Naughty and Nice

In the spirit of the season, we’re bringing you something naughty and something nice. Both are exceedingly delicious and easy to make.

Let’s start with the Naughty: Lemon Curd. This stuff in sooooooo good. I’ve been eating it with gluten-free “graham style crackers.” This recipe is adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray.

2 cups sugar

Juice from 6 lemons (at least 1 cup)

4 large eggs plus 4 large egg yolks, beaten

¼ cup lemon zest (from 3 lemons)

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1. Add sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, eggs and egg yolks to a medium saucepan. Whisk together.

2. Place saucepan over medium-low heat and add butter. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

3. Lower heat a tad. Let mixture simmer, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until the temperature reaches 160° on an instant-read thermometer.

4. Transfer to a bowl. Allow the lemon curd to cool to room temperature before refrigerating.

5. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

And now the Nice: Lemon Tofu. This dish isn’t that “nice”—it contains lemon curd, after all—but compared to the fried lemon chicken recipe that inspired it (also from Everyday with Rachael Ray), it’s super-healthy.

1 cup brown rice

2 tbsp olive oil

1 package extra-firm tofu, drained, patted dry and cubed

2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded and sliced

Green beans (lots of ‘em)

1 cup lemon curd

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1. Cook brown rice.

2. Combine lemon curd and rice vinegar in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine. Set aside.

3. In a large skillet or wok (we use our electric wok), heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add peppers and sauté until tender.

4. Remove peppers from wok and set aside.

5. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to wok and add tofu. Cook, stirring until tofu begins to brown.

6. Meanwhile, steam green beans until they become bright green (2-3 minutes).

7. Add green beans and peppers to the tofu. Stir.

8. Lower heat and add brown rice and lemon sauce. Stir until well-mixed.

9. Serve immediately.