Monday, May 31, 2010

Limoncello Part 1

What Do you do when you have huge bag of Lemons given to you?
Why Make a batch of Limoncello of Course!
A friend of mine Gave me a huge bag of lemons and they have been rolling around in the back of my car for a few days. Then I saw a blog post fromSonnet of the Moon. and my mind flashed back to last summer in Montana, where I had my first experience with the wonderful Italian lemon liquor.
Limoncello takes from 40 to 80 days to prepare so if you want to have some ready by August, you should start a batch now. Don't let the long time frame fool you...you have fairly little work to do along the way. And what work there is will be well worth it. Served straight from the freezer, limoncello is a light and refreshing treat on a hot summer evening.


Ingredients for Step 1~
-One .75 liter bottle of 100 proof vodka (you will need another bottle for Step 2 so you can buy them both now if you wish)
-14 fresh lemons. Look for lemons with thick, healthy, fragrant skins
-A one gallon glass jar with lid
-MicroPlane Zester( I of Course recommend the Pampered Chef microplane Zester it will zest your lemons perfect and it will help avoid getting to the Pith)

Pour one bottle of vodka into your freshly washed and dried jar.
After washing and drying all your lemons, zest the skins directly into the vodka. Avoid zesting the white pith as it is bitter and will affect the taste of your limoncello.

When finished, screw the lid on the jar and swirl all the zest into the vodka. Your zest will take up most of the space in the vodka and will turn it a cloudy yellow. Place the jar in a cool, dark spot for 20 to 40 days. Swirl your jar every few days if you can remember.
Check back for Step 2!~


Say Hello to my little Helper!!







Saturday, May 29, 2010

Update

May is almost over and we are headed into summer with no school and lots of fun!! Life has been hectic and crazy and moving right along.
Matthew has turned 5 and will be starting Kindergarten in August. He won the Lottery to get into our Charter school. I am so excited for him, the charter school is a Montessori based learning program, where the focus is on the learner and how they learn best. Its very hands on learning and really geared toward teaching the child about responsibility and accountability in there own learning process.
Delaney will be starting preschool 2 days a week in August she will be going to So-big were Matthew went, and I will be the 2 day Vice-President I will be in Charge of the Field trips and the Parents Work Schedule. I am really looking forward to being super involved in her school days.
Also I am relieved to announce that Riley will be starting in a special Day class in 4th Grade.He will be getting more help with his APD ( auditory Processing Disability) and his VPD ( visual processing disability) I don't' know how many sleepless nights I have had worrying about Riley and his 4th grade school year. I am constantly second guessing all my decisions I have made for him since he started preschool, but I have to keep telling myself that I made the best decision I could at that time. I can't change the past I just have to keep looking toward the future and try to just keep thinking about what is best for Riley and what will benefit him the most.
I am looking forward to summer and am hopping to keep the kids busy and hopefully keeping my sanity int he process. lol
As for me I am still doing Pampered Chef and loving every min of it.Please Check out my website, it has an online Catalog, recipes tips and an outlet section. I get the sense of accomplishment that I use to get when I was a working mom, but I still get to stay home during the day with my kids and am able to stay really involved with them.
I have been really slacking on my quilting and sewing, but I have a few projects that I have ahead of me mostly baby quilts and birthday shirts for Delaney and Riley. I was able to do another super cute Birthday shirt for Matthew he loved it and I really liked how cute it turned out!
Well I Hope every body has a safe and fun Memorial Weekend!!!
Hello Summer time can't wait to hit up the sand sun and sip summer drinks and watch the kids run through the sprinklers. :)