3. Add one cup of the flour and mix on low speed until combined. Add the second cup of flour and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined.
4. Put the dough into the buttered pan and with your hands, spread it out into an even and flat layer.
5. Bake the crust for about 20 minutes. It should be nicely golden.
6. Remove the crust from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
7. In a large bowl, mix th eeggs, sugar, flour and salt. Whisk until the mixture is combined.
8. Add the lemon juice, the heavy cream and the lemon zest and stir to combine.
9. Pour the lemon mixture onto the baked crust and put the pan back in the oven.
10. Bake the bars until the lemon filling is golden on top and doesn’t jiggle in the middle (about 30 minutes).
11. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
12. Once cool, you can either cut into bars and serve or refrigerate for up to 2 days. I recommend refrigerating before you cut into bars.
13. Using a small cookie cutter or even a small spoon, cut out or scoop out a bit of the centre of each bar.
14. Fill the indentation with a bit of raspberry coulis (recipe follows). Dust with icing sugar if you like and then serve immediately.
15. Enjoy!

Raspberry Coulis

Note:  You can make this as thick or thin as you like. I like a medium consistency. I also don’t like it to be too sweet, but feel free to add more sugar if you like. This will yield about 2 cups of raspberry coulis. The coulis will keep in the refrigerator for a week.

• 2 to 2-1/2 cups frozen raspberries (you can also use fresh)
• 1/2 to 1 cup hot water
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup sugar

1. Combine all the ingredients, except the water, in a food processor.
2. Process for about a minute, or until the raspberries have been processed and the mixture is combined. Add 1/2 cup of hot water and process until smooth.
3. Taste the coulis and adjust for sweetness. If you want a thinner coulis, then add more hot water and process again.
4. Once the coulis is to your liking, strain through a fine mesh sieve.
5. Pour the strained coulis into a bowl and keep refrigerated when you’re not using it.
6. Enjoy!

Technorati tags:livestrong, livestrong day, a taste of yellow, winosandfoodies, lemon, lemon bars