When Life Gives You Lemons – Food Friday

It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I really, really, REALLY love to cook.  I love to try new things and I’m on a quest to become more healthy.  I’ve decided that I want to combine my love for cooking and my love for photography once a week on my blog. (and try to make most of the recipes nutritionally sound)  I’m going to start a new series: Food Friday.

For my first Food Friday I wanted to share something I’ve always wanted to make but never have….Meyer Lemon Curd.  I don’t particularly love the word ‘curd’.  It just sounds weird and is a total turnoff.  I’d really just call this recipe: Awesome Lemon Creamy Custardy Deliciousness. 🙂  Lemon Curd is great on toast, cheesecake, over fresh fruit, used as a meat marinade, atop oatmeal or eaten just by the spoonful.
PINIMAGEThe top lemon is a Meyer lemon and the bottom lemon is a traditional kitchen lemon.  A Meyer lemon is a combination between a traditional lemon and a mandarin orange, as a result it is a little sweeter.PINIMAGEOne thing I love about this recipe is that it requires some of my favorite kitchen gadgets: favorite sharp knife, juicer press and microplane.PINIMAGEPINIMAGEPINIMAGEPINIMAGE

Cream butter, vanilla and honey until fluffy.  Beat in egg yolks and whole eggs one at a time.  (Don’t mind that my pictures have all of this done in one step….I made two batches to see which way I liked more.  There wasn’t a significant difference.)PINIMAGE

PINIMAGEZest your citrus and add to egg mixture.PINIMAGEThis is what your mixture will look like.  Don’t worry about the clumps, the mixture will smooth out while cooking.PINIMAGECook mixture over double boiler, stirring frequently.  As the butter melts, the mixture will become smooth.  PINIMAGECook mixture for approximately 15-20 minutes until it is the consistency of thick jelly.  You’ll know it is done when your finger leaves a clear path on the back of your spoon.PINIMAGEEnjoy!PINIMAGE

I made a blood orange curd which was delicious!
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Honey Sweetened Meyer Lemon Curd (adapted from Green Market Baking Book)

 

4 T. butter, at room temperature

1/3 c. honey

1 t. vanilla

4 large egg yolks, at room temperature

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2/3 c. fresh citrus juice (this can be a combination of lemon, lime, orange or grapefruit juice)

1 T. finely grated zest

 

Instructions:

Cream butter, honey and vanilla until fluffy.  Beat in egg yolks one at a time.  Next, beat in whole eggs one at a time.  Add to the egg mixture the fresh citrus juice and zest.  Pour the juice mixture into a large glass bowl and cook in a double boiler. (Double Boiler: Put 3-4 cups of water in a medium pot and bring to a boil.  Once the water is boiling, reduce to medium heat and put glass bowl over the top making sure the glass bowl is large enough to sit on top of the pot so about half of the glass bowl is above the top of the pot and the other half is down in the pot.  The steam from the boiling water is what will cook your lemon curd without scorching it.) Stir frequently with a spatula.  Cook until the mixture has thickened and becomes jelly-like, approximately 15-20 minutes.  You know it’s done when your finger leaves a clear path on the back of the spatula. Remove from heat and pour curd into a glass jar and let it cool completely before you screw on the lid.  Store curd in the refrigerator.  Will last approximately 10-14 days.

 

If you would like to can your lemon curd: Prepare your jars by washing and drying the jar, lid and screw-on ring.  Heat jars in oven at 200 degrees while making lemon curd. Follow all cooking instructions as printed above.  Funnel lemon curd into jars leaving about a 1/2″ space at the top of the jar. Screw on lid and ring.  Submerge the jars in boiling water  and allow to process for ~20 minutes, which is about 5 minutes after you hear the lid ‘pop’.  Remove from water and let cool, undisturbed for 12-24 hours and check to ensure lid is completely sealed.  The shelf life of canned lemon curd is approximately 3-4 months.

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