LEMON LOAF of JOY

Sometimes my kitchen counter looks like this : 
 

But sometimes my counter looks like this ........

Donning peaches and bacon .   oh my .   i'm still refining this experiment... do you have a favorite bacon dessert?

Also, this week,  my counter looked like this : 
 

i'm reading an everlasting meal and have doggy-eared almost every other page . I highly recommend it for anyone who wishes with all their might they were a chef, but is every so slowly finding their way through this learning curve called cooking . I am one of those folks, and this book is beyond inspiring .  

And then, today, my counter looked like this : 

That's a half eaten lemon rosemary loaf, and i can say with no shame that i would've eaten the entire thing by now but i'm saving it for dessert tonight .   ( p  a   t   i      e  n    c    e     ) .   

The first few bites i enjoyed with my friend morgan, who came over this morning for coffee & i shoved this lemon loaf in her face & demanded (politely) that she try it .   She was even sweet enough to snap a photo of it fresh out of the oven .

The beautiful thing about this lemon loaf of joy is it doubles as a lovely breakfast or dessert, which gives you all the more reason to bake it, savor it and share it .   Here's the recipe for your oven: 

 
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar (i used raw sugar)
2 tbsp lemon juice
lemon zest
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees .  in a medium size bowl cream the butter and sugar with a mixer ( or with a wooden spoon and a lot of exuberance ).    add lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla .   next add to the mixture greek yogurt and eggs, one at a time .  then add flour, baking powder, salt and rosemary .
 
mix ingredients together until combined and creamy .   you'll want to grease a loaf pan (i just used butter,  but cooking spray is another good option) .  pour your batter into the loaf pan and place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck into the middle comes out without any doughy batter .   cut a fresh sprig of rosemary and adorn the top of your loaf so you can admire it just a little bit longer before you eat it right out of the pan .   not that i ever do that .   

(adapted from baked bree) .