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

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The Quince - symbol of love in ancient Greece and Rome

I have had a love affair with quinces since I was introduced to them a few years ago, so I wasn't surprised to read that in Ancient Greece and Rome, the quince was a symbol of love and fertility.

According to -  ABC's Gardening Australia - Quinces originated from Persia, now Iran, and then spread throughout the Mediterranean. (click on the ABC link to read their informative facts sheet and learn more about the quince)

They are a hard fruit which you cannot eat raw, but oh my, the gorgeous aroma of them cooking and their flavour nearly leaves me swooning. Have you tasted them? If you haven't I encourage you to do so.

Quinces seem to be an old-fashioned fruit that you might only see in an old orchard. The quince grows on a small deciduous tree, a member of the apple and pear family. Here you can see a tree and the fruit on the tree.

This tree below is in the Balingup Tree Park was planted in 1982. See how it has had to be propped up? But despite this it seems to be doing well. (please click on the link to read my latest blog about the Park).

I always look for quinces this time of year and I was able to buy some a couple of weekends ago at the Boyanup markets.  I cooked them today in preparation for making a tart tomorrow.  You can just poach them in a saucepan with a little sugar and water, but below here is the simple, yet delicious recipe I used (if you have a little more time for the preparation - or do this the day before making the tart). 

 For about 4-5 quinces - peel, core and quarter the quinces (or thinner slices if large quinces). 

Put in an oven-proof dish, with juice and zest of 2 lemons and 1 orange (although I found that just one lemon was enough)
1 or 2 cinnamon sticks  (1 is enough for this quantity)
1 and a quarter cups of raw sugar
and about 500 mls water, enough to cover the fruit. (quantity dependent on the number and size of the quinces you have).

Cover with a piece of damp baking paper. Bake at 160-170 C for about 2 and a half hours. Turn off oven, and leave them in the oven till cool. The longer you cook the fruit the pinker they become, or sometimes not....

You can just serve them like this with a dollop of cream or icecream or make a pie.  



 Do you remember the poem by Edward Lear - "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat' -
   "They dined on mince, and slices of quince, Which they ate with a runcible spoon,
   And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,  They danced by the light of the moon"....

  The recipe for the tart I found in "Spice" magazine a few years ago. Everyone loves it. 

Quince and Browned Butter Tart

3 quinces, poached in sugar syrup until cooked and rosy pink
1 x 26cm unbaked tart shell
2 eggs
half cup of sugar
50g flour
125g butter, cooked until golden brown and then cooled. (though I don't really do this - I just melt the butter and simmer for a few minutes)

Drain the quinces and lay them in the tart shell. Beat the eggs and the sugar until light and fluffy, fold in the flour and lastly the browned butter. Put over the quinces and bake in a 1280C oven until golden brown and set - about forty minutes. 

Serve at room temperature with a dollop of cream. 
You could also make this recipe with other fruits ie apples, pears, peaches, apricots.

This is my tart photo from a couple of years ago. As you can see the fruit is quite red-pink colour. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't, but however it looks it still tastes and smells divine! 



 I seem to blog about quinces every couple of years, so you might also like:
And slices of quince which they ate with a runcible spoon
Autumn arrives in Western Australia

Thank you so much for stopping by. Have you ever tried quinces? Do you have a favourite quince recipe? Perhaps you'd like to share in the comments. 
 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 

Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

Through My Lens 

Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday 

The Lovin' Life Team over at 50 Shades of Age

Sky Watch Friday

Life in Reflection

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Autumn arrives in Western Australia

Autumn has arrived in the south west of Western Australia. Although our Australian native trees are evergreen you can see autumn colour starting to appear in the imported tree varieties that are dotted throughout our towns and countryside.


On the weekend I celebrated the arrival of autumn by joining a water-colour workshop run by Marguerite Aberle at Lyndendale Gallery on Crooked Brook Road just out of Dardanup, about a half hour drive from my home. I had been promising myself to attend one of Marguerite's workshops for a couple of years, and what a joy it was to finally attend. The theme for the workshop was autumn colours.

Please click on "read more" to keep seeing and reading more