GMAT Test Stress...Spring is Here!..Lemon Recipes

Wow! What a week! Ever had one of those weeks that just about does you in?
Thank goodness I don't have them often - I don't think I could handle it!
My daughter is graduating soon and has decided to pursue her Master's Degree in Business.

Sounds great right Well there's this little test you have to take called the GMAT and she is stressing about it - which means I'm stressing about it! If anyone has any advice about the GMAT please comment away! I would love to hear from you.

Who can stress with Spring in the air? Spring is here and Atlanta is looking great with all of the Bradford Pear Trees and Flowering Cherry Trees in full bloom and nice sunny weather. You would think that it would be really hard to stay stressed. Course my stress might have something to do with the 30 phone calls and I've lost count of how many text messages from my lovely daughter, but who knows?

When I stress, I like to cook which leads me to the lemon part of this post.
Spring is in the air and I always think of Lemon Recipes in the Spring.

Here are a few of my favorite Lemon Recipes:

Lemon Bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Grease with butter (or use a cooking spray) a 8 x 8 inch (20 x 20 cm) pan.

CRUST:
1/2 cup (1 stick) (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup (25 grams) confectioner's (powdered or icing) sugar
1 cup (140 grams) all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

FILLING:
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh lemon juice (approximately two large lemons)
1 tablespoons (5 grams) grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
2 tablespoons (25 grams) all purpose flour

TOPPING:
Confectioner's (powdered or icing) sugar
Lemon Zest - The yellow outer rind of the lemon that contains the fruit's flavor and perfume.
TIP: Always remove the zest first before halving and squeezing the lemon. Use a fine strainer to remove the seeds and pulp from the juice.

FOR CRUST: In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour and salt and beat until the dough just comes together. Press into the bottom of your greased pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool while you make the filling.

FOR FILLING: In your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the sugar and eggs until nice and smooth. Add the lemon juice and zest and stir to combine. Fold in the flour. Pour the filling over the shortbread crust and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the filling is set. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

To serve: Cut into squares or triangles and dust with powdered sugar
These are best eaten the day they are made but can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for a few days.
Yield: 16 - 2 inch (5 cm) squares or 32 triangles

Oprah's Lemon Drop Martini

Ingredients: Serves 2
Juice of 6 lemons
4 tablespoons sugar
6 fresh mint leaves
4 shots vodka
Ice in shaker
1 sugar-rimmed martini glass
Mix lemon juice, sugar and vodka in a martini shaker filled with ice. Shake well and pour into sugar-rimmed martini glass. Garnish with mint.

Update on the GMAT - just got another text and she is scheduled to take the GMAT 8AM Friday, so if anyone has taken it recently please comment away!

I've added lemons to my shopping list, I'm sure we will both appreciate a nice Lemon Drop Martini Friday after the test!