I fried up a package of applewood smoked bacon this morning, and the delicious aroma of the bacon greeted me as I walked back into the house after an hour of poolside bacon in the 74 degree Fahrenheit ambient day. It's to bad that the interwebs haven't figured out how to convey scents yet... but mmmmm, such a delicious fragrance. After finishing up yoga, and drinking in the aroma of bacon, I decided to pick some more lemons. Our tree is in FULL ripeness, with boxes of lemons sent to my boss and boss's boss at the corporate HQ, bags given to neighbors... more lemons than we know what to do with. And the tree is simultaneously in bloom and in laden with ripe fruit, so it has the enticing fragrance of jasmine-like aroma as well.
Most of my life, I underestimated the pleasant power of scent, having grown up in a chronically flatulent and lactose intolerant family, living in the NW Indiana industrial region, and eating rather bland food. After I met my inlaws and wife, they introduced me to bay leaf, cumin, oregano, tarragon, chilies, and a host of other wonderful tastes and scents besides just paprika and nutmeg. (yes, the spice shelf in the home I grew up in, had nutmeg, paprika, salt, and pepper, c'est toutes) Now, I take every opportunity possible to enjoy the wonderful scents here in the desert and in / around my home. Life's too short to let this stuff go by.
And now I have a container of solidified fat to freeze for future cooking, and 2 large bags of ripe organic lemons to juice and freeze tonight, so that we can enjoy lemonade year round here. Mmmmmmmm
9 years ago
have you tried preserving the lemons in salt?
ReplyDeleterecipe for preserving the lemons.. and here is one fore using the preserved lemons. :)
Ame, admittedly, I am not a big canner or preserver. While the recipe sounds very yummy, it also sounds VERY salty. I am not sure I could enjoy so much salt... one teaspoon per lemon? wow....
ReplyDeleteAlso, in the desert, I am a little concerned about dryness. Everything here tends to dry out. Creams and medicines in sealed containers tend to become putty in 2 or 3 years. I'd be concerned that anything I tried to can or preserve would mercilessly dry out in the < 10% humidity that will seep sealing efforts... hmmmm.
my understanding on using the preserved lemons is that you rinse them prior to use.
ReplyDeletebut, then again, it is work and I'm so anti-work. :)
as for the dryness issue, I'm not sure it would be that big of a deal. It would depend upon your container. Since the recipe is Morrocan and I do not expect them to have that much more humidity than AZ.
I know my aunty in India use to perserve in oil. but, i'm not sure the system for that.