Lemon Love & Lemon Curd

I love lemons, how about you? When I was little, I picked a lemon from a tree, and it was the sweetest, ripest lemon I have ever tasted, even all these years later.

I have a lot of lemon items in my house, I can't help myself. Isn't this a good idea for a summer table? I'm inspired.

If I can find Meyer lemons I prefer to cook with them, because they are sweeter. And if you are a tea lover you have to make lemon curd for your scones. I guess you don't have to, but it sure is good when you have 20 minuets to make a batch!

Lemon Curd is the perfect filling for tarts too. We like it on pound cake because it's so sweet, and of course the English spread it on toast in the morning. Thanks to Blondie at Blondies Journal, for asking me what else Lemon curd is good with! Visit Her blog, it's adorable!

photo coptright flickr

Lemon Curd Recipe

3 large eggs room temperature

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice from 3 lemons at room temperature (meyer preferred) strained of the seeds.

1 tablespoon lemon zest...more if you like it lemony

3/4 cup sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up when cold, then left at room temperature

In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, add eggs, sugar, and lemon juice and blend. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture becomes thick or about 10 - 12 min. Remove from heat and add the butter. Add the lemon zest and let cool. The curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Cover immediately with Seran wrap and refrigerate.. Correction: eat when it's cool!

I hope you have a "bright" weekend. Thanks for visiting.

It's Finally Warm Again

I've decided to start working on my garden and patio. I can't wait for my seeds to be transplanted...but in the mean time I'm having some lemonade in my Italian glass server.

I still have lots of strawberries, so I added some of those...

I hung a garden planter and am heading to the garden center to fill it with some colorful trailing plants.

I purchased a set of 2 of these at an estate sale for $25...I'm going to paint these white. I'll probably paint the wall hanger too. It looks like it is the same color as the cinder-block wall...doesn't it?

This is my white inspiration planter...hopefully it will look like this when it's DONE!

Everyone thinks I have a green thumb...but here's the secret for container gardening...revealed for the first time. I add water absorbing crystals to the soil to help with the sun's dehydration at this high altitude. I can't garden without it, and it's why my pots look healthy.

They absorbe a huge amount of water and release it when needed. These are sold around the rest of the country as a way to water when you are on vacation and can't water. I've tried that too, and it works really well.

Well...I'm off to finish the lemonade, and paint the urns...I'll post the pictures when I'm done!

Liz