Summer is (unofficially) here. And after being indoors for so long, it’s time to celebrate. That’s why every Friday until the Labor Day holiday in the US, I’ll be sharing a Happy Hour cocktail for you to celebrate the warm weekend ahead.

This week we start with a party favorite: Ginger Mint Spiked Lemonade. It’s refreshing and addicting, so be careful. (Or make it sans alcohol by substituting water for the vodka.)

You can always justify the drinking of this because there are some great benefits. Both lemon and ginger have antioxidants and help boost overall immunity and digestive health. Ginger is a natural antibacterial and antiviral that helps fight infections in the body. And lemons are a great source of vitamin C and other nutrients.

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Ginger Mint Spiked Lemonade

Perfect for a summer evening

Prep Time1 hr 30 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Course: Drinks

Keyword: ginger, happy hour, lemonade, lemons, mint, vodka

Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

• ½ cup chopped mint
• ½ cup chopped peeled ginger
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 750- ml bottle lemon-flavored vodka
• 2 cups fresh lemon juice
• Lemon slices
• mint leaves

Instructions

• Bring mint, ginger, sugar, and 2 cups water to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and let sit 1 hour. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring glass or a small bowl; let ginger-mint syrup cool completely. Cover and chill until cold, at least 30 minutes.
• Combine vodka, lemon juice, ginger-mint syrup, and 4 cups water in a punch bowl and stir well.
• Ladle spiked lemonade into ice-filled glasses and garnish with lemon slices and mint leaves.

I’ve finally got balance (more on this another time) and decided in some free time to start my spring cleaning a bit early and tackle it room by room, one each day.

Not wanting to get overwhelmed in a process I already didn’t like, I selected the least used room: our dining room. It’s relatively a simple space with a piano converted into a bar (my pride and joy), a wine fridge and a mid-century style table and chairs. Little did I know there was so much to do… I forgot each bottle of liquor and wine needed a dusting too. Ahh well…

I also had a boatload of lemons from my crazy, ever giving lemon tree.  And somewhere in my head, lemons are great for cleaning (not just for eating and drinking).

A little research proved me right. The earliest citrus dates back about 2500 years ago… but it was not a lemon – or even an orange. It was citron. Lemons and many of their citrus cousins are a man-made invention. Lemons were bred and finally appeared in the form we know them about 400 years later. The earliest lemons documented were in Rome and the Mediterranean.  As a result, citron and lemons were very rare and were coveted by the rich and powerful. And it is these elites who not only boasted of their healing power but proved their position by using them as a cleaning agent with a pleasant smell. No wonder it’s considered a clean home when you smell citrus in it!

I wanted to give my beautiful piano bar a nice shine, so I looked up how to use lemons to clean it. After playing around with some ingredients, I found one I fell in love with: lemons with a tropical twist of using coconut oil.  And it couldn’t be simpler with just three ingredients.

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All natural coconut lemon wood cleanser and polish

Clean your wood furniture and have it smell tropical and fresh

Prep Time5 mins

Total Time5 mins

Keyword: cleaner, coconut, lemons, natural, polish, wood

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 4 TB lemon juice
• 1 TB white vinegar

Instructions

• Melt the coconut oil in a bowl in the microwave so it's just melted
• Add both the lemon juice and the vinegar
• Mix well to emulsify
• Add mixture to spray bottle
• Use as needed on wood

Notes

Shake the bottle often as the ingredients may separate.  Also the spray trigger may clog if the coconut oil solidifies.  Simply run the nozzle under warm/hot water to melt.

The results?

A wonderful sheen to wood that smells amazing.

When it came to cleaning the track of the sliding glass doors, I also used lemons!  Simply sprinkle some baking soda in the track and then pour lemon juice on the baking soda.  The reaction bubbles up all the dirt and grime collected, making it easy to wipe the gunk away with a towel.

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Our lemon tree is prolific.  No, seriously. It drops at least one lemon a day. So much so, we have given hundreds away in the six months we’ve lived here. Lemon season has supposedly ended, and we still have tons of lemons we harvest every weekend.  Plus, our tree is so fragrant with flowers, we know there will be more and more… and more to come.

It’s almost a burden. But coming from the frigid upstate New York area, good citrus of any type was more of a luxury. I can’t let something like that go to waste!

Besides always having a couple of lemons on hand for Matt’s G&Ts, and cooking, I have a few recipes I often use to use mass quantities. Sure, I can make lemonade. (Actually, that’s my girls’ job.) I can freeze the lemon juice in cubes for later use. But with so many lemons, I don’t need to freeze them.

I make limoncello, which is great for sitting on the patio, or as gifts. I make persevered lemons, which is a much better use than freezing lemon juice, and is also a great gift. (I promise, a recipe for this will be coming soon.) And I make lemon curd, which can be frozen or given as gifts as well!

The double whammy!

I often make limoncello, which only uses the lemon zest, then use the juice to make the curd. So a two-for-one combo.

Lemon curd is originally English in origin dating back to the early 1800’s. Unlike what we know today, the recipe was literal: lemon lemon acidulating (curdling slightly) cream to form curds then separated from the whey through a cheesecloth. Today’s curd is more a pudding with a velvety texture, rather than clumps of lemony cream.

All lemon curd recipe has four basic ingredients: lemon juice, sugar, butter and eggs. Often people use a double boiler to make this. I don’t even have a double boiler! So I use my microwave.

In less time than actually juicing the lemons, I have a delicious, smooth lemon goody to use any way I like. (More on that later in the post.)

I used my already peeled lemons from limoncello, but you can use fresh lemons and juice them with the peel on. (Or better yet, zest the lemons and hold on to that zest for this recipe. Then juice them.) If you don’t have fresh lemons, you can always use bottled lemon juice.

First, melt the butter in a small microwave safe bowl, then let cool a bit as you work on the other ingredients.

Whisk the sugar, 3 whole eggs, and one egg yolk in a medium-sized microwave safe bowl. (Discard the extra white, or freeze it to make meringues at a later time, which pair perfectly with this curd, by the way.) Whisk in the lemon juice, and the zest of the lemons, if you have it, to the sugar/egg mixture. Then, finally whisk in the melted, cooled slightly butter.  Save the whisk. You are still going to need it while it’s cooking.

Then cook the mixture in the microwave: first, for  one minute and 30 seconds at 50% power, then whisk.  From this point, cook it for one minute at full-power, then whisk.  Continue cooking on high power at one minute intervals, whisking in between until the curd gets thick and coats the back of a spoon. (Think soft-set pudding.) It will thicken more as it cools.  Place in container and store in refrigerator or freezer up to one year. (It lasts in the fridge for about six months.)

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Microwave Lemon Curd

An easy way to make delicious lemon curd within a few minutes - and with only four ingredients.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time8 mins

Total Time18 mins

Keyword: dessert,, lemons, microwave,

Author: ABowlofCherrys.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup lemon juice
• 3 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1-1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest (OPTIONAL)

Instructions

• Melt the butter in a small microwave safe bowl in the microwave. Let cool slightly.
• Whisk the sugar, eggs and egg yolk together in a medium sized microwave bowl.
• Whisk in the lemon juice and optional lemon zest to the sugar and egg mixture.
• Whisk in the melted butter.
• Put bowl with mixture in microwave.  Cook on 50% power for 90 seconds.
• Whisk mixture. Microwave on high for 1 minute.  
• Keep repeating the last step until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
• Put in container and refrigerate. It will thicken more as it cools.

Notes

This curd will last up to six months in the refrigerator. You can also freeze the curd for up to a year.

So how do you use lemon curd?

Of course, it’s a classic on scones, or even toast. But there are several ways we use it in our home:

• Add to plain yogurt for a tangy-sweet flavor.  (I make my own yogurt, with some vanilla flavoring. The combination with the lemon curd is heavenly.)
• Top on meringues for a tasty pavlova.
• Make a layered parfait, with the curd, berries, granola and whipped cream.
• Top on pancakes, waffles or french toast.
• Skip the frosting and add between layers of a cake. Then sprinkle the cake with confectionery sugar.
• Fill in pre-baked mini puff pastry or filo tarts and top with whipped cream.

Or you can just eat it with a spoon. Whatever works, right?!?

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Limoncello is one of the most famous digestivi, or after-dinner drinks, in Italy. And for good reason. It’s light, sweet and tart at the same time – and it’s delicious. (Another famous Italian after-dinner liquor is sambuca. But after drinking a whole bottle of the anise-flavored drink in high school, you’ll never see a recipe for it here. Even the smell brings on flashbacks.)

Used to sooth the stomach at the end of a meal, post-dinner cocktails (or what we call digestifs) date back to the ancient Romans. Hippocrates, for example, indulged in bitter post-dinner drinks as a way to assist his digestion. In the Middle Ages, monks devised some which they thought could prevent diseases — hence a phrase still applied to many labels: anti-colerici, meaning the drink can prevent cholera.

Well, I don’t know if limoncello can cure what ails you, but this tangy, refreshing drink can help ward off that food coma. It’s also great sipping while on the deck or patio on any a lazy afternoon.

The recipe for limoncello is quite simple. You just need some fresh lemon zest, grain alcohol, simple syrup and time… lots and lots and lots of time.

The basic recipe is steeping the zest in the alcohol until the oil is released. That usually takes more than a month. The resulting yellow liquid is then mixed with sugar water (simple syrup).

Now, I have made limoncello this way before. Is it worth the wait? Of course. But I’m an impatient person. Waiting more than a 30 days for anything so wonderful just isn’t in my nature.

Enter my handy-dandy electric pressure cooker.

I’ve found that in about 40 minutes, you can get that beautiful sunshine in a bottle with your electric pressure cooker.

Now a bit of a warning before we begin: some say you shouldn’t pressure cook alcohol, as the alcoholic vapor can possibly be ignited by a random spark in your house. I have not found this the case (obviously). But if this worries you, I recommend using the sous vide method (which takes about 3 hours) or the traditional method (even longer). I have included both recipe options in this post as well.

No matter what what you do it, you need to start with the lemons. Do get organic lemons. After all, you don’t want chemicals and coatings on your lemon peels, right?

Peel the lemons, but be sure to only take the yellow parts. The white pith is the bitter stuff and will make your limoncello bitter as well.  If you happen to get some as you zest you lemons, simply scrape it off with a knife. 

Fill five half-pint mason jars equally with your lemon peels.

Then fill the jars with grain alcohol, almost to the top of each jar. Some people use vodka, but I prefer 120 proof Everclear. It really does a great job of pulling out the lemony-goodness. The higher the proof the better extraction. The other reason to go for higher alcohol content is the amount of sugar you can add. You can a lot more simple syrup to higher proof grain alcohol than we can to 40 proof vodka, meaning you will have more limoncello with the higher proof.  

Simply screw on the lids and choose your extraction method:

• Instant Pot
• Sous Vide
• Traditional

Once extracted, filter the lemony-alcohol and mix with simple syrup. 

Find some pretty bottles or use large mason jars, and chill. The traditional Italian method is to keep in the freezer, which I prefer.

An interesting note:

Sometimes your batch limoncello (like mine) looks more cloudy than clear. There’s nothing wrong with that! Using a high proof alcohol causes the ouzo effect. It’s when the lemon oil infused alcohol is mixed with the simple syrup; the emulsification of the water and lemon oil turns the liquid opaque. It means your limoncello high lemon oil content, which is exactly what you want. 

You can also see the ouzo effect in ouzo, raki or absinthe. (But you know I won’t touch those! They all are anise liquors.)

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"Instant" Limoncello

Tangy, refreshing limoncello in as little as 30 minutes. Three options, including the traditional, sous vide and instant pot methods. 

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Total Time1 hr

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: cocktails, drinks, instant pot, lemons, limoncello, sous vide

Ingredients

• 20 lemons organic
• 750 ml grain alcohol everclear, vodka, etc
• 4 cups white sugar
• 4 cup water

Instructions

The Start

• Use a vegetable peeler to remove the peel in strips. Just get the yellow part of the peel, the zest. The white part will make the limoncello bitter. If your peels have some white on them, you can simply scrap it off with a knife. 
• Put the peels equally in 5, half-pint jars. Press them down, if needed.
• Add the alcohol to each jar, leaving a 3/4 inch space at the top.
• Screw on the lids, tight, but not too tight. 

Instant Pot Method

• Put one cup of water in your Instant Pot and add the trivet.
• Add 3 of the filled jars onto the trivet.
• Close and seal the lid. Set the pressure to manual for 30 minutes.
  
  Note: Make sure there are no open flames or sources of heat near your Instant Pot as there may be a small amount of alcohol vapor that escapes as it is cooking. I actually processed mine with an open window near it.
• Once the cooking time is done, allow for NPR (natural pressure release). 
• Take the lid off and allow the jars to cool a bit before removing. They will be hot!  

  Note: Use the best jars possible for this as these jars get super hot and could shatter if of poor quality.  I recommend Ball or Kerr jars.
• Repeat the pressure cooking method with remaining jars.
• Allow the jars to cool completely outside the Instant Pot. 

  Note: During this process, you may see some bubbling inside the jars. That's normal.

Sous Vide Method

• Put the canning jars in the sous vide unit. 
• Add water to come up to the lid of the jar. 

  Note: Don’t submerge the jar, or it will float around. If there is floating, add some weight to the top of the jars, or remove some water. 
•  Sous vide at 135°F/57°C for 3 hours. 
• Remove from water bath and repeat with any remaining jars, if needed.

Traditional Method

• Store the jars in a dark area, such as a cabinet or closet, for 30 days. Every few days, give the jars a shake and put back in their darker storage.

The Finale

• Make the simple syrup by putting the water and sugar in a microwaveable bowl.  Stir. Microwave for 1 minute. Remove and stir again until sugar dissolves. Let the simple syrup cool.

  Note: You can also put the water in a large pot over high heat, and bring to a boil. Stir in the sugar, and keep stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove the pot from the heat and let it rest.
• Strain the alcohol from the peels using a fine mesh strainer. Then strain it again through a paper coffee filter to remove all the lemon zest from the alcohol.

  Note: Wet the coffee filter first so you don't loose too much alcohol.
• Mix the alcohol and simple syrup, then divide into jars or bottles and store in the freezer. You can drink it right away. 

  Note: You will find it mellows with time. And it lasts for about one year.

Notes

Some say you shouldn’t pressure cook alcohol, as the alcoholic vapor can possibly be ignited by a random spark in your house. I have not found this the case (obviously). But if this worries you, I recommend using the sous vide method (which takes a bit longer) or the traditional method (even longer). 

Hold on!  What about all those peeled lemons?

What do you do with all those lemons? Here’s an idea.