Lemons lemons lemons

 Hi everyone. I hope you and yours are all doing well. I thought spring had arrived but now we seem to be back into winter. 

I have loads of lemons on our backyard lemon tree, and it has started flowering again, so I picked a few yesterday to make Lemon Butter and a sweet French Marmalade. It didn't seem to make much difference to what was left on the tree. I need to start giving them away. It was a wet dreary day yesterday, perfect for a morning in the kitchen. 

I have blogged about the Lemon Butter making a couple of times before - if you click here you will find see more: Lemon butter

Here is the recipe: 

• Juice of 4 lemons and finely grated rind of three
• 500gm (1 lb) white sugar
• 250gm (1/2 lb) butter
• 4 eggs, well beaten together. Make sure they are well beaten so you don't get strands of white in your mixture. 
• 
  
• Place all in a large bowl stranding in a pan of boiling water on the stove. Stir constantly until the consistency of honey, but do not allow to boil. This takes about half an hour. 

Bottle and keep in fridge. Delicious on scones! or slathered on a sponge with cream. 

I also made French marmalade out of my old Australian Country Women's Association Cookery Book and Household Hints. This marmalade is a sweet marmalade made from carrots, lemons and sugar, and is so easy to make. 

3 large carrots - I always find this a difficult measurement - how much is 3 large carrots?

2 1/2 kg (5 lb) white sugar

4 lemons

8 cups water. 

Grate the carrots. Cut the lemons into quarters and dig out the seeds. Put through a mincer, including the peel. Mix the carrots and lemons together and leave in a basin overnight with half the water - 4 cups. 

In the morning add the rest of the water, and boil for half an hour. Then add sugar and cook for about 2 1/2 hours. Bottle immediately in hot jars. 

Note: This marmalade still seems very liquid when it starts to set, so please test as you go so as not to overcook. I just spoon a small amount onto a saucer and put in the fridge for a few minutes. If it doesn't move around on the saucer when cold it is ready. 

My friend in Malta made this recipe with half lemons and half oranges. She said it was delicious too. 

This is an old favourite photo of mine I created for a special friend on the other side of the world one morning a few years ago. I couldn't resist sharing again. Sharing a cup of coffee or tea with a friend doesn't need to be complicated. 

While the French marmalade was bubbling away I also made a batch of muffins from a packet I bought when we were out in the wheatbelt recently. These are gluten free made from lupin flour. They were nice, but a bit heavier and grainer texture than the muffins we usually make with normal self-raising flour. 

My quince tree has an amazing number of flowers on it this year for such a small tree. I love quinces. Do you? So delicious. I am already looking forward to quince season - but I will have to wait till around March-April! We always net the tree to keep the birds off. 

Thank you so much for stopping by. Do you make jam? Do you have a favourite? Perhaps you would like to tell us about it in your comments. 

I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Stay safe and have a wonderful week. 
I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

ps: what else is yellow right now? Wattle is everywhere! 
   
MosaicMonday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf

Sharon's Sovenirs 
Our World Tuesday
Pictorial Tuesday 
ThroughMy Lens 
Image-in-ing
My corner of the world through my camera 
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity. 
       and Little bird - Pienilintu
Thankful Thursday 
Welcome to Nature Thursday
The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

Summer is on its way in Western Australia - & making lemon butter

I hope your week has started well. This is not originally what I planned to bring you today, but I have been caught in the "summer is on its way" feeling.  And how could I not be? The Jacaranda trees in my area are in full bloom, the Banksias are sending up what I call their Christmas candles, there is a yellow pea flower blooming along my morning walk, surf-club is in full swing down at the back beach, and it's a lovely time to enjoy coffee with a friend at one of our waterside cafes. I love living here so close to water, even if I do have to walk or drive to get to it. We have the river, estuary, inlet and ocean only ten minutes away.

 Here some more pics of that Banksia tree. These flowers are about 12 inches or 30 centimeters long. Don't you think they look like candles?

  
Summer is coming to my garden too.
The green kangaroo paws have put up their long flower stems over the last week or so, the agapanthus is shooting up it's blue flower heads, the hydrangea is putting out its first flowers, my lovely double creamy yellow gerbera is full blown, the lavender is putting up new shoots, the roses are blooming, as is the honeysuckle, and my pink native rose, and the yellow daisies that border my garden have erupted in a riot of yellow this past week. 

 In my back garden the grape vine has promising bunches of grapes, the apricot tree is covered in paper bags to keep off the fruit-fly and the birds, the parsley plant has gone to seed, the lemon tree is loaded and the tomato plants are starting to flower.

What to do with all those lemons?  Make lemon butter of course! And what is not to like about lemon butter!

Here is the recipe I use: 

Lemon butter or Lemon Curd

500 grams (1lb) sugar, 250 grams (1/2 lb) butter, 4 eggs, juice of 3 lemons.
Grate rind of lemons and mix with juice and other ingredients in a china or glass bowl. Stand over boiling water on stove. Stir until consistency of honey, but do not allow to boil. 
This takes about half an hour. Bottle and cover immediately. Makes about 3 jars. Store in the fridge. 
Enjoy on fresh baked scones or just slather on bread.

Do you make lemon butter? You should try it. It is fairly easy to make.
But there are a few tricky questions: 
How much lemon juice is in 3 lemons? I never know when a recipe has this sort of instruction. My lemons are very large and produce a lot of juice. 
It is also difficult when you are cooking to know when you have reached the right consistency. "like honey" I guess is a good guide. I find the lemon butter does thicken a bit more after it has been refrigerated.
The most tricky part is resisting eating it straight from the jar! It is so delicious.

Here is a little photography hint for those budding food photographers out there. If your lighting is a bit dull, try adding some "fill in light" on the front of your set up. You can do this with a white bounce card, or a light. I have just purchased a Metz Mecalight LED-480 led light which works perfectly for small set ups. You can see the result below. You don't need an expensive light for small set ups. I've also used a fluorescent camping light which has worked well in these situations.
If you use tripod in low light you can also increase the exposure (ie slow down the shutter speed) when you take your pic or lighten the exposure in post processing after.  

You can see with and without a light below. Big difference. This was taken on my patio. 

 Lastly a few flowers just because.

Some summery yellow daisies sitting in a piece of my grandmother's cruet set and processed with a texture. 

 And a close up of that beautiful gerbera in my garden.

 Do you make lemon butter? What is your favourite lemon recipe? Perhaps you would like to tell us about it in your comments. 

I hope to be back next week with the next part of our recent spring wildflower trip. I working on identifying as many of the wildflowers as I can for you. 

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

Mosaic Monday
Travel Photo Mondays
Lifestyle Fifty Monday Linkup 
Our World Tuesday
Through My Lens 
Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Worth Casing Wednesday
What's It Wednesday
Travel Photo Thursday
The Weekly Postcard



 You might also like:
Hello sunshine yellow and lemony delights 
Hydrangeas and Melting Moments in my garden 
Summer is here  
The trees are blooming for Christmas 

Hello sunshine yellow and lemony delights

Yellow is such a happy colour don't you think?  I love it when the yellow daisies start to flower in my front garden.


 To me yellow is also the colour that says summer. In Australia spring is on the wane and summer is moving in. My front garden is starting to put on its brilliant summer display -  red Coral Bush, purple/blue Agapanthus, yellow daisies, green kangaroo paws, pink hydrangers, roses, and sprawling nasturtiums. Someone called Agapanthus "Aggie's Pants" the other day - I love that.

To read more please click on "read more"!

Lemons and lemon butter

It is spring and our lemon tree is loaded with lemons.

Lemons are a very versatile fruit - you can drink it, make it into jams and spreads, cook with it - both sweet and savoury, use it for medicinal purposes, and even use it for cleaning! (try it out in your bathroom)
Do you remember as a child writing secret notes with lemon juice that only reveal themselves when heat is applied?

This time of year with our family love lemon butter and lemon meringue pie. Delicious!!
Shall we have fresh baked scones with that lemon butter? And sit out on the patio in the morning sunshine?

First you need lemons - fresh from the tree

Then the ingredients -
Juice of 3 lemons & finely grated rind
500gm (1 lb) white sugar
250gm (1/2 lb) butter
4 eggs, plus 2 yolks, well beaten together. 
Place all in a large bowl, standing in pan of boiling water on the stove. Stir constantly until consistency of honey, but do not allow to boil. (about half an hour approx)
Bottle, and keep in fridge.

 Then some fresh made scones, and some pretty china, and a nice place to sit.

These colourful little daisies come from a bush in my garden which has flowers on it just about all year round. The lovely little glass jar I have put them in is actually an antique mustard pot from a cruet set that belonged to my grandmother.

And here is the lemon meringue pie - it is a family favourite. I have always loved it. My mother brought me in a piece when I was in hospital when my eldest son was born. It is his favourite, and now his eldest nearly six years old little boy loves it too!

Do you have a lemon tree? Do you make lemon butter? or lemon meringue pie?

Thank you for stopping by. I look forward to hearing from you. Have a wonderful week.

I am linking up to Mary and the other wonderful contributors from across the world at Mosaic Monday - to visit, please click on the link here - Mosaic Monday

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