Lemon Butter

It has been grey drizzly afternoon, great for the garden, especially on an afternoon when I don't need to go outside! Instead I've been enjoying the warmth of the kitchen whipping up a batch of lemon butter.

I adapted the recipe from one of my favourite cooking sites, the Gluten Free Scallywag. I was amazed how quick and easy it was. The last time I attempted a lemon butter, it seemed like hours of stirring, only to find the egg cooked when I added it to the mixture, causing great big lumps of solid egg-white throughout the mix. This version has the egg and sugar added from the start so there is no chance of that happening.

Here is my version of the recipe:

Lemon Butter (Lemon Curd)

3 eggs
2 egg yolks
100g castor sugar
50ml lemon juice (1-2 lemons)
3tsp lemon zest (about three lemons)
100g cold butter, cut into 1cm cubes


Beat together eggs, egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy.
Measure out lemon juice and zest and keep aside. 
Heat egg and sugar mixture on low to medium heat, stirring briskly until sugar has disolved. A heavy based saucepan works best. Add lemon juice and zest, and continue stirring. 

Gradually add the butter, one cube at a time, adding another when the last has disolved. While this is happening the mixture will begin thickening. 

Once all the butter has disolved reduce the temperature to a low heat and stir gently as it reaches a boil. This should take 3-4 minutes, and the mixture should now be nice and thick.

Remove from the heat and press through a sieve to remove the lemon zest. You can ignore this stage if you want a chunkier curd. Pour into a sterilised* jar and refrigerate for 3-4 hours until firm. 

* To sterilise a jar, slowly heat in a cool oven for 20 - 25 mins, or follow these instructions. 

Farmers market finds

This morning I stumbled across a farmers market not far from where I live. I had heard about it before, but had never managed to remember to go down on a Sunday morning (I am usually curled up on the couch with a cup of coffee).

As well as picking up my usual fruit and vegetables, I came home with some lovely flowers, a bunch of adorable heirloom carrots and four seedlings wrapped in newspaper. There was a huge selection on offer but I eventually went with red spring onions, purple silverbeet, red russian kale and some broccolini. I also picked up a bulb or planing garlic which will make an interesting experiment as growing garlic is completely new to me.

While not from my garden, a neighbour recently gave me a large bag of lemons and baby mandarins that were growing on their tree. The mandarins were polished off quickly, but the lemons have been waiting for the right dish. I've finally decided to go with a lemon butter so I use them before they go mouldy or dry out. I'll post the results of that later.

Welcome to my tiny garden

I decided to write this blog to record the changes in my garden through the seasons and to track the progress of little projects I'm working on. 


I live in a ground floor apartment in Melbourne, Victoria and am incredibly lucky to have access to a private courtyard garden. Growing up on a suburban quarter acre block, I was always surrounded by plant-life and spent my childhood climbing trees, playing in our 'jungle', or reading on the grass in the sunshine. As an adult, I've moved between share houses, usually without the luxury of a garden. Where I've been able to, I've grown vegetables or flowers in pots, but have found this quite limiting. 


My current home has a small 8m x 2m courtyard. It is half paved and half grass, with a raised bed running along the side. When I moved in the bed was already filled with flowers and herbs, so I have been gradually updating as I go along. I'm trying to grow mostly vegetables and herbs, but I still like to scatter flowers throughout the garden to keep it looking pretty. I've also got a sad lemon tree who I am hoping to bring back to life and finally bear fruit. 


I try to grow organically as much as possible, especially with edible plants. I'm also learning as I go, so if you have any tips or ideas please feel free to comment and let me know. 


Thanks for reading.