Geoff trimmed our lemon tree which was full of fruit and after giving some to our neighbors, we still had two full buckets! the challenge was to use as many of the lemons as possible. Marlo sat at the counter doing homework. I started by making flavored water (cucumber, Moroccan mint, rosemary, and spearmint), next was a loaf bread; lemon preserve; lemon confit; lemonade, of course; and, juiced lemons (placed in ice cubes for later use) and for dinner we had steamed flounder with butter and lemon, quinoa salad with olive oil and lemon dressing. Aside from lemons we also had four pounds of kumquats!
RECIPES
FLAVORED WATER
I brought down the bottles from the cupboards, washed them and lined them up on the counter. I took the red-handled snipping scissors and walked to the yard to pick the herbs. The cucumber water had slices of lemon, the remaining bottles had lemon rind.
When I was a kid, my uncle Rolando used to peel oranges in one smooth roll and he would place the rind as a necklace around my neck. The paring knife slides easily through the lemons and the rind gently curls and sits on the counter. Wash the herbs carefully so that they are not bruised. Add one full rind to each bottle and, place one type of herb only to each bottle. Let the water will sit for about one hour before ready to serve. One sprig is all you need. If too strong, add more water.
Three Citrus & Ginger Sweet Bread
This recipe is adapted by Williams-Sonoma magazine, their recipe calls for orange, lemon, lime, candied ginger, and milk. I used kumquats, lemon, lime, fresh ginger and yogurt and reduced the sugar amount but added kumquat simple syrup to the warm bread.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- Zest of 5 kumquats (or 1 orange)
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Zest of 1 lime
- 1 Tbs. fresh ginger
- 1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 cup yogurt
- 2 eggs
- 6 Tbs. butter, melted and cooled
- 2 Tbs. of coconut oil
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the zest of all citrus, ginger and toss to incorporate.
In another bowl, whisk the yogurt, eggs, butter,oil, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir until combined.
Pour the batter into the baking pan. Bake until the top of the loaf is golden brown and a butter knife inserted into the center comes out clean, approximately 45 minutes (my oven runs hot). Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool. When cool enough to handle, turn the loaf out onto a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.
PRESERVED LEMONS
Ingredients
- 5 cups kosher salt
- 5 tbsp sugar
- 6-10 lemons, scrubbed and quartered
Directions In a large bowl, mix the salt with the sugar. Toss the lemons with half of the sugar-salt. Pour a small layer of sugar-salt into a clean quart-size jar. Layer the lemons in the jar, covering them with the remaining sugar-salt as you go. Refrigerate the lemons for at least 2 weeks. To use, rinse the lemons well and use the peel only.
LEMON CONFIET
- 4 lemons
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup avocado oil
- 1 garlic clove
- Pinch of salt
Preparation
Using a vegetable peeler or pairing knife, remove peel (yellow part only) from lemons in long strips. Squeeze 6 tablespoons juice from lemons. Blanch peel in small saucepan of boiling water 10 seconds; drain. Repeat twice. Bring 6 tablespoons lemon juice, olive oil, avocado oil, garlic, and pinch of salt to simmer in small saucepan. Add lemon peel and simmer over low heat until peel is soft, about 45 minutes. Cool. Can be made one month ahead. Keep chilled, lemon should be completely covered in oil. Always use clean fork to remove lemon. This is great on toast with kalamata olives!
- 10 ounces ginger
- 8 cups of water
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup of honey (adjust sweetness to taste)
- OR… stevia or preferred sweetener
Preparation Clean ginger, grate or finely chop. Add ginger to water and bring to boil in a mid-sized pot, reduce heat to simmer until reduced to about six cups (bout 40 minutes). Strain into a large jar, add lemon and sweetener. Let cool and store. You can drink hot or cold.
LEMON GINGER BREW
KUMQUAT JAM
Ingredients
- 1 pound kumquats
- 3 cups of water
- 1/2 cup of sugar
Slice the kumquats in quarters, removing the seeds and setting them aside. Wrap and tie the seeds in a cheesecloth or tea bag, and add them in the jam pot. Add the water and kumquats. Let fruit and water sit for about three hours, this allows the pectin to release. Bring fruit and water to a simmer. Cook for about 40 minutes, add water as needed. The jam should start to thicken. Remove the packet of seeds and add sugar. Simmer another 5-10 minutes until the jam becomes gel. Transfer jam into mason jars Store in the refrigerator for immediate enjoyment, or process in a water bath for 10 minutes to make it shelf stable. For this round, I kept three jars in the refrigerator and gifted two jars to friends.
