When someone gives you lemons, do you scratch your head, put on your thinking cap, and try to figure out what the heck to do with ALL THOSE LEMONS! I had the chance to find out what I would do because Limoneira sent me a box of lemons.
The first thing I did was make a Lemon Cake, gluten free of course.
Next, I gave some to a friend, just because. (Because I had so many of them, that’s why!)
I decided that I would grate all the rinds, and squeeze all the juice today, and freeze them, so that I would have it whenever I get ready to make lemon something else. So, after all that grating:
That’s a lot of lemon zest! and that means a lot of lemon chicken, lemon fish, and lemon whatever else I can think of to make with it.
Each one of the little things holds 2 ounces, and the jar holds 16 ounces, so how much lemon juice is that? Um, about 26 ounces of lemon juice. I’m freezing it all, and next time I want a lemon meringue pie, I can just get out what I need, and be half way done with it before I even begin!
And that’s not all! After I grated and squoze and froze the lemon juice and rind, I got a couple of the lemon rinds that were left over, and put them in a pot of water with some Chinese Five Spice Powder, and let it simmer all day to make my house smell soooo good! And I froze the rest of them, too, so I can use them all winter long.
So, what would YOU do if you had a truckload of lemons?
I LOVE lemonade and Steven loves lemon desserts so he’d love all those!
Oh wow, I bet your house smelled so fantastic! I love the scent of lemons. If I had a truck load of lemons I would try a recipe an old co-worker gave me, margarita cookies. They were so delicious when she made them! Or lemon bars, yum!
Oh and fress lemonade! Like the kind you get at carnivals or fairs, so good!
I’d ask you to bake me a lemon meringue pie, gluten free of course.
I’d help eat it, too. 🙂
Those are really great ideas. I have never thought of freezing fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. How long did it take you to zest and squeeze those lemons? It takes me forever to zest just one lemon (maybe I am doing it wrong).
I took about an hour to do the 14 lemons I had left. It wasn’t so bad, and now that it’s all done, I have easy street for lemon recipes for a while.
I love lemons! I’ve never thought to freeze lemon zest, but it sounds like a great idea, as there are so many dishes that would benefit from a bit. I also like chopping up the rinds and freezing them in ice cubs to put down the garbage disposal.
I’d love to make some lemon curd or lemon poppy seed pancakes with extra lemons!
I love the idea of freezing lemon zest, never thought of that one before. I would have to make some lemon bars, we just made them at my sons request.
I love lemons in my sweet tea! I also love lemon cake, lemon bars & lemon pie!!
Any type of lemon dessert I s my husband’s favorite. This looks delicious.
WOW , I wish I had the get up and go to make all of these . sadly I would probably just make a heck load of lemon water and tea lol
I need to raid your lemon stash – I love anything lemon-flavored!
My family would love that! It looks delicious! Thank you!
I think the lemon is underrated for sure! I think the idea of canning some would be perfect. This cake looks fabulous!
Oh, I’m so happy I stumbled across this blog post! I’ve never had an over-abundance of lemons, but I do love them, and this is the time of year to buy them at a decent price. When I see a good sale, I’ll get a bunch, prepare them, and freeze them for use later in the year. Thanks for the inspiration!
Oh my gosh, that lemon cake looks delish!!! We have a lemon tress, so I love these ideas! We make lemonade all the time, but I have never thought of keeping the zest for recipes for later. Thanks for sharing!! ~ Carrie Demas