when life gives you
Besides lemonade, what else can you make?
The nice thing about living here is the over abundance of citrus, and the kind people who are only too happy to share their bounty with you! I now have lemons and oranges coming out my ears. Yesterday I made fresh lemonade (I’m the only one who will drink it), lemon meringue pie and today I made some orange juice.
I’m nearly out of ideas…I think I may try this recipe, I’d like to make it for my sisters 30th birthday on the 1st, but I don’t know if the oranges/lemons will last that long. Do you have any recipes that use lemon or orange juice?
January 12th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Candied citrus peels!
(even better if you can get your hands on some limes too)
1:1 water and sugar, bring to a bare simmer, add strips of citrus peels (as little of the white stuff as possible) let it simmer for about an hour or so, (DO NOT BOIL!) strain everything. save the syrup, it will be super citrusy, you can put it on top of ice cream, or brush it on top of cakes to give them extra moistness and for a fresh burst of citrus goodness.
put the peels on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper to dry overnight. next morning, throw them all in a plastic baggie full of sugar and shake to coat.
candied citrus peels are great in cakes, candies, or cookies and make awesome garnishes.
also, make lemon and orange curd. it makes great cake filling, or you put it in little tart shells and top with fresh fruit (or candid citrus peels!) for some awesome little deserts to take to parties.
one of my best “party cakes” is a simple white cake, brushed with citrus syrup, filled with lemon curd and that’s it. (sometimes I ‘frost’ it with a glaze of powdered sugar and lemon juice: just pour it on top and let it drizzle down the sides)
candid peels will last almost forever in an air tight container in a cool dry place (not the fridge) syrup will last just as long in a jar in the fridge (if you don’t eat it all) and I’ve heard that lemon/orange curd can be frozen for a couple months, but I’ve never tried it
January 12th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
It doesn’t use very much orange juice, but I always enjoy orange cranberry muffins!
January 12th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
OH! and I just remembered another great citrus recipe! (this is what you get for asking a cook for recipes)
2 Cornish hens
3 tbsp dried thyme
2 tbsp dried rosemary
2 C chicken stock
a whole crap-ton of citrus juice – I usually use lemon, orange, grapefruit and lime (mostly orange then equal lemon and lime, and just a little grapefruit)
put the hens in a relatively small container, and cover with citrus juice and herbs. let everything sit in the fridge for at least 24 hours.
place the hens in a pan and spoon some of the marinade over top of them, bake (somewhere around 350 degrees) basting frequently until they are done (time will depend on the size of your hens, use a thermometer.)
take 2 cups chicken stock and 2 cups strained marinade and bring to a boil, boil until it has reduced down to about 3 cups, add a pinch of dried thyme and rosemary.
to serve: place pile of mashed potatoes on the middle of your plate, in a frying an melt about a tsp of butter, throw in a giant handful of baby spinach and stir throw in about a 1/2 tsp freshly chopped garlic and stir until just wilted.
pile the spinach on top of the potatoes and gently place the hen on top of that. drizzle with the citrus stock and serve.
January 12th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Lemon bars.
January 12th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Fruit in the winter is so pretty and wonderfulllll~ Just lovely.
Mercedes
January 13th, 2009 at 10:04 am
I saw your request for recipes, and then today I saw this in my feed reader:
Lemon Torte on Baking Bites
January 13th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
We have a lemon and a tangerine tree, and I’m always searching for new citrus recipes, too. The kids sell the extra tangerines in front of the house, like a little farmers’ market with only one item of produce. And I squeeze the lemons and freeze lots of juice. In fact, that’s what I did today, so my hands hurt from all the citric acid. Anyway. The point is, we have “fresh-squeezed” lemonade in the hot summer from the frozen juice.
January 14th, 2009 at 12:12 am
Today I made lemon bars with lemons from my backyard tree. They’re good but I think I am going to keep trying recipes until I find one I really love. Also, there’a tangerine tea cake recipe I have made many times. It’s really good with oranges too. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gale-gand/tangerine-soaked-tea-cake-recipe/index.html
January 14th, 2009 at 9:18 am
Those photographs are beautiful! Do you shoot all your own stuff?
January 15th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
[...] You, for all the great citrus recipes! I can’t wait to try them, I keep thinking about the cornish hen recipe Abigail posted, I intend to get some hens at the store [...]