When Life Gives You Lemons…

Well hello there! It has been so long since I have posted! Life has been…well…challenging…but you know what the old saying is:

“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” ~Elbert Hubbard

While I wade through these challenges and pray for guidance, I have the perfect post for this current theme in my life. Out of this surplus of challenges, I pray God will make something new, something better. Today at a Bible study, this verse was referenced:

““Then I will compensate you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten, The creeping locust, the stripping locust, and the gnawing locust— My great army which I sent among you.”
‭‭Joel‬ ‭2‬:‭25‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

If you would like to learn more about this book from the Old Testament of the Bible, here is a great summary.

I came home from the study and had an urge to make something out of my surplus. Not my surplus of challenges…that I will trust God will do. I have been going to this lovely food cooperative and bought lemon juice at an excellent price last month. This month, I purchased lime juice at a nice discount. I bought quite a few. I figured I would freeze some and use it for canning and to add to water with Himalayan salt and stevia for a lemonade with some electrolytes.

I enjoy lemon…lemon curd, lemon cake, Italian lemon cookies. In case you are wondering if I like lemon without sugar, no, not really. I also like a simple cup of warm water with lemon and honey when sick. I used to buy lemon curd at the store and have thought about making it a few times over the years. Today, my friends, was the day that I finally made lemon curd. I also made lime curd. They were both very yummy.

What is lemon curd? It is a lovely, simple, rich mixture that I love adding to an English muffin or toast. It is something between a jam and a custard. It is very much like a tart custard actually. This version only has 4 ingredients. Most recipes call for lemon zest but since I was trying to make something from my surplus, I made it without. I am sure it would add nice depth of flavor if you were making this from fresh lemons. The four ingredients are: LEMON JUICE, EGGS, SUGAR, & BUTTER. Who doesn’t love a simple recipe with only four ingredients?

For this recipe, BEFORE heating the pan, I started with adding 1 & 1/4cups SUGAR to a sauce pan. I then added 4 WHOLE EGGS and whisked them together.

Once the sugar and eggs were mixed well, I whisked in 1 & 1/3 cups LEMON JUICE.

Then, I put the pot on MEDIUM HIGH HEAT for about 5ish minutes or until it thickened to coat the back of a spoon while whisking continuously.

Once it reaches the right thickness, remove from heat and add 2 sticks of BUTTER, one TABLESPOON at a time while whisking. The mixture will go from bubbly and thick to silky. Once the butter is incorporated, add to containers and refrigerate or freeze.

For freezing, always leave headspace for expansion. You need to use straight jars for the freezer or the jars can bust during the expansion as the contents freeze. I love these little Kerr jars. They are 8 ounces, but are short and squatty compared to their taller counterparts. These are not only cute but functional. They stack so much nicer and more stable than others. This recipe is said to last about 1-2 weeks in the fridge and 6 months in the freezer. One batch made 6-eight ounce jars with proper headspace for freezing. I kept one jar in the fridge and froze the rest. Aside from lavishing English muffins, this curd can be used for many things…mini pies, centers of cookies, as a base for a glaze for fruit rolls, cake filling. Oh the possibilities…

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