3rd of May
Tuesday
*dramatic drumroll*
I was baking. Hahaha. My first batch of scones (lemon scones), ever! I am too ashamed to tell you how much time I spent mixing, rolling, baking and cleaning altogether. But I suppose the result was not too bad. (: The texture did not turn out how I had expected, but my sister commented it was different, though in a good way. Also there was a tang of sourness from the lemon that was satisfying but exceeded my liking by 20%. When we were way younger, my other sister and I stuck to baking simple, delicious cakes. That was then, when I wasn't well-informed about the diverse delicacies that an oven can produce. So today was a good starting point!
I simply cannot wait until the next time I do some baking again. Practice makes perfect, too common a phrase but one that I believe in. You see, I have a crystal clear vision of me, and my kids, spending time together in the kitchen - them looking too adorable in their tiny aprons, diligently pressing cookie dough or tip-toeing on a stool to stir their precious cream of pumpkin soup. That would be one out of the many things my children will be skilled in (: But more about my dreams later, haha.
Someday I will be able to make all of the above. (; *Lyrics to Dream Big*
So yes what did tryaliltenderness take from the baking experience today?
Squeezing a lemon dry to obtain its juice is terribly difficult. Disturbingly difficult. This happens when you don't have a juice extractor.
Because the clock was ticking away, I wasted no time Googling how to go about this absurd activity. "She has problems with squeezing a lemon?" Oh how you scorn. Try it yourself, Einstein. Let's see how much juice you can collect.
So yes, I went to Google after. For you budding chefs, here's what you need to know about squeezing lemons efficiently and productively (;
1. Squeezing a lemon taken directly out of the refrigerator will reduce the amount of juice you may potentially collect. So take your yellow fruit out about 2 hours before you start preparing your masterpiece.
2. If memory fails and you want to use the refrigerated lemon immediately, wash it (I will assume you are using only one lemon), and heat it up in a microwave oven for 20-25 seconds. Don't be too clever and go up to a minute (I can read your tricky little mind), apparently if the lemon gets to hot it may err... explode (:
3. After you have completed either step 1 or step 2, use the weight of your palm to press down on the whole lemon. You could perform this on your rolling platform or your chopping board (whichever applies / is easier). What you're doing here is breaking the fibers which will ease the flow of juice when you squeeze it later.
4. Now all you have to do is slice the lemon in half, and start squeezing ! Of course, if you want to be professional, you could imitate a majority of chefs by cupping one hand beneath the face of a half-cut lemon, squeezing it with the other hand. The objective is to catch the seeds. But I'd rather start by deseeding the lemon with a knife, since I'm a beginner. I'd also like to add that cutting the lemon into a few slices will waste heaps of drops of juice, and you may have to start crushing the slice the way you clench your fist. This is rather ineffective because the juice will simply coat / run all over your fingers and plenty will have been wasted.
5. If you are not going to make use of the other half of your lemon, be sure to coat the exposed flesh with a little bit of sugar to prevent drying.
6. Apparently, the average lemon will produce 3 tablespoons of juice. (Average lemon. If you obtain more, don't get too excited, it just means your lemon is peculiar. Haha I kid!)
Well there you go (:
Happy lemon-squeezing !
My future kitchen will definitely be white, and have a few elements that the above has. The glaringly obvious exceptions would be to have a much larger sink. And to do a few changes to the floor-tiling. (:
I also learnt that walking from the university to Chinatown takes no less than 18 minutes. ):
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