Messy. Sticky. Sunny. Sweet. Tangy. Juicy. This was my afternoon.

A friend of mine just harvested citrus from the trees in her backyard. Lucky for me, her baskets overfloweth and I reaped the benefits… buckets and buckets of grapefruits, lemons and oranges. YUM.

Now the trick is consuming it all in a timely fashion. Time to squeeze, zest, juice and puree.

Here’s what I’m thinking…
Zesty lemon sugar cookies. Tangy grapefruit cocktails. Lemon curd spread on morning toast. Citrus salsa for pulled pock tacos. Orange slices for salads. And let’s not forget one of my ultimate favorites, a delectable LEMON TART. The options are endless.

If there is one ingredient I always have on hand in my kitchen, its lemons. I use them for both baking and cooking. And I love “fresh” lemons. So in between citrus seasons I rely on my stocked freezer. I like to freeze the juice in ice cube trays and glass jars. A cube is the perfect amount, and most convenient way to brighten any recipe.

If you’re like me, an hour of juicing requires two hours of cleaning. More times than not, my kitchen gets thrashed. Pulp stuck in nooks and crannies. Sticky floors and handles. Recently, I dropped my juicer top and splattered pulp and juice all over the floor. Uggghhh… So, I decided to take my juicing outside this year. Enjoy the sunshine. I set up a nice little work station on the backyard patio. With a hose bib conveniently located for “clean up”, juicing was a breeze. So, now there’s no excuse. Get your Cs and fight off those winter colds!