Lemon Juice Day, August 29th

Lemon Juice Day

Lemon juice. Love it! Love it sweet, love it savory, love it fresh squeezed on calamari... um, um, there is nothing better!

There are so many things that we can do with lemon juice. We can write secret messages with it. (Just take a cotton swab and dip it in lemon juice and write your message on white paper. When you are ready for your message to be revealed... hold the paper up to a lamp or other heat source. Voila! Secret message revealed!)

We also can use lemon juice for many, many different beauty routines. It can lighten discolored elbows; exfoliate dead skin; diminish the appearance of freckles and age spots; lighten and condition your hair, or as a dandruff treatment; or it can be used as an astringent toner for oily skin. Who knew lemon juice was so versatile!

But perhaps the best use for lemons is for food. Yummy, yummy, food. One of my favorite uses for a lemon is to squish it have to death and the stick it in the butt of a chicken or a Cornish Game Hen before baking it. With a little sprinkling of herbs and olive oil on the top, you have a lemon infused chicken when you are done. Yummy!

My Favorite Lemon Cake:

Grandmother's Pound Cake

1 Cup Butter
2 Cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups sifted flour
6 eggs
Juice of one lemon
1 Tablespoon of lemon rind finely chopped
3 teaspoons of vanilla or 1 teaspoon lemon extract (your choice)
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Optional: 1/4 cup poppy seeds

Use mixer and cream together butter and sugar. Add flour and eggs alternately, one at a time to creamed mixture. Add lemon juice, vanilla, and salt. Bake one hour and 20 minutes in creased and floured angel food cake pan at 325 degrees F. Let cool for 10 minutes then turn out on cake rack. Serve plain or with summer fruits.

(This recipe has been modified to make me happy from the A Taste of Oregon Cookbook)

So, everyone, take a second and have something with lemon juice today! It's so yummy!