We did all things lemony today at Smiling Tree. After comparing notes I realized that nearly everyone coming to Smiling Tree right now love lemons. A couple of the moms have lemon trees in their yards and heavy branches of lemons hanging over the fence from their neighbor’s tree. I have a little lemon tree as well and have been bringing lemons from my cousin’s lemon tree in Sacramento. So we have lemons!!!
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| From Collages |
Today the kids squeezed lemons and we made lemon bars….yummmm, lemon curd….yummmm, and lemonade….yumm!!! We sampled all our creations with lunch and there was lemon curd and lemon bars to take home.
Here are the recipes:
Lemon Curd
(from the Joy of Cooking)
makes about 1 2/3 cups
In a medium stainless-steel or enamel saucepan, whisk together until lignt in color :
3 large eggs
1/3 cup sugar
grated zest of 1 lemon
Add:
1/2 cup lemon juice
6 tablespoons butter cut into small pieces
Cook, whisking over medium heat until the butter is melted. Then whisk constantly until the mixture thickened and simmer gently for an a few seconds. Using a spatula, scrap the filling into a medium-mesh sieve set over a bowl and strain the filling into the bowl. (I skipped this step…no straining for me) Stir in:
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Let cool, cover and refrigerate to thicken. The keeps, refrigerated, for about 1 week.
I served a sampling of the lemon curd on buttered bread and sent everyone home with a small container each.
Tangy Lemon Bars
makes 16 large or 24 smaller bars
for the crust
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
8 TBL (1cube) butter, melted
1 cup flour
for the topping:
1 cup plus 2TBL sugar
3 TBL flour
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup strained fresh lemon juice
1TBL powdered sugar for dusting
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom and up the sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, so that the foil hands over the edges.
First, make the crust. Put the sugar, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl and stir in the melted butter. Add the flour and mix just until incorporated. Press the dough evenly over the bottom of the pan.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned at the edges and golden brown in the center.
While the crust is baking, make the topping. Combine the sugar and flour in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Whisk in the eggs and stir in the lemon zest and juice.
When the crust is cooked, slide out the rack with the pan and set it on a work surface.
Turn the oven to 300 degrees.
Pour the filling into the hot crust and carefully slide the rack with the pan back into the overn
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the topping no longer jiggles in the center when the pan is tapped. Remove from the oven and set on a rack to cool completely. Lift up on the foil and transfer to a cutting board.
If the surface is covered with a thin layer of moist foam, blot it gently to reveal the zest. Lay a square of paper towel on the surface and sweep your fingers over it gently to absorb excess moisture. Remove the paper and repeat with a fresh piece if necessary.
Use a long sharp knife to cut into 16 2-inch or 24 smaller bars
Put the powdered sugar in a strainer and shake it over the cut bars. Transfer to a plate and serve immediately.
The bars can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator of three days without the crust becoming soggy. To do so, do not use the powered sugar ; instead, shake it over the bars immediately before serving.
Lemonade
I just added water and sugar to fresh lemon juice….excellent!
