I'd like to say the classic lemon bar recipe I'm going to share was made using lemons from my lemon tree.
But that would be lying.
In fact, a few weeks ago I went outside to the garden and found an absolute lemon-scented mess littering the ground - apparently, the birds in my area had thought it quite fun to take a single bit out of every. single. lemon on the tree!
So this recipe was made using shop-bought lemons, but don't let that deter you - you'd be hard pressed to find a better lemon bar recipe than this one (I'll back up my claim with a lemon bar - care to try some?)
I adapted my recipe from Joy the Baker and here's how you can make your very own:
1. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350F) and line an 8x8" tin with baking paper.
2. Cream 113g of butter with 1/2 cup sugar using a stand-mixer (I use the KitchenAid) for about 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add 1 cup of plain flour and a pinch of salt and don't forget to scrape down the sides of the bowl!
3. Pour the crust mixture into the tin and press it down evenly over the base of the tin with your fingertips. To smooth it out, I used the back of a spoon and rubbed the crust.
4. Bake the crust for 15-18 minutes until browned. Make sure you bake it in the top third of the oven, else it will take a lot longer for your base to bake (and that would mean longer until you get to eat lemon bars, so we can't have that, can we?)
5. While the crust is baking, whisk 2 large eggs with 3/4 cup white sugar until the mixture gets slightly thicker. Add 1 tsp fresh lemon zest (from your lemon tree or otherwise - pesky birds!) and 3 tablespoons of plain flour and 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice.
6. Take your crust out of the oven once its 15-18 minutes are up, and pour your lemony liquid on top!
7. Bake for a further 18-20 minutes until the top layer doesn't jiggle in the middle. Again, make sure your tray is in the top 1/3 of the oven!
8. Leave to cool completely while still in the tin, then take the slab out of the tin and cut into squares, dusting with a heavy dousing of icing sugar - the sweet really does help the sour.
1. One month with this boy <3
2. Lucky enough to see Vivid Sydney on a Harbour Cruise with family
3. Goats at work to mow the lawn (hehe they love all scraps!)
4. Played barefoot lawn bowls at Paddo Bowls for a friend's birthday
A few weeks ago, on a chilly and grey day, I skipped Uni and spent the day instead with my dad - we'd won a competition for an airside tour of Sydney airport, and boy was it great!!
We hopped on a bus and began our way out onto the live runway...
Standing behind some barricades, we all snapped away, wearing fluro yellow vests and barcoded-name tags (admittedly we look a bit dorky hehe).
From this vantage point we got some fantastic photos, with the planes landing right over Airport Drive and in our direct line of sight.
The only thing threatening our day was the rain - and when we had had our fill of this area and jumped back on the bus for a spin around all three of Sydney's runways - our bus stopped. A blue light was flashing on a pole above us: lightning within a 10km radius.
Luckily for us, the danger passed and we moved onto a part of the tour I wasn't particularly looking forward to, but I was dead wrong. The bus pulled up into the parking bay of Sydney Airport's Fire Service, and the fluro yellow beasts within were exposed.
One lucky member got his name called out, and was firing that strong stream of water from the firetruck. Despite the light but persistent rain chilling me to my bones, it was still fun to be hit by the truck's water 'spout' as it was moved from side to side to create a sort of hazy-water-spiral.
As the rain began to get heavier, though, we moved onto our final plane-watching spot, which was the closest to a live runway we had gotten all day!
I had a brilliant day - could not stop talking about it for the rest of the afternoon, and hardly wanted to give back my safety vest hehe!
If you fancy a day well-spent at the airport, the day is run by the YSSY forum, and was not limited only to this day. The Sydney Airport open day was run for the Friday and Saturday, with a trivia night and dinner also available to win! If you don't live in Sydney, never fear, for the open days run Australia-wide :) I'll definitely be putting my name in the draw again next year!
