when life hands you lemons…

08 Dec when life hands you lemons…

 

Actually, the neighbors handed us lemons. An enormous bagful from the trees in their backyard, along with some tangelos and grapefruit, also from their yard. Gorgeous, right? But what do you do with 50 lemons?

You make lemon curd.

You can blame Charlie and Lola for this idea (I recently introduced B to Charlie and Lola in an effort to balance out the princess obsession. …It’s not working. Now she just incorporates Lola into her princess fantasies. Sigh.)

I also liked this, because true to my style, it’s very easy. The whole recipe takes about 20 minutes.

You’ll need:
•    3 eggs
•    1 cup sugar
•    1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons worth)
•    1/4 cup butter, melted
•    grated lemon peel (about a teaspoon)

Beat the eggs and sugar together and put them in the top of a double boiler (or in a heat-proof bowl over a simmering pot of water). Stir in the lemon juice, butter and lemon peel. Cook over simmering water, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes or until thickened.

You can use the curd as filling for a tart, or use it in place of jam and eat it on toast, with scones, or pound cake. I had some banana walnut bread (also gifted from our neighbors. I love neighbors!) that was getting a little dry. A dollop of lemon curd brought it back to life.

You can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple months…

Now…what to do with the 47 lemons I have left? Any ideas? (we don’t own a juicer, so lemonade is not my first choice)