What a Lemon!

Sonya Muhlsimmer

These recipes come from a spark of inspiration from my lemon tree, currently in full bloom as I write. I plan to use as many lemons as I can before the cockatoos get into them. I should hurry up as last year I was too late. I was watching the tree and just waiting till they were good to pick, but then I was about a day late. I only got about 10 lemons that I could use out of about 70 that I picked up from the ground, all half chewed. They were all throughout my yard, gee the birds must have had fun. My yard looked like carnage with all the lemons strewn everywhere. I had also promised a friend of mine some lemons as she wanted to make some lemon jam. So really, all I got from my tree last year was a small jar of around 300 grams of lemon jam. The jam was tasty, but really that is all from my tree. Not much hey. I won’t miss out this year ... So I thought I would try making yummy treats with the lemons from my garden, before the birds get to them first that is.

Ivan and Kent enjoying some slice. Exploring an old tunnel chute near Newnes, Wollemi National Park, NSWAll pictures by Sonya Muhlsimmer

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Lemons are packed full of minerals like iron, copper, potassium and calcium and contain flavonoids (which are antioxidants), other antioxidants and Vitamin C, in fact they provide 53 mg of Vitamin C to 100 grams. Although not eaten alone like a normal fruit, lemons are so versatile. They can be used in so many different recipes such as slices, cakes, pies, pasta, rice, noodle and fish dishes, salad dressings. You can add lemon to drinks such as beer – I dread to say the name of the beer at the moment - lemonade, lemon lime and bitters and even add a slice to your tea, oh and the leaves can be used to make tea too, the list goes on. You can use lemons for cleaning your house as the citric acid can cut through some serious grease and clean your chopping boards really well. Before I get too carried away here is a great recipe for your next hike to share with friends. This is pretty easy to make and would make a great snack on the go. I chose a Madeira style cake as it has more flour than a traditional cake, thus it has a firmer texture than a normal cake. Stored safely in a container, the cake would last a few days in your rucksack.

At home preparationPreheat a fan forced oven to 165 °C. Cream the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes then add the lemon juice and zest, mix through. Add the eggs one at a time with about a third of the flour at each addition with the egg and mix well. Place in a lined loaf tin and bake for about 40 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from the tin to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut and serve as is.

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