I would say the average person thinks lemons/citrus are summer fruits. They are crisp and tangy, add a lot of flavor without a lot of heaviness, which is typically a warmer weather preference. Lemonade, lemon bars, seems fourth or july-ish no? But now, when meyer lemons are in season, they are what take over my fruit basket. I may have been a bit greedy and bought 12 at the market last visit. Apparently I don't use lemon as much as I thought I did, because I still have too many. There is this fine line of having too much of a good thing, and in this case, it has caused me to experiment a bit. Alas, a simple lemon curd to use up some of that sweet citrus.
Of course, this time of year, it would make a wonderful and different gift. It keeps in the fridge about one week. You can re-use mustard jars or buy small mason jars at your local craft store. I used David's recipe, because the man knows sweet things. He mentioned that it would be good folded into fresh whipped cream. I plan on putting it on toast myself, and giving a small jar as a hostess gift.
MEYER LEMON CURD // Makes 1ish Cups
Recipe from David Lebovitz
The sweet to tang ratio is perfect, I wouldn't change it. He notes that if you can't find meyer lemons, you can use normal lemons, and use a bit more sugar.
1/2 Cup Fresh Meyer Lemon Juice
1/3 Cup Natural Cane Sugar
2 Eggs
2 Egg Yolks
6 Tbsp. Organic Butter
pinch of Salt
1. Place a mesh strainer over a bowl, and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks, eggs, and salt.
3. Add the butter cubes and set the pan over low heat, whisking constantly until the butter is melted.
4. Increase the heat a VERY LITTLE bit and cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and just begins to become jelly-like. It’s done when you lift the whisk and the mixture holds its shape when it falls back into the saucepan from the whisk. For me, this took about ten minutes in a 12'' pan.
5. Immediately press the curd through the strainer. Once strained, store the lemon curd in the refrigerator.
We came home from 90' sunshine and 95% humidity, to some of the colder southern California temperatures I have ever felt. It doesn't bother me, I crave seasons, and it gets me in the holiday mood. The music, decorations, friends getting together for ugly sweaters or wine and cheese - it's all just so cozy and festive. It's not the gifts and shopping that excite me in December, it's the good company.
I looked into some sangria recipes, as I wanted something different to bring to a get together this past weekend. The rules here are like that of vegetable soup, you can kind of get away with tossing in anything that's around. It doesn't seem like you can really mess it up. This combination felt 'holiday-ish' to me with all sorts of winter fruits, and the hint of warm spices. I don't like drinks super sweet, so after the fruit sits for a bit, the bit of honey and ginger ale add plenty of sweetness to this sangria. It travels well, and is a nice change from the typical bottle of wine. Put it in mason jars (without the ginger ale), tie a pretty ribbon, and you've got yourself a unique gift. 'Tis the season.
HOLIDAY SANGRIA // Makes one large pitcher
If you are serving this individually, use the ginger ale as a float. If you are leaving the pitcher out for people to help themselves, stir in about half the can of ginger ale.
1 bottle Zinfandel
1/3 Cup Cointreau
1/3 Cup Gran Marnier
1 Can Natural Ginger Ale
1/4 Cup Honey
1 Honeycrisp Apple
1 Large Orange
1 Fuyu Persimmon
1 Pear
2 inches of Peeled Ginger, in rough pieces
2 Sticks Cinnamon
Pinch of Ground Cinnamon
1 Tbsp Dried Cloves
Fresh Mint for Garnish
1. Cut the fresh fruit into thin slices, width wise (so it looks pretty). Toss the fruit, ginger, cinnamon, cinnamon sticks and cloves into the pitcher.
2. Warm the honey just a tad, add to the fruit.
3. Pour the wine, cointreau, and gran marnier to the pitcher. Mix everything around. I left mine at room temperature for an hour to marinate, and then I put it in the fridge for another few hours to cool.
4. To serve, fill the pitcher with ice. Put a few mint leaves in each glass, fill it 3/4 way full with sangria, and top it with ginger ale.
We leave for Bali, Indonesia this evening for our honeymoon. I am so anxious to share pics and details of our wedding with you, but will wait until I can find words for the utter fabulousness that was this past weekend. Hugh and I can't stop talking about it, but I'm stumped as to how to sum up it in a few descriptive paragraphs. Until then, I leave you with these two frames from our AMAZING photographer,
. I am ready for a little break; some time to digest this big event and feel grateful for the abundance of love we have from family, friends and each other. It's a big deal.
We're just eating wedding cake today...all day, but I promise we will be back soon with passion and excitement for this little cubby of the internet.
