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What to do with Lemons?

by sustainableholly | Aug 13, 2019 | Kitchen, Preserving, Uncategorized

What to do with lemons?! Lemon and citrus season is in full swing and if you are lucky enough, you may be struggling to use up all your produce before it goes to waste. A great problem to have! Below are a few of my favourite ways to use up lemons. I love how the lemon season coincides with the flu season and lemons are a fantastic natural remedy, packed full of vitamin C for colds and flu! Nature really is amazing. If you have a ton of lemons, below are some great ways to preserve your lemons so you can use them throughout the year.

Fresh off the Tree

One of the best ways to extend your harvest is to leave them on the tree for as long as you can. As soon as you pick them they will start to ripen and deteriorate much quicker than if they remain on the tree. I love fresh lemons especially walking out to my garden and picking a lemon and cutting it up for a fresh cup of hot lemon water or in summer, iced lemon water! This is also the best way to get the most vitamin C as once you cook or dehydrate lemons, the Vitamin C levels reduce significantly. But there is only so much fresh lemon I can eat…

Gifting or Swapping

Gifting or trading your excess lemons is a great way to make friends with your neighbours! Your friends, family and work colleagues may also love some fresh lemons if they don’t have a tree at home. This can open up some great conversations and people may even start bringing and gifting their own excess produce.

Dehydrated Lemons

It’s winter and I love a hot water lemon drink in the morning to warm up! The only thing is that often I put the remaining half a lemon in the fridge and it will end up at the back of the fridge until it gets thrown out 🙁 So if I want lemon for my tea I pick a small one and put it somewhere front and centre so I can see it! This is why I love using dehydrated lemons because you can use a couple of slices as needed. Dehydrated lemons can also be used in baking, cake decorating, or finely chopped to add some lemony flavour to your cooking. They rehydrate once they get wet so they work quite similarly to fresh lemon but have a more caramelised flavour.

Lemon Zest Sprinkles

Zest the skins and dehydrate. Place in a jar and use in cooking and baking to as some lemony flavour!

Lemon Juice

You can then juice the lemons and freeze into ice cubes. Once the cubes are frozen, place into a container or freezer bag and label. These can be used in cold drinks, cocktails, cooking, baking and added to boiling water for a delicious hot lemon tea at just the right temperature! (can you tell I like lemon tea).

Citrus Cleaner

Ok, so you have now used the zest and the juice of the lemons, what do you do with the remaining flesh?! Place all the lemon scraps in a jar and fill with White Vinegar. Place in a dark spot in your pantry and leave for two weeks. You can then strain the liquid off and add the same amount of distilled water and you have a natural all-purpose cleaner. This is a great way to get the most out of your lemons with as little waste as possible.

You can also simply throw a few slices into your jug/kettle and add a few dashes of white vinegar and water. Simply boil the jug and then let it sit for 30mins. Rinse and clean. This will help remove the limescale and calcium build-ups on your jug.

Baking

Lemon slice, lemon meringue pie, lemon cheesecake. I’m not one for baking recipes but I have been doing some trial and error lately!

Roasted Lemons

In winter I like to make a roast vegetable salad because it’s a little bit more of a winter warmer but not too heavy. I chop up my root vegetables (carrots, sweet potato, beetroot, potato etc) along with some wedges of lemon and oven roast with oil and herbs. This is a great way to use up those half lemons in the fridge or some lemons that are getting too ripe. Once the vegetables are roasted I serve in a bowl of chopped up greens and top with feta cheese, pumpkin seeds, and aioli dressing. The roasted lemon wedges can then be squeezed on top and they add beautiful mellow caramelised lemon flavour.

Lemon Butter

Lemon butter or curd is heaven in a jar! This is a super luxurious and delicious way to use lemons and can also make great gifts! Enjoy on toast, pancakes, meringues or add to the centre of lemon muffins for a delicious surprise.

Other ideas

There are still so many different ways to use lemons that I haven’t tried yet. Here are a few below:

Marmalade
Lemonade!!
Preserved Lemons
Lemon cake
Limoncello

Let me know what you use lemons for in the comments below!

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10 Edible Plants To Grow In The Shade

by sustainableholly | Jul 22, 2019 | Garden, Uncategorized

Growing edible plants in the shade is definitely possible! One of the most important factors to consider when planning your edible plants or permaculture garden is to OBSERVE your environment and analyse your sectors (wind, sun, fire, water, frost). It is number one on David Holmgren’s list of Permaculture Principles (1. Observe and Interact). Learning how these external energies behave on your specific property will make your garden design and planting so much more successful and long-lasting.

Observing where the sun and shade are throughout the year will also allow you to plan which plants or elements will grow best in each spot. Rather than finding a spare spot and planting a full sun-loving tree in an area that is 80% shaded and wondering why it doesn’t do well (been there, done that..). Gardening is a lot of trial and error, but by observing and interacting you will be able to identify what issues you have and figure out how to solve them.

I have identified areas of my garden that are mainly in shade due to our garage and neighbouring trees.

Watch my latest Video for 21 Edibles to Grow in the Shade

My Top 10 Edible Plants to Grow in the Shade:

Nasturtiums – Tropaeolum majus. If you don’t know by now these are one of my favourite plants. They thrive pretty much anywhere and are so abundant even in shaded areas. Most of the plant is edible!
Sweet Violets – Viola odorata. Sweet violets, also known as English Violets, Wood Violets or Common Violets, have cute little purple or white and purple edible flowers and make a beautiful carpeted ground cover.
Lettuce – I grow many different varieties of lettuce and they don’t seem to mind the shade. In fact in Perth, WA I find they do better in the shade.
Chives – Allium schoenoprasum. I have chives planted in the shade year-round and they do well. They add great oniony freshness to omelettes and the flowers are also edible.
Kale – Brassica oleracea var. acephala. Kale grows well in the shade due to its large leaves being able to sustain adequate energy. It does grow at a slower rate (like most plants in the shade) which I like because although I like kale it is much easier to keep up with it.
Radish – Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus. Radish are fast-growing and will do well in the shade. They are a perfect fresh accompaniment to a salad or pickled.
Asian Greens – Bokchoy, Tatsoi, Choy Sum, these are some of my favourite Asian leafy greens and they all do well in the shade or part shade.
Parsley – Petroselinum crispum. Parsley will tolerate shade and I find it grows at just the right rate for me to use without having masses going to waste.
Sweet Potato – Ipomoea batatas. Although full shade is not ideal growing conditions my Sweet Potato still does well. Slower growing but a great ground cover and still produces decent size crops.
Rocket – Eruca vesicaria ssp. sativa. Rocket does fine in the shade too and is a great addition to any salad, served with Pizza or make a delicious rocket pesto!

Overall growing edible plants in the shade will require more patience as growth rates will be slower and will often result in smaller plants. This can be a great thing though for plants that you don’t use very often or in small amounts. Less waste and they will also require a lot less water.

What edible plants do you grow in the shade? Leave me a comment below.

Holly🌱