My friend Melanie grows lemons. No, she does not live in Florida. She lives right here in the sunny (totally NOT sunny here for the last week but today might look promising) Okanagan Valley. In fact, she lives about a 15 minute drive away from me here in Osoyoos where we are known for our fabulous tree-fruits. During the summer.
Melanie has an orange and lemon tree in her house! It amazes me the little harvest coming off her plants. And she’s like a little sister to me as you can get - and the other day she gave me the sweetest - or should I really say sourest gift ever, three of her lemons. Two babies and a big one too.
We decided that was a huge wealth of them and after we talked we decided to give one of the babies to a dear friend. I assured Melanie that nobody else for sure would be giving our friend a local grown fruit, it would be a great conversation piece.
Here’s what happened to the big lemon:
That’s right, LEMONADE. Sure, it’s not exactly lemonade weather seeing as the sky has been gray and we’ve had snow snow snow - but I’m sure this will be great mixed up with boiling water too - kind of like a homemade neo-citran.
Its funny how things unfold. I just happened to visit my friend Sandy just before Christmas - one of those totally impromptu visits that turns out so fun and she served me a glass of this oh-so-tasty lemonade. I was hooked from the first sip. In the brief time we spent together we caught up on our lives (good thing my Mr was not present for he definately would have done the roll the eyes thing) and I taught her how to make the pizza dough and she gave me this recipe. I had called and asked her permission to publish and share - she assured me it was no big family secret and that she is sure it is a very very OLD recipe from way back!
HOMEMADE LEMONADE CONCENTRATE
If you would like to make this recipe you will need:
6 lemons
4 lb sugar
2 oz Citric Acid
2 Litres boiling water (aprox a kettle full)
Method:
1. Zest the lemons into a BIG glass heat proof bowl (you made need two) Add 2 oz of Citric Acid - approximately the size of a pill bottle. You can find Citric Acid either at the drug store or a wine shop. Add the sugar, stir. Add the kettle of boiled water, stir. Allow to sit for 24 hours
2. Add the juice of the lemons to this mixture. Let this cool and cover with plastic wrap to protect the liquid and allow it to sit for unrefrigerated for another whole day.
3. Pour into jars and refrigerate (I froze some too, leaving a good amount of head space in the jars)
To Serve:
Mix up to taste - I find a few tablespoons for each glass is just nice!
The third little baby lemon will be going to Sandy today along with the following thank you card I created to say thanks.
I was delighted to see this sketch posted on my sister Nina’s blog for the
Want to join in? My sister in law Judy is taking this challenge along with me as well turning this into a family thing. The more the merrier I say! This is a perfect sketch for me to join in the challenge and also create the card I wanted to make to say THANK YOU to Sandy (along with the other baby lemon) for sharing her recipe. Here’s what I made:
I’ve been dying to use some of this gorgeous paper which my friend Kristin Cronin Barrow designed (boy I have talented interesting and generous friends!) The paper is from her Boho Chic Collection. ♥ these double sided papers and some of them actually feature “gloss” designs which are cool to feel, almost 3d!
And because I created this lemon for the card I am going to bless it to YOU too. These files are provided in PNG, SVG and .studio formats for your personal use. Enjoy! Click the following link for the ZIPPED file:
PS - I’d ♥ to see how you use my lemons - why not send me a jpg of your completed project for me to feature here?
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My sister sends me a box of lemons every year from her backyard tree in Sacramento. For me in snowy Montana it is like getting a box of pure sunshine... They're lovely and I put them in a bowl on the the counter to enjoy for a couple of days before I use them.
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful card Barb, I love your lemon :). I can imagine that Melanie's house smells wonderful with oranges and lemons growing.
ReplyDeleteawesome card Barb... that Mel is so awesome ...her lemons look yummmie...sour but yummie. It was fun creating a card along with you . Have a great afternoon.
ReplyDeletehugs
Thank you for sharing the recipe and the file!!! I'm saving both!
ReplyDeleteYour card is the perfect thank you for this situation! Pretty DP!
Thanks for joining us this week at Tuesday Morning Sketches!!
Lemons are such a beautiful fruit and yellow is one of my favorite colors. Your card is so bright, cheery, and reminder of Summer days. Thank you for sharing the recipe and cutting file. May life always give you what lemons can make (pies, cookies, cakes, lemon bars, and lots of other blessings) xxx-Debbie
ReplyDeleteHi Barb! Thanks for the reskipee. Does the sugar go in with the initial step - the zest?
ReplyDeletewhat a great share, my friend has a lemon tree out of control in her back yard, it yields and yields wonderful sweet lemons, will have to save this recipe, we will both enjoy it, love your card, hugs
ReplyDeleteThis a lovely card, the lemon looks so real! Great colors, too. Thanks for joining us at Tuesday Morning Sketches.
ReplyDeleteI was reading the recipe for your lemonade. Did I read that right? 4 POUNDS of sugar? That's a whole lotta sugar.