AN ODE TO LEMON

The way I feel about lemons is akin to the way that maybe snout to tail enthusiasts feel about their meat. The versatility, the novelty, the functionality! It has vitamin C, a great smell, and fabulous color. You can squeeze it in some water to flavor it and give you an extra boost, you can add it to homemade cleaner made up of vinegar and baking soda to give your cleanser a fresh scent, you can take used lemons to wipe down your counter tops, you can make candied lemon peels with the peel, you can roast it to top your chicken, you can add it to a salad dressing or just simply squeeze some on sautéed kale or mushrooms, you can add some to tonic water and gin, or use the juices to make a simple syrup, and my recent obsession: you can bake with it.  In the past few weeks, I’ve made two different kinds of lemon cake and two different kinds of lemon pie. I’m a little bit in love.  Another huge pro to this little fruit is that it is inexpensive and it only takes a little to get a big effect.

Enter here:  an idea to make even more things out of lemon, friends, and a day that I shall hereby dub “lemon day”.  We got together for this occasion and proceeded to make lemon marmalade, lemon preserves, a lemon lavender cake using spelt flour, and lemon cocktails. I had never made jam or marmalade before, but thankfully Megan and Elizabeth were already experienced in the arts, so it wasn’t as intimidating of a process and something I shall try again soon. The cocktails were refreshing, the cake was full of texture, the preserves are still preserving, and the marmalade is so good – I eat it almost everyday with some brie on a cracker.