The Whole Lemon

Today I was invited to do a short talk and demonstration at the Uni Open Day as part of the 

Urban Farming Tasmania Display.

There was a really great turn out and other speakers included seed savers and urban bee keepers.

I chose to talk about lemons because they are at the peak of the season now. I wanted to get people using not just the juice and a bit of zest but also the skin as well.

Previously I've posted about lemon cordial so I won't belabour the post repeating it all here, you can click on the link and read more. 

After juicing your crop and freezing it down into blocks and/or making the cordial, it's a prime time to make a batch of preserved peel.

 Again and again people are surprised to discover how delicious this peel is and it is a great bonus in the pantry. I also encourage people to save the juiced halves in the freezer instead of throwing them out and then using them for preserving at time more convenient.

Here is a quick run through again for making preserved peel

Thick skinned lemons make the best peel, like a Eureka/Lisbon variety

Take the lemon halves and push them flat and roughly slice them into strips about 1-2cm wide, this is just rough and they don't have to look neat or even.

Place them in a large pot with enough cold water to cover and bring to the boil, drain and repeat two more times to remove the bitterness from the pith.

After the third boil drain and weigh the peel. 

Return it to the pot with the same weight of sugar and place on a low heat stir to dissolve and rapid simmer for about 1-2 hrs. You will see the peel turn more translucent and the jewel-like.

Drain again and set out to dry. The best method I have found is to use cake coolers over cookie sheets to catch any drips and to allow air to flow around the peel for faster more even drying.

This may take up to a week.

At this point it will be a bit sticky but definitely drier. Toss in some caster sugar to prevent sticking together and store in air tight jars.

This peel is now ready for your Christmas baking in the next month or so. It makes a beautiful gift in an attractive jar and I also like to serve it on the side of coffee instead of a biscuit...but how to stop at just one!

Another wonderful way to preserve the whole lemon is by packing it in it's own juice and salt and I demonstrated just how quick and simple this method is. The preserved lemon is ready in a month and improved with longer time and is delicious added to any slow cooked dishes upon serving. Try it with chicken casseroles or slow cooked Moroccan Lamb Shanks.

My friend over at "Eat At Dixiebelles" has done a superb visual tutorial, proving how simple this method is. You can see her post here. 

There are so many great recipes for lemons and I hope you will consider using the whole lemon too.

I also had a lot of people asking about my cookbook and where to order it.

You can order from here

as a print version in both hard and soft cover and an e-book is also available to download.

Thanks to everyone who came along today, it was lovely to meet you and share your enthusiasm. I hope the recipe and method briefs here are clear enough for you and if you have any questions please ask in the comments or click on the "email me" up there near my profile pic.

( Renae - please email me as you won the meat cookery book and I am still waiting for your address.) 

Coughs and Colds - Elderberry Tincture

The second subject we talked about at the Better Living meet-up was how to alleviate some of the common ills of winter, the primary one being the common cold.

There is much growing in our own backyards that we can harvest for simple remedies and unlike the commercial preparations in stores, natural remedies will work with your body to remedy the illness rather than keep masking the symptoms leaving the body to battle on trying to eliminate the germs.

Naturally there is a caution and warning.....

Just because something is natural doesn't mean that you can be careless with an ingredient or heedless of it's effects. The following is meant as general information and you should always research thoroughly and consult a medical practitioner such as a naturopath or herbal pharmacist. 

Two books that I have found invaluable over many, many years are

"Health Through God's Pharmacy" by Maria Treben

and 

"The Natural Health Book" by Dorothy Hall

I have already posted previously here about the Common Cold recipe by Dorothy Hall here

and I urge you to read that post for a simple practical hot toddy that helps the body eliminate its ills. It has a base of lemon, so cleansing and astringent and readily available in winter, like nature knows what to provide each season.

The tincture in the first photo is from these elderberries I picked and made back in early autumn in anticipation of winter colds. Unlike the delicious rosehip syrup with it's big hit of vitamin C, the tincture is made with an alcohol base and no sugar, so it really is more like a "medicine" as my tasters found at the meet-up. 

Elderberries are quite a super berry. Loaded with Vitamin C &A they are also thought to be anti-viral,  anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory. All very helpful qualities during the onslaught of a cold. Removing the berries from the stems requires patience and I like to do it with bowls on my lap in front of TV or listening to music. The stems, bark and leaves can have a purgative effect and if ingested brings on vomiting and diarrhoea. Likewise their seeds in large quantities so that is why they are heated and the pulp extracted.

Once you have the berries place them in a saucepan on low heat with a scant amount of water, cover and stir  and mash releasing the juices (much the same process as in the rhubarb cordial recipe) The recipe I use from Tina Sams also has ground ginger root and ground cloves. There are many recipes available on the net but I highly recommend this story here on 

The Essential Herbal Blog

and I have been very happy with my purchase of the e-book "An Elder Gathering" from the same site.

Once you have extracted the juice, allow to cool slightly and then place into a wide mouthed jar and cover the berries with alcohol (I see nothing wrong with gin) and tighten a lid on and shake gently to combine. Place it in a dark cupboard and strain into bottles after two weeks and label. 

The recommended dosage I use is 30ml adults every 3hrs and 15ml for children every 3 hours when needed.

We talked about thyme, nettles, rosehips and ginger....but that is another post. 

Elderflower Cordial

There really is a cordial for all seasons.

Now is the time of the Elderflower. Large heads of tiny white flowers are blooming now.

 Elderflower cordial is like drinking flowers. It is like taking Spring into your body.

It reminds me of fairies and Shakespeare's "Midsummer Nights' Dream"

The most potent blooms are the ones half in bud and half blossomed, they'll be quite fresh.

Don't harvest every bloom as you want to save some for forming into berries for later in the season.

To make about 6lt:

Harvest about 50-60 heads. Shake them gently to remove insects.

Remove most of the stem and place in a large vessel.

Add the zest of about 9 lemons

Pour over 4.5 lt of boiling water and allow to steep overnight.

Strain through a muslin lined strainer into a large pot and add the juice from the zested lemons (about 450ml) and add 3 heaped tsp of citric acid.

Add 3 kg of sugar and stir over a gentle heat till dissolved.

Gently heat till the cordial comes to 70 C. Don't be tempted to rush this step and use high heat because you want to maintain a beautiful golden colour.

While the cordial is heating, place thoroughly cleaned bottles into the oven at 150C and allow to heat for about 10 min to sterilise.

Once the cordial has come to temperature, bottle into the warm sterilised bottles and seal.

This will keep for many months if you can make it last that long.

Once opened store in the refrigerator.

Serve on warm spring nights and hot summer days with ice and sparkling water.

The Coming Growers Market

Spring to me means that market time is not far away.

From the first Saturday in October till the end of daylight savings you'll find me at 

the Growers Market 

in the gardens of ut si cafe 

from 8-12

 Local produce, fresh picked and grown without chemicals.

I have been making "Tub Teas" from last seasons dried herbs of calendula, chamomile, rosemary, rose petals and nettles.

A simple salve using comfrey, calendula, chamomile and red clover.

Preserved lemon peel. Some for Christmas, some for the market.

Another 3kg of soap for these...

And of course,

Lemon Cordial

As you may know from previous posts, I always make preserved citrus peel at this time of year. Usually I freeze the juice in cubes and cup measurement lots.

This year however I decided to make cordial as I had a large basketful of Australian Limes as well as lemons.

To the left went the juice, to the right went the sliced peel...

Here is my recipe and method for the cordial.

Rangpur Lime and Lemon Cordial

1.5 litres of citrus juice

1.5 litres of water

1.5kg sugar

1.5 tabs citric acid

3 tabs tartaric acid

Make a sugar syrup by dissolving the sugar into the water in a large pan on medium heat.

Dissolve the citric and tartaric acid in a little boiling water, add to syrup.

Add strained juice to the syrup and heat to 70C.

Place clean washed bottles into oven at 100C for 15 mins.

Using a funnel, fill the hot sterilised bottles and cap straight away.

Makes about 3 litres and will keep quite well on the shelf but should be refrigerated once opened.

This should get us through till Elderflower Time....

Going For Gold

I'm drying Calendula petals.

For some soap and for a healing ointment.

I'm also juicing lemons and freezing the juice

And making preserved lemon peel

It's nearly time to make the Christmas Cake.

I've cut into the last of our stored pumpkins and made some warming soup.

And I've mixed up a good hearty cake for Craig's lunch box.

It's my "Most Asked For" recipe

Apricot and Pumpkin Seed Loaf.

Mum likes to eat it buttered!

GOLD!!!

Candied Lemon Peel

Whenever I juice a lemon, I place the used lemon half in a container in the freezer for later. When I have enough, I make my own candied lemon peel. It is delicious as a small tid-bit served with coffee or tea. I also use the peel in cakes or a piece pushed onto a biscuit before baking.

I use the recipe in my prime go to recipe book, "Cook's Companion" by Stephanie Alexander. I call this my bible for the kitchen. It takes a few days for the peel to dry but is so worth the process and makes a wonderful gift attractively packaged in a jar with ribbon.