When Life Gives You Lemons, I Say Screw the Lemonade.

There are many different kinds of lemons.  You have the common Eureka and Lisbon.  Yen Ben has low seed count, the Pink Lemon well, is pink, the Asian yuzu and of course my favorite, the Meyer is a crossbreed of lemon and mandarin.  But when life wants to give you those lemons, essential life just wants you to suck it.

And my god is it bitter.

And this Bitter Chick has been recently given numerous cases of lemons and has no want to make lemonade.

So my story begins.  Youngest.  An aspiring pastry chef in the city of Chicago, who loves five things most in life.  One.  Pastries.  Two.  Pork.  Three.  Good Beer.  Four.  Shopping.  Five. Well, my mom reads this so we shall stop at four.

With that said, there are two things that scare ALL pastry chefs.  One.  Vegans. Two.  Diabetes.

Has this Bitter Chick traded her Michael Kors for Birkenstocks and her knives for a hacky sack?  Goodness no.  But, I currently have been tested for diabetes. 

MY initial response went something to the tone “What the….”

I’m in my mid to late twenties, thin, active, and have absolutely no family history of the disease.  But apparently, diabetes fears no family legacy and claims any at will.  Granted, many live long healthy lives with this incurable condition.  Granted, with the help of my friends and family I know that if the hand is not in my favor, I will prevail.

I suppose I can only laugh at this ironic turn of events.  As I sat there and had the doctor explain to me the tests and what exactly they were looking for, I made a decision.  Regardless if I have diabetes or not, I will continue to make the best pastries I am capable of creating.   I will learn moderation and NOT eat the entire log of perfectly made foie torchon with house made apricot mustardo. I will not give up my dream of eventually having my own shop nor hinder myself from dining out.  (Perhaps I will limit myself to going to Alinea once a year…not twice in one month) I will not allow some silly glucose deficiency control my life nor hinder what is destiny!  Vive la pastry, vive la Bitter Chick!!

Perhaps it was an epiphany, or maybe I was just lightheaded and slightly delusional due to them taking four vials of my blood….

Regardless, a lesson today was learned; and the results still not known.  My love of food will not be shaken.  Now give me that damn lemon.  I’m going to make lemon bars.

-Youngest

Lemon Bars:

(Recipes compliments from the one and only Emily Luchetti who I had the privledge to work for at Farallon in San Francisco)

Yield: 24 bars

Crust:

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

.5-cup confectioner’s sugar

6 oz unsalted butter

Filling:

6 eggs

3 cups sugar

1 cup + 2T fresh lemon juice

.5-cup all-purpose flour

Method:

For the crust:

Preheat oven to 325F.  Place confectioners sugar and all purpose flour in a mixing bowl with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed.  Add the butter and continue to mix until the butter is the size of small pea, about 30 seconds.  The mixture will be very dry.  Gently press the mixture evenly onto the bottom of a 9X13 inch baking pan.  Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes, then allow to cool to room temperature.  Reduce the oven to 300F.

For the filling:

Whisk eggs and sugar till smooth.  Add lemon juice and then the flour.  Pour the filling on top of crust.  Bake till set. Place I refrigerator for 1 hour.  Cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar.