by Amber on November 3, 2010 in Food
It’s finished! The limoncello process I started way back in August is bottled and ready to drink. Yum. The hardest part was upfront – the zesting – while the waiting time (anticipated as unbearable) simply flew past. Out of sight, out of mind in a dark kitchen cupboard.
Lesson learned: the amount of zest you put in really does effect the lemon strength (as you can see by the colour). Bottle 1 was tightly packed with zest, while I was a bit relaxed with the amount in Bottle 2, resulting in a lighter mix.
For the recipe click here – keep in mind I doubled my mixture, to get these 2 bottles plus an extra litre jar not pictured.
I’m storing it in my freezer until ready to serve, preferably into little crystal glasses. Belissimo!
by Amber on August 17, 2010 in Food
A couple of days ago I got the hankering to make some Limoncello. I’m not sure really where this urge came from – I did enjoy a tiny glass of it at Coco’s Cantina recently, so maybe there. Anyway, I researched the recipe – learning it takes 80 days to cure. Coincidence 1: It’s about 80 days until my birthday and the beginning of summer. We need nice things to drink in the summer. Coincidence 2: This weekend I was gifted a large shopping bag of organic lemons…
So tonight I got started, completing part 1! I have to fess up, zesting is tiresome. I did 20 lemons and felt like I got very little zest for my money. It’s going to be great though. Stay tuned for the results…
LIMONCELLO
Ingredients
17-20 organic lemons
2 bottles (750 ml) of 100-proof vodka
4 cups sugar
5 cups water
Part 1 : day 1, aka what I did today
- Wash the lemons thoroughly with hot water and a brush. We don’t want any nasties!
- Zest lemons carefully ensuring there is no white pithy parts on the peel. The white bit is rind and will make your Limoncello bitter.
- Put zest into a glass jar and cover with one bottle of vodka. Close the lid tightly and hang on baby, we have forty days to wait. We can interrupt it at day 10, but the longer we wait, the more the vodka will take on the flavour and colour of the lemon.
Part 2 : day 40
- In a large pot, combine the sugar and water; cook until thickened, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.
- Let the sugar syrup cool before adding it to the Limoncello mixture. Add the additional bottle of vodka (I used Stil brand because it’s what I had on hand, you can also use grain alcohol). Allow to rest in a dark, cool place for another 40 days.
Part 3 : day 80
- After the incubation period, strain the mixture using coffee filters or similar.
- Bottle your Limoncello, discarding the lemon zest. A big bottle for you, or several little bottles to share the love – your decision!
- Keep in the freezer until ready to serve.
by Amber on September 29, 2009 in Notebook
This is the post in which I dip my toes in the DIY waters. Naturally it’s in a cheap, cheerful and shamefully easy manner.
I took last summer’s plimsolls and gave them a wash, becasue they were showing the signs of too much adventuring in beer halls. The laces were excruiciatingly grim (ewww not showing you), so I removed them and looked around for something better.
Spying 1 metre of royal purple ribbon, I snipped it in half, sealed the ends with a lighter to prevent fraying and threaded the lengths into the sneakers. Voila!
They’re pretty much Lanvins now.
