I had a recipe that called for the skin of four lemons, so now I have four skinless lemons in my fridge. This brings us to today’s recipe challenge.
I’m looking for a recipe (or recipes) to use up my lemony goodness. This isn’t Nam, though, there are rules:
Normal ingredients only. I have a well-stocked kitchen but I’m on a budget. I can’t afford any super fancy ingredients (example: vanilla extract, yes, vanilla beans, no)
Whatever I make has to be able to “keep” or be frozen for a fair amount of time. I’m just one person and it takes me a while to eat things up.
I have to use the equipment I have. This is an easy one, as I have lots of equipment: rice cooker/steamer, bread machine, ice cream machine, mechanical juicer, food processor, crockpot, hand mixer. I don’t have a blender or a toaster oven or a grill.
No more than 3 recipes to use all four lemons.
Fire away Dopers!
Honestly, I’d make a ton of lemon bars. One batch will take the juice of about one lemon, unless they’re super lemons or something. This isn’t the recipe I usually use, but I’m in school and didn’t exactly bring my recipe box with me. This is the closest I could find, though.
Squeeze 'em and freeze 'em. You can always find a place to use the lemon juice later.
-Over fish, or in the water if you are poaching.
-Fruit that browns (such as apples and pears) can be tossed in lemon juice to retard the browing.
-In tea.
-Or whiskey drinks.
Just the opposite in my house, I am far more likely to throw away the skins. Perhaps we can have an exchange program. After all, it is zucchini season here…
1 package chicken leg quarters (about 4 quarters)
Kosher salt
Black pepper (fresh ground if possible)
Oregano (dried)
Olive Oil
Lemons
Pat chicken dry with paper towels and trim off any visible fat (there’s usually a lot on leg quarters)
Coat chicken with olive oil.
Rub chicken with salt pepper and lots of crushed oregano
Bake at 350 for about an hour in an uncovered oven proof dish
Remove dish from oven and pour lemon juice all over the chicken
Cover dish with foil and return to the oven for an additional 15 -30 min until done (juices run clear etc. etc. etc.)
Spoon a little of the pan juice over the chicken when serving.
I serve this with white rice or (oven roasted potatoes) and green beans (with garlic and olive oil) and everyone loves it.
Sorry for not using measurements but I just eye-ball it, I never measured.
LOL on the exchange program. Unfortunately the other ideas don’t really work for me. I don’t usualy serve fish with lemon, I take my tea with milk and SF vanilla syrup and I used Vit C powder for anti-browning solution. Oh and I don’t own any whiskey. I have a feeling I wouldn’t like it (I hate Scotch, even the good stuff).
I don’t drink my calories, so lemonade is out (going out and buying a package of Splenda falls under the “expensive ingredients clause”).
I’m up for 1 recipe of lemon bars, but any more than that seems a bit silly for 1 person.
Lemon chicken sounds promising. I have some chicken thighs in the freezer that would probably work with.
Me, too–but I’d use a super-lemony recipe. Here’s the one that I put in our family cookbook last year. Note that while the ingredients are Joy of Cooking, the wording is all me, so there should be no copyright issues.
Note also that this would require purchasing one more lemon, for the zest; but I believe the recipe will absorb 5 lemons’ juice without problem. It’s really, really lemony, and if you like sour, it’s easy to get sick eating too many of these.
I’d make avgolemono. It’s really easy, and really tasty. The only halfway complicated part is tempering the eggs before adding them to the soup so you don’t get scrambled lumps.
Lemon sorbet. Juice the lemons and then make a 20% sugar solution by combining 1 part sugar to 4 parts water and boil in the microwave. When it has completely dissolved, let it cool and then add to the lemon juice until you have the desired sweet/sour balance. Churn in your ice-cream machine until set.
mmm… lemon sorbet. If you like, you can chop some mint and add it in as well, or lavender, or grapefruit, hell, be creative.
If you’re going to make lemonade, make simple syrup. Don’t just use water & sugar or you’ll wind up with sugary goo at the bottom of your drink.
Simple syrup: add equal amounts of sugar and water to a sauce pan (like 2 cups of each). Heat gently, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
Squeeze the lemons into a container. Add a cup of water. Add more or less syrup to the lemon juice until desired taste is achieved. A couple sprigs of mint will freshen that up, too.
You can add tequila to this for a nice drink. You could probably try rum, too and have something like a mojito.
You can reserve the simple syrup for future beverages. Add it with lime juice to create a base for gimlets.
Confused about how sodium chloride could be contrary to Jewish food laws, and the expression isn’t common over here.
Thanks for the link, although I’m dubious about the claim that “large crystals have larger surface area and so absorb more moisture” (paraphrased, I’ve closed the link)… actually, large crystals have less surface area per unit mass. Still, the explanation’s perfectly clear and my ignorance has been satisfactorily fought. ;j
