Lemon Season is Here Early!
Bug has been begging me to pick lemons for weeks now. I was putting it off because once you start picking, you have to process the lemons right away. You can’t just let them sit around on your table looking pretty for weeks and weeks. They can sit around on the tree for months and months however. But the draw of fresh lemons was strong so I finally gave in and let Bug pick a bushel when Anna was here visiting. We had to treat our out-of-towner to something special after all.
So we squeezed them and made lemonade.
Anna taught me how to make sangria with lemonade. I had no idea that was the a way to make it and here I’ve had a lemon tree at my beck and call all this time. The sangria is made with just one part orange juice, one part lemonade and one part cheap red wine with lots of fruit thrown in for the pretty. It was delicious.
I made some lemon bars too because that’s just what you do when you have guests and a whole lotta lemons!
13 Comments
bethany actually
This right here is reason #38 I’m so sad we’re not moving back to CA next month: I’m missing out on another lemon season.
Ms. Amy
Is there a special metal punch you need to poke a hole in the top of the Mason jar lid? I want to do the same thing for a party next month, but didn’t think about DIY’ing the hole. Duh.
BeachMama
And I made the mistake of telling Apple about making lemonade! Now she wants to go to your house to make some… good thing: we may visit again, bad thing: I will have the whole family with me ;)
And just to clarify, it is one part red wine and one part juice (which is half orange, half lemonade) and a splash of triple sec (or rum) if you have it. Not too big of a deal, but we wouldn’t want your sangria to be light on the wine :)
Madge
We had our first harvest too. I’m going to make me some sangria tomorrow afternoon.
Genevieve (GenE) Shockley
I have been making “Apple mini pies” using the wide mouth 1/2 pint jars. I bet you could do the same thing with all your lemons, and make either lemon pudding, or or little mini lemon pies.
I take one 1/2 pint jar and use it to cut out small circles of dough (cookie cutter style) to use for the bottom crust and press them down to the bottom of the jar.
I then take strips of pre-made pie crust about 2 inches wide and about 8 inches long. then I fit the strip on the inside of the 1/2 pint jar.
I can usually get 6 mini pies(bottoms and sides) out of 3 Pillsbury style pie crusts. (but then, I also cut out tops for my apple pies.)
For my apple pies, I add the apple and cinnamon sugar and bake all at once. I am not sure how you would “pre-bake” these before adding a pudding type pie filling.
Since I think the crust and filling are pre-cooked, you wouldn’t really need to bake the pies. You could add the egg whites and “flame/cook” them with what-ever kitchen tool will do that.
Happy Birthday to Bug.
a chris
Lemon season again?! The past year has obviously gone faster than I’d thought.
Either that, or I’m mistaking _thinking_ about your abundance of lemons with _reading_ about it recently. I would read your blog, no matter your location, but it does tend to be a window on what to me is a surreal world I’ve only ever seen on TV and in movies.
[sleep-deprived reverie] Thinking about it, I guess I’m lucky in that I currently live in one other place that used to be like that for me. It all started with Doctor Who, you know. Not the new version that everybody talks about now. Tom Baker, when I was a little kid. I go into meetings at work and everyone talks like they’re on Masterpiece Theatre. A decade later it still strikes me sometimes.[/sleep-deprived reverie]
Anyway, I always miss birthdays, so Happy Birthday to Bug!
I need a nap.
Rebecca
Love that idea, mason jars are perfect and you’ll be able to reuse them for a million different things.
I wish I had some good lemons right now, lemon bars sound divine.
Cc
Mmmmmmm……..lemons.
mallory
Yes, please tell about punching out the mason lids…will a regular paper punch work (seems like it wouldn’t be strong enough). Super cute idea.
Deidre
Gah! Your lemon tree is just amazing. I’m only the teeny tiniest bit jealous! :)
Sally
I wish I lived in a place that had a lemon season. That might be a life goal, now. One of my boys has been begging to make lemonade all fall/winter. Now that I know we can make sangria with it, I might just go buy some lemons and do it. Mmmmm.
JennyC
Very nice :) Giada aired a lemon episode too if you want more lemony ideas: http://www.foodnetwork.com/giada-at-home/when-life-gives-you-lemons/index.html
Kuky
Now I want some lemonade. Wish we had a tree. Our neighbor does and gave us some lemons last year sometime. Alan is attempting to grow a tree out of some of the seeds. I think it might be alive still. Wonder how many years until we might get lemons out of it?