When life gives you lemons....

.... make lemonade!  When I was a little girl, every summer my mum would make home made lemonade and I've always loved it.  When I left home I went armed with the recipe and I've probably made it every year since.  Now, technically, I don't suppose it is a lemonade since it's not fizzy and you have to dilute it, so, more of a squash really!  Anyway, here's the recipe:

My Mum's Lemonade

3 lemons
2 pints water
2lb sugar
1/2 oz citric acid

Put sugar and water in a pan, bring to the boil and boil for 10 minutes with the lid on (unless you like cleaning sticky stove tops!).  Peel lemons thinly and place peel in a bowl.  Squeeze lemons and reserve juice.  Pour syrup over the peel and leave to stand overnight.  In the morning, add the lemon juice and citric acid and stir until citric acid has dissolved.  Strain and bottle.  Keep in the fridge.  Dilute to taste.

I usually bottle mine into empty plastic squash or water bottles but recently, whilst staying at a friend's holiday cottage, I bought a glass bottle of pink lemonade from the corner shop with this sort of groovy stopper (see pic), reusuable and it's perfect for my lemonade.  ;o)  Citric acid can be a bit tricky to lay your hands on but most larger chemists have it under the counter as it were!  ;o)  Oh, the times I've had to explain to the assistant just why I want citric acid!  I've tinkered with the recipe over the years and have successfully made versions with limes and oranges although lemons remain my favourite.  At this time of year it's lovely to add elderflower heads, I love the flavour of elderflower.  ;o)

Now, then....if I feel stressed or low or cross (or a myriad of other things to be honest!) I will head to the kitchen to bake and soothe my troubled soul.  ;o)  This evening I did just that and made cheese and bacon muffins....

My seventeen year old daughter has extreme (and I mean extreme!) trouble dragging herself out of bed in the mornings and as a consequence often misses out on breakfast before we head off for the school bus.  ;o(  Sometimes I make muffins to freeze so that she can grab one and go and that's what these are intended for.  Quite often when I bake it's the baking process I require and not the end product but this evening I did partake of a warm muffin and bloody lovely it was too!  It certainly hit the spot!  ;o) 

I also made some plain fairy cakes which I'll transform into butterfly cakes tomorrow with buttercream from the freezer.  I only recently discovered that buttercream is freezable ~ yes, I know, I have BIG gaps in my culinary knowledge!  ;oD  ~ and this is the first time I've used some so I will be interested to see how it's fared in the freezer.  On the subject of freezers....I also intended making some ginger thins this evening and I did indeed knock up the biscuit dough but being of an impatient nature I bunged it in the freezer (instead of the fridge) to firm it up before cutting into rounds for baking and then completely forgot about it!  ;oD  So, that'll keep for when I next have the oven on!