Canning in the New Kitchen: First Up, Lemon Curd

My Meyer lemons have been waiting patiently out on the bush for my kitchen to be finished, and while it isn’t completely done, I could no longer ignore their stare. They were so ready to be picked, beckoning me day after day, begging to be transformed into lemon curd. This last week of sunshine convinced me that it needed to be done, particularly since Brilliant Daughter calls lemon curd “sunshine in a jar.”

So it was that yesterday I took my basket out to the back yard and removed all the best, juiciest, ripest lemons for use in our batch of lemon curd. The first canning project of 2010 and the first for my new kitchen. Also new to our repertoire is Butcher Son’s girlfriend, who was ready to learn what lemon curd was (poor deprived child) and what it means to “can.”

Given that we got quite a late start, 4pm to be exact, we chose to only triple my recipe, as we had a long-awaited surprise in store for us at the end of the project. The girls set to work zesting, while I easily juiced the lemons. Even with the kitchen windows open, the lemons perfumed the whole space, bringing smiles to our faces. And oh how easy it was working together in the new space, utilizing the extra counters, the heavy-duty stove, the big sink. Several times throughout the process, Brilliant Daughter remarked how much she loved the new kitchen. I, myself, am still in awe. Lovingly cleaning counters, amazed at how much I can fit into the sink, and how quickly my kettle whistles on its new burner, it has turned out well. (And I promise to get pictures up soon! Still waiting on a few items for install.)

With three of us sharing the kitchen duties, the process went by fast and by 6:30 we had not only canned 20 jars of lemon curd, but Brilliant Daughter had made scones to taste test the lemon curd. You know, just in case it was bad or anything. : )

Oh, and the long-awaited surprise? We finally, finally watched Julie & Julia. I know, you are all wondering what took me so long. Brilliant Daughter and I tried to go see it when we were in Portland last year, but missed the show. Then it was the holidays (when BD got her very own Julie & Julia DVD), and then once the kitchen deconstruction began we made a conscious decision that we would celebrate at end of the process by watching the movie. Which we did, with big pots of tea, warm scones, and fresh lemon curd. Not exactly a French meal, but I didn’t have the strength to bone a duck anyway.