If we had been lucky enough to have Daniel remain on Earth, this week he would have been eighteen years old. Daniel, we have spent six Christmases without your being here in the flesh and five of your last birthdays without your smiling face. We celebrated these holidays quietly, but we still celebrated them. There are so many things I would like to have done, and had you with me while we were doing them.
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| Perhaps by now you would have grown in to liking sushi ! |
You were so bright at 12 1/2 and had been looking at colleges with an eye to going early. I find it hard to imagine what you might be doing now had you stayed. Perhaps you would be working on a Ph d by now.
In any event, as you know, we are all still here. We still celebrate your birthdays and the holidays with a cake and a quiet family celebration. Please know that you are loved and remembered by your people who remain on Earth. I love you, Bug.
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| Happy 18th Daniel ! |
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| A cake of the cosmos is probably the most fitting. |
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| Last evening, I remembered you by making a yellow Bundt cake, and then when it was out of the pan, drizzling it with lots of lemon curd. Your siblings thoroughly enjoyed it. |
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| Once cooled and thickened, lemon curd makes an excellent topping to cakes and cheesecakes or as a generous glaze to a Bundt cake. I know you would have loved this. |
Daniel would want me to give you a recipe for the British Standard Lemon Curd:
(No, you really don't need salt)
- 3 oz. (6 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 3/4cup sugar-1 cup depending upon taste
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp. grated lemon zest
Using a carrot peeler, remove the zest of 3 lemons. . Put the zest in a food processor fitted with
the steel blade. Add the sugar and pulse until the zest is very finely
minced into the sugar.
Cream the butter and beat in the sugar and lemon mixture. Mix the eggs with a fork and add them to the mixture. one at a time, and then add the lemon juice. . Mix until combined.
Pour the mixture into a 2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. The lemon curd will thicken at about 170 degrees F, or just below simmer. Remove from the heat and cool and then refrigerate. I have done this very carefully using a microwave. A percentage of the thickening does occur while cooling.
Cream the butter and beat in the sugar and lemon mixture. Mix the eggs with a fork and add them to the mixture. one at a time, and then add the lemon juice. . Mix until combined.
Pour the mixture into a 2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. The lemon curd will thicken at about 170 degrees F, or just below simmer. Remove from the heat and cool and then refrigerate. I have done this very carefully using a microwave. A percentage of the thickening does occur while cooling.
This is an excellent drizzle for shortbread, scones, pound cake, pastry tarts, cheesecake, and is divine on pancakes.
Calories per tablespoon: About 50
Happy Birthday, Daniel !
