When Winter Gives You Lemons . . . Make Lemon Curd
Lemons don’t grow in Vermont in the winter – or any other time of the year.
Not much grows in Vermont during the winter – not when they’re cold and snowy. Sure, there’s a traditional and mostly predictable January thaw, but it’s usually followed by sun-blinding fields of snow, blue skies and good skiing.
Not this year.
This year, it’s the weather that’s delivered the metaphorical lemons: good snowfalls ruined by saturating rain were bad enough, but the last few days have brought something even worse: Heat.
Yesterday, the thermometer approached 60 degrees; today the temperature’s pushing 70. The snow’s melting, the ground thawing, the birds active.
I like the birds. I even like the melt and the thaw in season – at the end of March.
When The World Gives You Lemons . . .
On Sunday, we made metaphoric lemonade. Taking advantage of a few inches of fresh snow and temperatures around freezing, we whistled up the dog and headed out for some backcountry skiing in the Green Mountain National Forest. We had a grand day of winter fun breaking trail, working up a sweat in the cold, joyfully outdoors in the austere winter woods.
When Lemons Arrive in the Mail . . .
But gray rain closed in on Monday, washing away what little color winter offers. Thankfully, I received a box of lemons in in the mail.
They came from my brother who lives in California, where lemon trees grow along the sidewalk – and in my brother’s in-laws’ back yard, just south of San Francisco.
These are Meyer lemons, a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange, making them sweeter and juicer than the ordinary kind. I added them to the platter of clementines in the center of the dining room table. Clemintines, it turns out, are cross between an orange and a mandarin. These citrus cousins punctuated
the gray with their bright color, and their tangy aroma filled the room.
Outside, rain rinsed away the possibility of local, weekday, winter play. I sighed, despondent at another February day ruined by rain. Then I inhaled a whiff of bright citrus.
With just a few keystrokes, I found Molly O’Neill’s recipe for Lemon Curd. Ten minutes later, it was chilling in the fridge while a yellow cake from the freezer defrosted.
It’s not the same as frolicking in good winter weather, but when winter’s a lemon, lemon curd will do.
Jonathan Luskin says
mmmm. I am waiting by my mailbox, hoping for a slice of lemon curd….
Deborah Lee Luskin says
As Laura says, you have to show up for lemon curd. When are you coming east? When you do, bring more lemons!
Laura Wallingford-Bacon says
I didn’t wait by my mailbox, Jonathan, I went directly next door and begged. The lemon curd cake was DElicious, Deb — thank you! And thank you for sending the lemons, Jonathan!
Laura & Fred
Deborah Lee Luskin says
Thanks for being my tasters! You just give me more cause to bake!