I just spent about two hours shoveling snow. Since I write this column the week before it's published, today is actually last Thursday as you read this. Confused yet?
Regardless, it snowed last night, big time at our house. Not only did it snow a lot, but it drifted in places, some places about a foot deep. And it was a wet snow. Very heavy to lift with a snow shovel.
All this snow reminded me of growing up in Michigan, where they have a thousand words for snow and some of them aren't printable. That lake-effect snow blowing off of Lake Michigan can be daunting, but I don't remember that we missed much school because of it. A foot and a half of snow? So what? Bundle up and get going. You'll be late for school!
What I do remember about school was snow pants. Kids today don't know what snow pants are. Back when I was a kid (oh no, I sound like my grandmother!), girls wore dresses to school. Well, you couldn't be out in three-foot snow with a dress, ankle socks and mary janes, so you wore snow pants under your dress. And snow boots that fit over your regular shoes.
Snow boots are a real pain to put on because they don't slip over shoes easily no matter what you do. I never greased my feet with Crisco, but I'm betting that's the only way to get those rubber boots over shoes.
Snow pants, even though they were made of nylon, always got wet, along with the hem of your dress. We hung our wet snow pants on pegs in the hallway, along with our wet mittens and with our boots puddling water on the floor, generally making a mess the janitor hated.
Ah, what memories. I'm glad girls can do the sensible thing these days and wear pants. Does anyone even wear a dress to school any more?
After I finished shoveling snow last Thursday, I thought some time in a nice warm kitchen might be in order. Since a cold winter day calls for a cup of tea and a warm scone, I decided to make Lemon Curd to go along with it.
Lemon Curd, made with egg yolks, lemon juice and butter, tastes absolutely wonderful on toast or as a filling for a tart. You can also use it between cake layers.
And it makes a wonderful gift. It's December now and time to start thinking of those gifts. Keep this in mind for someone special.
Lemon Curd
6 beaten egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 stick butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoon packed lemon zest (2 large lemons)
In a 4-cup glass measure, whisk egg yolks, sugar and lemon juice together well. Microwave at 70 percent power for one minute. (You must use 70 percent power or you'll get scrambled eggs.) Whisk well. Microwave for one minute more and whisk again.
Microwave again for two minutes (watch it carefully because it will bubble up to the top of the measuring cup. Stop microwaving and let it settle down if it threatens to erupt all over your oven.), whisk again and see if the mixture will coat the back of a wooden spoon. If not, continue to microwave at one-minute intervals at 70 percent power until the mixture passes this test.
Remove from microwave. Stir in butter, one piece at a time, until all is melted. At this point, you can pour the mixture through a fine sieve to remove any egg that might have curdled, but you don't have to. Add zest and stir well. Let cool. Divide into 1 1/2-pint jars for gift giving. Refrigerate. Keeps up to a month in the refrigerator.
You can also make Lime Curd by substituting limes for the lemons.
Cook's note: You can freeze egg whites for up to a year. Make two batches of lemon curd and you have enough egg whites to make a homemade angel food cake. And top it with Lemon Curd! Yum. Also, to get the most juice from lemons, microwave them for about 10 seconds before juicing.
Sharon Vail lives in Powell Butte, where she's dreaming of a warm, sunny beach somewhere. Readers may contact her at svail3@netzero.net. "Cooking from the heart of Oregon." |
