Creamy Lemonade

After an abnormally cool summer, things have heated up here in Northern California. Time for a refreshing glass of what I'm calling Creamy Lemonade. 

 

I became familiar with the joy that is Brazilian Lemonade in 2014 and promptly did a taste test to see if I could improve on the original. It was a delicious experiment. When I got a bunch of fresh lemons recently, I thought it would be fun to see what other directions I could take this drink. After some trials, tweaks, and simplifications, I'm happy with this frothy, refreshing, creamy version of lemonade. 

Creamy Lemonade

 

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

3 T. sweetened condensed milk 

2 T. sugar 

1 cup milk

Put all ingredients in the blender and mix until frothy. Serve over ice. Garnish with a lemon slice and a dollop of whipped cream.

Lemon Card

I've enjoyed the challenge of creating a week's worth of lemon-themed crafts and recipes. Today I'm sharing how to make a lemon card. You could add a greeting and send it to a friend, perhaps tucking in a recipe for a frosty lemon treat. Or, bake up some lemon muffins or make your own limoncello,  use the card as a gift tag, and deliver it to someone in need of cheer. Or send it with a lemon-themed gift (ideas at the bottom of the post). My #Quaranteen could have used this design for thank-you notes, but he went a different route with the cards he sent. 

Lemon Card

Materials:

• cardstock / construction paper - blue, yellow, white
• scissors
• yellow colored pencil
• glue stick

Steps: 

Cut a piece of blue cardstock to form a card base. Set it aside.

Cut a circle from white cardstock. Cut a circle from yellow cardstock that is slightly smaller than the white circle. Cut the yellow circle in half, then cut each piece in half again, and then each piece in half one more time. This will give you 8 yellow triangles. Use scissors to trim each and round off the points so they look like the segments of a lemon.

Place the white circle onto the remaining yellow cardstock and use it to draw the main part of the lemon. Cut it out.

Use a yellow colored pencil to draw a series of lines on each yellow triangle to mimic the juice vesicles. Then make small dots on the part of the lemon that won't be covered by the white circle.

Arrange the triangles evenly on the white circle and glue them in place, then glue the white circle to the main part of the lemon. Glue the lemon to the card base.

Lemon Slice Felt Coaster

It only takes about 20 minutes to stitch a lemon slice felt coaster. It's a great project for child who is new to sewing. I love how cheery it is! Affiliate links below. 

Lemon Slice Felt Coaster

Materials:

• felt (yellow, white)
• microtip scissors
• needle
• thread (yellow, white)

Steps: 

Cut out a circle of yellow felt, approximately 4" in diameter. Cut out a circle of white felt that is slightly smaller than the yellow circle. Then cut out another yellow circle that is slightly smaller than the white one. 

Set the large yellow circle and the white circle aside. Fold the smaller yellow circle in half, then cut along the fold. Cut each half into half again. Finally, cut each quarter in half. You will have 8 triangles. Snip each triangle so that the edges are rounded. Space them evenly on the white circle, trimming if necessary so that they resemble the segments of a lemon. 

Use a very short running stitch to sew the segments to the white circle. Start at the tip of one segment, work around it until you reach the tip again, then scoot over to the next segment. 

Use the same short running stitch to attach the white circle to the large yellow circle. That's all there is to it!

This project could also be done on a sewing machine and would give a beginner lots of practice turning and stopping and starting. I could definitely use the practice, but I'm going to stick to hand sewing. 

Frosty Lemon Mousse

Continuing on with the week's lemon theme, I did some experimentation in the kitchen and came up with a frosty lemon mousse. It's tart and sweet and creamy and refreshing. And since it doesn't have eggs, it's not cooked and won't heat up the kitchen.

Frosty Lemon Mousse

Ingredients: 

• 3/4 c. heavy cream
• 3/4 c. sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 c. lemon juice
• 2 T. lemon zest, divided

Steps:

In a large bowl, beat the cream until it holds medium peaks. In a separate bowl, thoroughly combine the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and 1.5 T. lemon zest. Gently fold the whipped cream into the lemon mixture, then spoon it into parfait dishes. Garnish with remaining zest. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour for a soft and creamy mousse with the texture of Greek yogurt. 

Freeze for at least 2 hours for a firmer mousse. Let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving for the texture of creamy frozen lemonade. 

I can attest to the fact that it's delicious either way, though I may have to make another batch just to be certain!

What do you think of my lemon slice coaster? I'll share that tutorial tomorrow. 

Paper Plate Lemon Fan

Did you notice the paper plate lemon that I used for yesterday's graphic? It was actually a homemade fan! The curved edge of the plate creates a powerful cooling breeze as long as you use it with the design side facing out. Besides, that way everyone else can see your cute fan. Affiliate links below. 

Paper Plate Lemon Fan

Materials: 

• 9" yellow paper plate
• Folk Art white gesso
• Folk Art paint - Yellow Lemon
• 10" craft stick
• Supertite glue

Steps: 

Mix a small amount of Yellow Lemon paint into some white gesso. You want the gesso to have a very pale yellow tint. Don't substitute white paint for the gesso or you won't get good coverage and it won't adhere well to the surface of the plate. 

Paint a 1/2" band around the inside edge of the plate. Paint a vertical line, a horizontal line, and two diagonal lines that pass through the center to make the segments of the lemon. (Fun fact: Most lemons have 8 or 9 segments inside. Painting 8 is much easier than painting 9.) Paint a small circle where the lines intersect, then round off the corners of the lemon segments you've created. 

When the paint is completely dry, glue on the craft stick handle. 

There's not much better than a cold drink and cooling fan on a hot day.... 

.... unless it's a delicious frosty lemon dessert on a hot day! I'll share that tomorrow. 

When Life Gives You Lemons... Celebrating a #Quaranteen Birthday

Yesterday was Trevor's 14th birthday. Obviously, hosting a party was out of the question because of COVID-19, but it was really important to me that we make the day as special as possible. It had been twelve long weeks since Trevor had seen his friends, so we made plans to bring cupcakes and goodie bags to nearby friends' houses for a socially-distanced drive-by birthday celebration. Trevor had requested lemon cupcakes with lemon frosting, so we went with a lemon theme.

Specifically, our theme was: When life give you lemons... share them with friends. 

We contacted his friends to make sure they'd be home, then mapped out a route that would take us from house to house. We made seven stops. At each house, we handed off the cupcakes and goodie bags and backed away to a proper social distance for a quick chat. It was a wonderful way to celebrate and I'd definitely recommend it if your #Quaranteen has a birthday.  

Happy birthday, Trevor!

Lemon Muffins

Once again, it was my turn to host the monthly brunch for my MOMS Club friends. The last few times I've hosted I've made different coffee cakes (Overnight Berry Coffee Cake and Overnight Cinnamon Coffee Cake). This time I wanted to make muffins.    

As always, I had a huge supply of lemons on hand. So I dug through my pile of recipes to see if I had a recipe for lemon muffins. I found one that looked very promising: Luscious Lemon Muffins by Mary-Lynne Mason. As always, I made a few changes. The muffins were SO good! They might even be my favorite muffin of all-time! Definitely Top Ten anyway.

 

Here's my version: 

Lemon Muffins

                                                 1/2 c. butter, softened                        1 t. baking powder

                                                 1/2 + 1/4 c. sugar                                1/4 t. salt

                                                 2 eggs, separated                                1/4 c. lemon juice

                                                 1 c. flour                                                2 T. lemon zest

Cream together butter and 1/2 c. sugar. Add egg yolks and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture alternately with lemon juice to creamed mixture. Stir in lemon zest. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gently fold into batter, making sure egg whites are fully incorporated. Divide batter into 12 paper-lined muffin cups. Sprinkle 1/4 c. sugar evenly over the tops of the muffins. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until lightly golden.

So good!

Lemon and Orange Sorbets

You know what is REALLY good on a cold winter's day? Lemon sorbet. OK, it's good no matter what the season or temperature. My parents have a lemon tree, so we're blessed with tons of free lemons. I use them fresh, of course. I also freeze the juice and the zest so that I can have a supply year-round.

You know what else is REALLY good? Orange sorbet. Our orange tree is out of control this year, so I'm juicing and zesting oranges frequently too. 

You know what is REALLY hard to photograph on a dark winter's evening? Sorbet. Any flavor. 

(Lemon on the left; orange on the right.)

I love how easy it is to whip up a quick sorbet with the ice cream machine. I also love that I can control the amount of sugar I add.

To make lemon sorbet, I combine two cups of simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar, boiled, then cooled) with 1 1/2 c. lemon juice and 2 T lemon zest. To make orange sorbet, I combine one cup of simple syrup with 2 1/2 cups of orange juice and 2 T. orange zest. After about 20 minutes in the ice cream maker, it's ready to eat. Delicious!