Thursday, August 26, 2010

salt and spice.

i recently came into a windfall gain of small, lovely round lemons.


'how exciting!' you say, and i will undoubtedly agree.  


anyone that has experienced me in action in a kitchen will know that the space quickly fills with fresh and dried herbs and spices for experimentation.  much like brewing a potion, dishes rarely end up without some form of new spice to test out.  rarely following the rules of robust and mild flavors, i really just like to know what makes basics better.  as a point, i was recently chastised for wanting to put fresh basil in a greek yogurt-cauliflower mash because the flavors were thought to be too contrasting, only later to be rewarded with pleased dinner partners and compliments to the cook.


which, naturally, leads me to the decision i came to for what to do with so many lemons...

















as i've been wanting to cook with preserved lemons since enjoying both an interesting salad and a pasta dish during multiple visits to van's cafe in cottesloe [western australia], i easily decided to test out how difficult it would be to preserve my windfall for future cooking occasions.  answer: extremely simple requiring little time.


i checked out my favorite "food idea" website 101cookbooks.com in hopes of some instructions on the process and lo and behold, heidi swanson delivered [as always -if you haven't checked out this site, its great for interesting vego options].


20 minutes later, i have two jars packed with lemons and salt.  if any of you have the inkling to try it out, the only items you'll need are these.



now all i have to do is let them process and wait for a month until i can start incorporating these into dishes.  
so, morocco has been done...on to vietnam and chanh muoi.  

anyone want to surprise me with a cache of limes?

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