SMS Sunny Lemon Bars

Sweet Melissa Sundays could not be any sunnier with this cheerful Toasted Almond Lemon Bar recipe chosen for this week by Rebecca of Indecisive Baker.

I love all things almond so getting to toast almond slices, blend them with the flour in a food processor and add almond extract in the recipe was a winner combo. Sweet, tart and tasty!

I read comments before baking the bars and already knew the crust would be a bugger to work with. I had a plate of flour sitting next to my work station, ready for some serious hand-dousing while patting the dough into place. Good thing! Really sticky "and" I used frozen butter to keep the dough well chilled. The comments stated the filling would be "soupy" and it was but no one was alarmed. The bars set up perfectly and we have eaten three; meaning we LOVE them and thank you Rebecca for hosting and picking out a beautiful, cheery dessert! Check out Rebecca's site for the recipe and do not forget to go to Sweet Melissa Sundays blog roll to see the rest of the lemon bar bakers! Happy Sunday everyone!

Went blueberry picking at Blueberry Hills Farm by Lake Chelan over the weekend and I am running behind this weekend for finishing up Melissa's lemon bars. Here are a few pictures of my blueberry picking fun with hubby.

We left Friday afternoon for the 4 1/2 hour drive. Blueberry fields open up for u-pick at 8 a.m. and picking in 80 degree weather at 9 a.m. sounded so much better then 95+ by noon, into the evening.

45 minutes later, we had a little over 14 pounds of blueberries ready to be weighed and paid for.

The farm still had a few strawberry plants producing and the raspberries were no where near being ready to pick. We did pick up amazingly sweet Bing cherries and 23 pounds of fresh off the trees apricots. I plan on making apricot preserves in a few days along with blueberry jams.