Lucy's Lovely Lemons

If it weren't for the lovely Lucy over at Diminishing Lucy, today's blog would be yet another one about the steamy laundromat that is my living room. However, you have been spared that ordeal by Lucy, who blogged this morning about her husband's fruit and vegetable gardens, and the glut of feijoas and lemons that she was facing. Which, in turn, inspired me to do a slightly different blog post today.

Those who know me IRL know that I love my kitchen. (You can tell simply by looking at me...) We've spoken before about my *ahem* Tupperware fetish; I suspect this slight obsession stems from my love of cooking and baking. As a result of this, I worship at the altar of Donna, Nigella and Jamie...and pray to Buddha every night that their recipes will one day, miraculously, become fat-free, no-calorie delicacies that I may consume to my heart's content (as opposed to my rump's content...)

When Lucy wrote this morning about her husband's bumper crop of lemons, I got a tad excited. Surely this could mean an excuse to dive into my stash of old Donna Hay magazines in an attempt to find what I wanted to send to Lucy? A reason to sit cross-legged on the floor, cup of tea beside me, licking one finger to flip the pages and reminisce about recipes gone by...? Unfortunately, the Mouse once again had a nose like the proverbial tap, so I spent most of the day wiping her bodily fluids before she could do it on me. When I wasn't doing that, I was cleaning. It is only now, that all three screaming banshees of my darling children are asleep quiet in their beds, that I can leisurely flick through my beloved cooking mags to find lemon recipes. The fact that Dancing With The Stars in on the box (and Masterchef is recording) only serves to make my Sunday night even more awesome.

So. What did I find? Mmmm...lots of Donna-ry goodness...

Lemon Curd (taken from Donna Hay magazine, Issue 11)

You will need: 180g butter, 3/4 cup caster sugar, 2/3 cup lemon juice (strained), & 3 eggs.

1. Place the butter, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan over low heat and stir until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved.
2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the eggs. Stir over low heat continuously for 8-10 minutes or until thickened. Makes 2 cups.
Note: To prevent the eggs from curdling in the hot lemon mixture, have them at room temperature before using. If your lemon curd does curdle, press it through a sieve and return to the saucepan.
3. Store the lemon curd in a sterilised airtight jar in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Donna suggests eating your lemon curd on toast, pancakes, or waffles; on scones or pikelets; layering it between sheets of puff pastry and dusted with icing sugar; or filling a sponge cake with it. She also has recipes for lemon curd tarts, lemon curd ice cream, lemon curd pudding and lemon cheesecake slice. If you want these recipes, you only need to ask. And while we're at it, I might look up Michelle Bridges' phone number as well...

Preserved Lemons (taken from Donna Hay magazine, Issue 19)

You will need: 8 lemons and 1 cup of coarse rock salt

1. Clean the lemons by scrubbing them with a scourer and warm water to remove the wax (if you are not lucky enough to have a tree groaning with them like Lucy) and pat dry. Cut the lemons into quarters and place in a non-metallic bowl with the salt.
2. Use your hands to rub the salt into the lemons to release the juices. Fill 2 x 1 litre capacity sterilised jars with the lemons. Pour over any remaining salt and liquid from the bowl, making sure the lemons are completely covered. Seal the jars and store in a cool, dark place for one month before using. To use, cut out the flesh and discard, rinse the skins well and use as required.

Note: Try and pack as many lemons into the jar as possible because as they soften, they take up less room. Use a wooden spoon, because a metallic one will react with the acid. It is important to make sure the lemons are completely covered, otherwise a white mould will form on top. The lemons will keep for up to 12 months unopened in a cool, dark place.

You can use your preserved lemons in recipes such as crispy chicken with preserved lemon mayonnaise, roast pumpkin and goat's cheese salad with preserved lemon dressing, preserved lemon crusted lamb cutlets, and crispy skin fish with preserved lemon salsa. If you have your own copy of Donna Hay Issue 19, you can find these delish recipes on page 136...if not, just ask!

Oh, Donna. Now I'm hungry all over again...and I haven't even mentioned your lemon tart, or your lemon meringue pie, or the lemon curd frozen yoghurt...

I can only hope that these recipes might be useful to Lucy, and her husband's lovely lemons. I have long wished to live over the back fence from Lucy (and Maxabella, and Multiple Mum, and BabyMac, and Lori, to name but a few...), if only to natter in person as opposed to talking over the blogger fence! But now I really want to be Lucy's neighbour, because I want to nab some of her lovely lemons and get cracking on some of these recipes...