The April sun is shinning, the breeze is nice, it’s a great morning to sit outside on the deck. I take the cockatoo out to his branch on the deck. (his flight feathers are definitely trimmed-no more chasing birds around the forest!)
I’m going to make Limoncello so I gather the lemons, knife, bowls and take a seat in the sun. One of my favorite movies is ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’ …once I got past the fact that it wasn’t THE ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’ . Those of you who read her original book know what I’m talking about. I was always curious about the part in the movie when the guy explains Limoncello and that his family makes the liqueur. I did some researching on the internet and found a recipe. The recipe sounded easy enough and if I failed then I figured I’d simply end up with a bottle of Vodka with lemon zest inside. I make homemade Kahlua without any problems. I made my first and only batch of Lemoncello last December, I’m happy to say it’s VERY good. Of course I have nothing to compare it to, but I really like it.
Basically you add lemon zest to Vodka or Everclear then let it sit for 40 days. After forty days boil water and sugar, let cool, mix sugar water with the alcohol and zest mixture, let sit another 40 days. Eighty days total from zesting to drinking. Forty days is the recommended duration for each brewing period but some people don’t wait that long. A friend had given us a bag of lemons, what better way to use them?? The weather was so nice it got hot on the deck so I had to change tops and put on a hat. I think spring is finally here.
When I took my lemons and equipment outside, there was Dave having a moment with the chicken. They are so spoiled.
I had just began zesting the lemons when the chicken decided she wanted to be a part of the action. I gave both chickens a piece of lemon zest, they didn’t like it but that didn’t stop the curiosity. The friendly chicken jumped into my lap. I sat there with arms out stretched, a lemon in one hand, the knife in the other.
You know, she looks like she understands that knife could make chicken fricassee.
Hmmmm…..what’s in here?
Zesting…
Adding zest to Vodka.
Vodka bottle with zest ready to sit for 40 days.
I then squeezed all the zested lemons. We have 3 containers of juice I’ll freeze for lemonade on a hot day this summer. I had just enough juice left in the bottom of the bowl for a glass of lemonade.
I saved the lemon zest from the December batch when I rebottled it, then added it to a bowl of sugar and let it dry. The sugared lemon zest tastes like lemon drops. I saved the lemon flavored sugar for tea. The bottle in the middle is part of December’s Limoncello. I’m going to make shortbread cookies with minced lemon peel, yum! Go ahead, make a batch of Limoncello now so it’ll be ready to drink chilled this summer! Just search the internet for ‘Limoncello recipe’
