With Easter rapidly approaching, these cheerful yellow tarts are just the dessert to serve to friends and family. No coloring is involved, that’s the actual color from the fresh lemons and the butter and eggs! These are as springy as you can get.

One note, however, I used a crumb crust and while it was delicious, it was SO not worth the time spent pressing it into individual tart tins. I recommend using a good, regular pie crust recipe instead, which I unfortunately do not yet have . . . time to start experimenting! If you have a good pie crust recipe, please leave it in the comments or link to it.

Lemon Curd Tarts

Makes 1 doz.

Pie crust of your choice, I used this one

3 eggs

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into little pieces

3/4 c.  sugar

1/3 c. lemon juice

Over very low heat, combine the eggs, well beaten, sugar and lemon juice. Whisk continuously to keep it from burning.

When the mixture thickens to pudding consistency, remove from the heat. Stir in the butter.

Spoon into tart shells and let chill for 2-12 hours. You can serve with a little lemon zest on top, if you like.

Lentils are wonderful food for you, but in my house, no one likes to eat just plain lentils except me. Which means I have to come up with a lot of interesting ways to prepare them . . . including this very tasty lentil salad.

The lentils and sesame seeds add protein to the dish, while the tomatoes give you the veggie serving for the meal, along with the lettuce. Plus, it’s totally delicious! Serve as a side dish or as the main meal . . . just keep in mind that you’ll need to double the recipe to give four people a main course.

Lentil Tomato Salad

Serves 4

2 tomatoes, chopped
1 c. cooked lentils (I cooked mine with a teaspoon of chicken consomme for flavor)
1 Tblsp. sesame seeds
Juice of one lime (about 1 Tblsp.)
Lettuce
Salt

Toss the lentils and tomatoes together with the lime juice. Add salt to taste, if desired.

Serve atop a lettuce leaf and garnish with plenty of sesame seeds.

I’m rather obsessed with limes, I’m afraid. I have at least a dozen in my fridge at any given time and since it’s impossible to find lemons in Guatemala, I use limes in everything.

While on a mad baking spree the other evening, I decided to make cupcakes. But not just any cupcake would do, no, it had to be something special. So, of course, I thought of limes. What could be better than a lime cupcake? The blend of sweet and sour in a cake . . . perfect! I’ve turned lemon loaf into cupcakes before but I wanted these to be light and fluffy and, well, zingy. And they were.

We ate these suckers up without any icing, but I imagine a light lemon or lime glaze would only improve them. Or perhaps a little sprinkle of sugar on top. Mine were gone entirely too fast to think about garnishes, though, I was lucky to get this photo of the final three in the morning when the light was good again!

Orange-Lime Cupcakes

Makes 12

2 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) margarine
2 tsp. orange extract (if you can’t find it, use orange juice instead)
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
3 cups flour
1/2 c. lime or lemon juice
3/4 c. water

Preheat the oven to 350°. Put muffin cups in the tins.

Blend the sugar and margarine together and beat in the eggs and extract. Add the water and lime juice and mix well, then incorporate the dry ingredients.

Mix until smooth and fill muffin tins. Bake for 30 min. or until a toothpick stuck in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake!

Inspired by the flavors of Guatemala, this tasty appetizer or snack is perfect for serving to company. The lime gives it just a little tang, without being too overwhelming and the chicken is cooked to perfection with the aroma of herbs blending nicely with fresh parsley. Add all this together with the firm, creamy avocado and top a crunchy tostada and you’ve got a dish fit for a king! A Mayan one, at least.

This recipe actually requires two separate recipes. You can use any pre-cooked chicken breast, but you’ll get the best flavor if you use the recipe below.

Herbed Chicken Breast

1 lb. boneless chicken breast
1 tsp paprika
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tblsp. dried oregano (not powdered)
1/2 tsp. allspice
salt

Saute breast just long enough to seal in the juices, about 1 min. on each side. Add 2 c. water and the spices and herbs. Stir gently and cover.

Let steam for 20 min. or until cooked through, turning once.

Chicken Avocado Tostadas

Makes 10 small tostadas

10 tostadas (fried corn tortillas)
1 medium onion, minced
1 lb. chicken, cooked, cooled and cubed
1 red pepper, chopped
2 avocados, cubed
1.5 Tblsp. lime or lemon juice
1 Tblsp. fresh parsley, minced
1 c. shredded lettuce
1/2 c. queso fresco (Mexican cheese)

Toss all main ingredients together in a bowl until thoroughly coated with lime juice. Top tostadas with the mixture and serve.

If you’ve ever looked up a biscotti recipe, chances are you figured it was too much work. Let me tell you, for the prices that places like Starbucks charge for their biscotti, it’s worth making it at home!

As it turns out, it isn’t difficult or even that time consuming to make your own biscotti. I had an abundance of limes in my fridge, so I decided to go with lime biscotti, altering a basic recipe and turning it into something totally delicious. You could easily substitute lemon juice if you don’t have lime and it will still turn out fabulous. Our biscotti was gone the same day, but I would recommend storing it in an airtight container to keep it crisp if yours makes it through the night.

Lime Biscotti

makes approx. 18

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup white sugar

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 eggs

1 tablespoon baking powder

3 T. lime juice

1 tsp. lime zest

Preheat the oven to 350°.

In a bowl, beat all the wet ingredients until well mixed. Add in the remaining ingredients and mix well. At this point, you could add raisins, chocolate chips, dried currents or nuts, if desired.

The dough will be quite thick at this point, like sugar cookie dough. Divide it in half and roll into a log about the length of your cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with your hand, on the cookie sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Repeat with the other half.

Bake at 350° for about 25 min. Remove from the heat and cool on wire racks, careful not to break the cookies.

Once they are cool enough to touch, slice them diagonally. I found that a bread knife worked best. Lay the slices, cut side up, on the baking sheet and then put the tray back in the oven for 12 minutes, just to toast the biscotti. Let cool or serve hot with your favorite beverage. These ones go particularly well with tea.

Recently in the market here, I found figs. Not knowing what to look for, I purchased a bag and got home only to find that they were quite green. Unfortunately, it turns out that green figs don’t ripen once picked. The reason they are sold green here is because most Guatemalans make them into candied figs which are sold as “dulces tipicos” or local sweets.

Since I’ve had these many times before, I wanted to do something a bit different and decided to pair some ginger and lime with the figs. The result was these succulent, sweet figs with a touch of spice from the ginger. The lime isn’t actually noticeable, but does a lot to brighten the flavor of the figs. All in all, the recipe was a success . . . as evidenced by the distinct lack of candied figs in our house at the moment. Hubby, kids and in-laws ate them all in three days (over 100 figs) and my husband has since brought me another bag of green figs which is waiting in the fridge right now to be made into a second batch.

Green Figs in Ginger Syrup

100 green figs
1 inch ginger root
3 T. lime juice (lemon can be used, as well)
5 c. sugar
5 c. water

First of all, you’ll need to find the figs. They should still be green and firm to the touch, like these.

Cut off all the long tips. You’ll notice a sticky white sap coming out the top. This actually gives the figs a really bad taste, though it is used as a home remedy for some things. It can irritate the skin, so rinse it off if you get any on you.

Put the figs in a pot with enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 min.

Drain the water and refill the pot. Bring to a boil again and boil for another 10 min. This sounds rather tedious, but it means great tasting figs at the end of it all!

Finally, drain and let the figs cool. Then take each one and squeeze out the water. Careful not to do this while they are too hot or you will definitely burn yourself . . . the water inside is much hotter than the skin of the fig. I speak from experience on that one.

At this point, your figs will look pretty sad and pathetic, but not to worry, we’ll soon cheer them up!

In a large pot, mix the sugar and water and heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the squeezed figs and bring to a boil. Let them cook at a rolling boil for about an hour. You’ll see that they have really plumped up.

Add the ginger at this point. Lower the temperature and simmer for another 30 min. Then turn off the heat, stir in the lime juice and leave them to sit in the hot syrup. Once cool, you can serve them in the syrup . . .

or you can drain them and let them dry out a bit for a sweet candy treat.