Lemons say "Spring" to me. Whether they are piled into a bowl on the kitchen counter or squeezed onto steamed fish, they bring a bright, airy feel to the party. They also pack a nutritional punch. At a mere 30 calories, you average medium-sized lemon also contains almost 3 grams of fiber and 55 mg of vitamin C ... all without any fat or cholesterol. And when it comes to flavor, there are few ingredients that can compare.
When choosing lemons, pick fruit that seems heavy for its size with minimal marks or blemishes, especially if you will be using the skin for zesting. Lemons can be stored for several days if unwrapped and in the refrigerator. To get the most juice from a lemon, roll it on a counter or microwave it for about 30 seconds prior to cutting and squeezing.
While known to be quite sour, there are actually sweet varieties of lemons, although they are almost exclusively the domain of home gardeners. The more acidic commercial varieties are picked six or more times a year, with one tree yielding about 1500 lemons a year. Now that's a lot of lemons! And you know what they say? If you've got lemons, make ...
This lemonade doesn't suffer little sugar crystals forming at the bottom of the pitcher. Making the sugar syrup in advance is well worth your time and if you really make a lot of lemonade, you can make large batches to keep on hand for the future.
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
Juice from 6 lemons
4 cups cold water
Blend the one cup of water and one cup of sugar well in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves completely. Allow the syrup to cool in the refrigerator.
Mix the syrup well with the juice from six lemons and stir well. Add four cups of cold water and mix. Pour the lemonade into a thermos or large jug, adding thin lemon slices if you'd like.
Elegant dining doesn't get much easier than this. This dish is perfect for quick weekday entertaining. On the weekends in summer, I put everything together in a heavy duty aluminum pouch and grill it instead!
1 1/2 pounds white fish
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
3 teaspoons butter
4 teaspoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat oven to 450°F.
Place the fish in an oven-proof dish. Blend together all of the ingredients and pour over the fish. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.
Lemons say "Spring" to me. Whether they are piled into a bowl on the kitchen counter or squeezed onto steamed fish, they bring a bright, airy feel to the party. They also pack a nutritional punch. At a mere 30 calories, you average medium-sized lemon also contains almost 3 grams of fiber and 55 mg of vitamin C ... all without any fat or cholesterol. And when it comes to flavor, there are few ingredients that can compare.
When choosing lemons, pick fruit that seems heavy for its size with minimal marks or blemishes, especially if you will be using the skin for zesting. Lemons can be stored for several days if unwrapped and in the refrigerator. To get the most juice from a lemon, roll it on a counter or microwave it for about 30 seconds prior to cutting and squeezing.
While known to be quite sour, there are actually sweet varieties of lemons, although they are almost exclusively the domain of home gardeners. The more acidic commercial varieties are picked six or more times a year, with one tree yielding about 1500 lemons a year. Now that's a lot of lemons! And you know what they say? If you've got lemons, make ...