Aw, Tex... I seriously love this time of year. Hohoho and a bottle of rum and all that. But what I really love most about the time of year is that it is citrus season down South and citrus blooming season up North in my greenhouse.TexMex is the name I have given to my adopted citrus tree my sister expertly cloned for me from her lemon tree growing in her family's front yard in Texas. This unique lemon has a storied if not entirely true heritage, but anyway, as it goes this "valley" lemon is of even more Southern parentage, coming from the much cherished lemons that were unique to the Rio Grande Valley. Don't know about all of that but it is a cool story and more importantly, it IS an incredibly unique and exceptionally flavored lemon.
My Tex is a rather rambunctuous youth and big enough to carry one rather large lemon. This lemon variety is large and the ones in the picture came today from my sister as our annual holiday exchange is in full swing. Ok half swing because I still haven't tossed over the box of Tillamook cheddar her family hoards like the cheese rats they are which makes this another top reason to love the season even more.
So off we go to Lemon Land. Its a beautiful life indeed. When all I want for Christmas is a box of lemons, life seems rather luxe. :)
Lemon Pudding (Curd) with Flacas Valley Lemons
- 3 Organic eggs, beaten
- 1/2 c lemon juice
- 1 c sugar
- 1 stick of butter
- 1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out or left in
I put everything into a double boiler over low to medium heat, stirring constantly. It does thicken nicely and when it does, it starts to smell like caramel, take it off the heat and pour into lidded pots, if you have them otherwise use plastic wrap or wax paper to cover them so the pudding doesn't develop a skin.
This is actually a lemon curd but if I use that word to a Southerner they thinking you are talking cottage cheese so I simply call it pudding and everyone's interested and happy again.
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