They say if life hands you lemons, make lemonade. A lovely message and a good and lofty goal for a cheery outlook on life. However, sometimes life hands you hundreds of lemons, and all at once.
I am not speaking of calamities in my private life, but of actual lemons. This week brought unusual freezing temperatures to my area necessitating a quick harvest and a culinary project. Sure I could freeze lemon juice, again. I can make yet another Lemon Poppy Seed Cake (and although the Food & Wine recipe is a favorite, that would make 3 in 3 weeks), but I want to use them en mass. Almost every dinner this week has utilized a lemon or two but at this rate I'll be souring on the project in no time.
Last year I preserved lemons in salt with dried chilies. I had read they were used often in Moroccan recipes. The rather large jar was quite picturesque in my refrigerator for months, much like a 3D still life every time I opened the fridge door. Unfortunately, I never got around to cooking any Moroccan food and they went the way of most failed projects, the bin.
A quick scan of various websites yielded such fun ideas as making hair highlighter. My hair colorist would fall over laughing while charging me extra to fix my color back to the brunette of my youth. Next were an array of cleaning solutions for making copper gleam and all rooms of the house lemony fresh. While it would use quite a few lemons, it seemed to involve housework. Who wants two big projects at once? A kitchen full of lemons rotting while using salt and half a lemon to shine up those pots? Not this year (or any). I have the advantage of age. I can simply take off my bifocals and the house looks ever so much cleaner. Homemade air freshener recipes were a bit scary. Potpourri on steroids. Plus my house already smells of whatever I last cooked. It's a daily random air freshener without having to spend a penny.
Along with freezing the lemon juice for later use, I am making Gremolata, a chopped herb condiment typically made with lemon zest, garlic, and flat leaf parsley. I am adding softened butter to form small logs for individual freezing. It can be added to steamed vegetables like asparagus, used to flavor fish or poultry dishes, and just looks so good in my freezer. I am off with a zest for my new project.
I have included links to the recipes written of, and can vouch for the lemon poppy seed cake. It has become a traditional Christmas treat in this house.
Now stop staring at my lemons and remember,
1. When life throws you lemons... Duck
2. When life throws you lemons.... Ask for chocolate
3. When life throws you lemons... Grab the Tequila
4. When life throws you lemons... Throw them back
5. When life throws you lemons... Open a lemonade stand and make some money
6. When life throws you lemons... Ask for some recipes
7. When life throws you lemons... Make a centerpiece with your fruit bowl
8. When life throws you lemons... Well hey, keep them, they're free
9. When life throws you lemons... Suck out the vitamin C
10. When life throws you lemons... Make π
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