I am now ready to put my head through a wall! I tried to move my blog to my own domain but could not sort out the subscription widget. Meaning, during my short change of venue, all of my beloved subscribers were lost in cyberspace. If you haven’t heard from me all week, now you know why.
On top of administration issues, the three posts that I wrote last week did not get delivered to you. I am in bad need of a yoga class!
Today was perfect for cozying up by the fireplace, pouring a big cup of tea and finishing my latest book club’s pick. Instead, while the snow hurled around outside, I made lemon zest in syrup. I always cook, when I am stressed.
So rather than pace the floors worrying about how to fix my blog issues, I peeled lemons.
Using the peel of any citrus fruit, has always been fascinating to me. Being able to turn the bitter cheek-sucking rind into such a lovely treat is magic.
FRESH LEMON ZEST IN SYRUP
8 lemons,scrubbed and zested
1 cup white sugar
Bring 1 cup of water to a boil.
Add zest and boil for 1 minute.
Rinse under cold water.
Meanwhile, in an another pot, combine sugar with 1 cup of water.
Bring to a simmer over medium heat completely dissolving sugar – about 2 minutes
Add zest and simmer 30 minutes or until translucent.
Remove from heat and cool in syrup.
When cooled, transfer to a mason jar and store in refrigerator up to one month.
If you do not have a use for the zested lemons now, juice them and then place the juice in the freezer until needed.
Make sure that you have lots of head room in your container, as the lemon juice will expand when frozen.
I use my lemon zest as a garnish on sweets and savories. I had vanilla cupcakes in the freezer so I made a quick lemon frosting and topped them with the lemon zest. Use your imagination to embellish anything that you think would be notched up with a bit of sweetened sour.
You can also use the lemon shells as a serving dish for ice creams, sorbets or frozen mousses. Fill the empty lemon carcasses with your choice of filling and pop them in the freezer until you are ready to serve.
It’s lovely to be back. Thanks for reading.
