If you find yourself longing for the warm, sunny days of spring and summer and thinking you can’t take another day of this dark, cold, snowy winter, you’re not alone. The prices continue to rise at the grocery store and the gas station and airline tickets are soaring. It seems like a conspiracy to keep us all depressed and lethargic. Even the classes at the Y have fewer people—those who started so enthusiastically at the beginning of January are tired of digging out their cars or trudging through the snow. Okay, you get the idea. Want something to brighten your day and your outlook? Thankfully, nature has given us citrus fruit in abundance. Just when the wicked winds of winter are at their worst, citrus fruits are at their best and most economical.
Citrus is a broad family name for fruit trees native to tropical Asia where they have been grown for thousands of years. The best known species are oranges, grapefruit. tangerines, lemons and limes, but include kumquat, tangelo, and clementines, as well as a few other cross-bred types. Of course, thankfully, they are grown everywhere the climate is favorable now. In the United States, that is mostly Florida, California, Texas and Arizona. But if the crop has a problem in those states—weather for instance—there is Mexico and Central and South America which send many of their beautiful fruits our way so we never have to worry about availability.
Lemon is the workhorse of my kitchen all year. I have found that lemon substitutes for some of the salt and any msg you might have used to enhance flavor. It brightens almost any dish you put it in—and a fact very few cooks seem to know—it conditions yeast dough. Just a little lemon juice added when mixing bread dough will improve the texture of your finished loaf. The uses of lemon for cleaning, scenting, cooking, whitening (I could go on and on) are too numerous for this column—but you can virtually use lemon for anything.
Oranges are a close second—but mostly for eating. The lovely smell of orange when you first take off that first section of peel and the oil is sprayed into the air is a pick-me-up all on its own. It makes a wonderful snack—providing another workhorse in the nutritional world—Vitamin C. And, if that weren’t enough, the zest contains skin-cancer-fighting compounds.
One of my favorite ways to use citrus is making curds. I used to think they were hard to make and so saved them for days when I had lots of time on my hands. Then, I found a marvelous recipe for lemon curd that is made in the microwave and turns out just as well as the stove-top method. Now, I keep lemon curd on hand all the time and also make lots of it when lemons are a good buy to give as gifts. Everyone loves it and it has lots of uses beyond spreading on scones with Devonshire cream.
Pairing oranges or grapefruit with another delicious and available fruit—the avocado—is not only a great combo, but nutritious and beautiful to behold. Slices of avocado and oranges and/or grapefruit alternating on a bed of curly deep-colored greens and topped with a tangy-sweet dressing make a beautiful picture as well as a tasty dish. Add some toasted walnuts for omega 3 and textural interest and it is a lunch to die for.
Avocado-Grapefruit-Orange Salad
2 cups assorted crisp salad greens
½ large navel orange, peeled and sectioned
½ red grapefruit, peeled and sectioned
2 Tbsp toasted walnuts, broken
Dressing:
¼ cup canola oil
2 Tbsp orange juice
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp grated orange peel
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp celery seed
Arrange greens on two chilled salad plates, alternating sections of orange and grapefruit on one side of the plate and overlapping slices of avocado on the other side of the plate. Sprinkle half of the walnuts on each salad. In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, shake dressing ingredients. Drizzle over salads. Serve immediately. 2 servings.
Microwave Lemon Curd
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Rind from 2 large lemons
¼ cup butter
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
Put lemon juice into a 4-cup microwavable container. Stir in rind, butter and sugar. Microwave, uncovered on high for 1 ½ to 2 minutes or until butter is melted and mixture is hot. Beat eggs in a bowl. Gradually add hot lemon mixture to eggs, stirring constantly. Return mixture to the microwavable container and microwave, uncovered at 50% for 1 to 2 minutes or just until thickened, stirring every 30 seconds. Do not allow it to boil; mixture will thicken as it cools. Let cool. Pour into tightly sealed container. Refrigerate up to 2 weeks or freeze indefinitely.
1 ¼ cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup melted butter
¼ cup sugar
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
2 cups sweetened whipped cream (about 1 cup cream before whipping)
1 cup lemon curd
Add butter to crumbs and sugar and pat into 8x11 glass baking dish. Bake for 5 minutes at 375 or until firm. Cool. Using mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until completely smooth. Fold in 1 cup whipped cream. Spread over crust. Carefully spread lemon curd over the cream cheese layer. Top with remaining whipped cream. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Makes 8 generous servings.
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