Down Home with Sue Lemon Curd

Summer is the best time to buy and use fruit for its freshness and availability.  On this Father's Day, lemon curd comes to mind. My Dad was an excellent gardener, and I'm so thankful I got that gene from him. He lived in California where you can grow just about anything.  He always had lemon trees in his backyard; whenever he visited, I got a big box of lemons. This was before the internet, so I had to turn to my canning books for ways to use all those lemons. That was my first time making lemon curd. I gifted my Dad a jar and he was hooked. So, the deal was that he got a jar of lemon curd every time he brought me lemons. Sweet! Fruit curds are a wonderful way to use extra fruit. They are generally a mixture of fruit juice and zest that is cooked slowly until thickened with eggs, sugar, and butter to make a creamy spread.  Lemon curd happens to be the most popular. You can use it on toast, muffins, and hand pies, or straight from the jar.  Since it's much harder to grow lemons here, be sure to look for big lemons, organic or Meyers if you can find them to make this curd at home. It's fairly simple, just don't let it burn. I hope everyone had a great Father's Day, I hope you made some new memories or remembered the old ones. Lemons aren't just for lemonade anymore.