First on Friday – The Creative Salad

Preserving Lemons

Another post in our First on Friday series where we share a recent, new experience.

I had never heard of preserved lemons until my good friend Alissa offered to teach me how to make them. I didn’t hesitate because I love learning new things, Alissa is so much fun, and what the heck are preserved lemons?!

Well, they are easy, SO EASY, to make and I’ve learned that you can use them in a variety of recipes (usually, though not exclusive to, Greater Middle Eastern cuisine). You can use the rind in salad dressings, fish or chicken dishes, stews, marinades, with pizza toppings, “anywhere you’d normally use lemon zest for a more intense, lemon kick.”

As for how they taste, I don’t know the answer to that yet. You see, you have to let them sit for a month in the fridge before you can use them. I’ll let you know how they taste in another week when they’re ready. :)

(I’ve included a list of links at the bottom of this post with more information about the process of preserved lemons and their many uses.)

Let’s get to the process. Here’s an overview.

Start with lots and lots of lemons (since you will be eating the peel, be sure to use organic or unsprayed lemons). Scrub them clean.

Place canning jars and lids in boiling water for several minutes to sterilize them.

Slice into (but not fully through) the lemons on four or five sides and stuff with salt.

Set these salt-stuffed lemons aside while you juice many, many lemons. (Might I recommend this tool that I use daily and love?)

Place two (or more) lemons into the bell jars. Fill with lemon juice.

Seal tightly.

Admire your handiwork and the sheer number of lemons you went through.

Place them in the fridge for a month and then you can start using them!

Want to learn more about the history of preserved lemons, the many ways to preserve them and find some recipes incorporating them?

Check out:
+ David Lebovitz’s method for preserving lemons (similar to what we did, just taking a few more days).
+ Heidi Swanson’s method as described on her delightful site 101 Cookbooks.
+ The Kitchn’s how to article that parallel’s our method and explains it more fully.
+ This fascinating article on Serious Eats about that “secret ingredient.”
+ A great article about all of the above, plus a demonstration video on Stone Soup.

Recipes incorporating preserved lemons to try:
+ Fettuccine with Preserved Lemon and Roasted Garlic
+ Quinoa with Asparagus and Preserved Lemon Dressing
+ Sauteed String Beans With Garlic and Preserved Lemon
+ Grilled Salmon with Preserved Lemon and Green Olives
+ Sautéed Shrimp with Preserved Lemon
+ Lentils with Spinach and Preserved Lemon (plus another recipe for making, you guessed it, preserved lemons)

Snow Day

Another post in our First on Friday series where we share a new experience from the past week.

While on our trip back east (to celebrate my grandmother’s 80th birthday), my daughter encountered snow for the first time. Talk about little girl heaven! (Above, she’s seeing freshly fallen snow for the first time, exclaiming, “It’s snowy!”)

The things we miss out on living in California!

She spent most of the day outside playing in the snow. (Above, she’s holding hands with her snowman.)

Thankfully Grandma and David were amenable to taking turns with her out there. Mama doesn’t much like the snow. (I’m afraid that commuting everyday in snowy Colorado ruined it for me. Perhaps someday I will reclaim the love of cold weather and freshly-fallen snow.)

In the meantime, my daughter finds it magical.

As she should.

Applesauce Friday

Another post in our First on Friday series where we share a new activity from the ~~week~~ season.

Suddenly winter has come to wine country: cool weather and lots of rain. We’re finally packing away the summer clothes and cooking warming foods on the stove.

We’ve been making lots of applesauce, a new something for the whole family. It turns out that applesauce making is incredibly easy and delicious. So easy and delicious that I can’t believe I waited until I was thirty years old to try it. And so easy and delicious that I will never buy jarred applesauce again.

Here’s what you do:

Peel, core and dice up a couple apples. Throw them in a sauce pan with a little apple juice or water. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 15-25 minutes until the apples begin to fall apart. Mash the apple mixture up with a fork. Taste. Nearly die from the deliciousness. Run out to buy more apples to make more applesauce. (Just kidding. About the last part anyhow.)

You have got to give applesauce making a try!

As my friend Sarah Gilbert says, “It’s such a feeling of power and revelation, isn’t it?” She nailed it. Oh, yes, it is! That’s exactly what it’s all about. Not only does cooking from scratch taste better, but it feels so satisfying.

I have apples in the fridge. I think I’ll go make some applesauce to eat with breakfast. Excuse me.

Beaded Ornaments

Another post in our First on Friday series where we share a new experience from the week.

You may be thinking, “What?! Another craft post?!” I know, I know. We have very limited content on our blog this week. What can I say? That’s what we’ve been up to and we’re having a blast.

Today we tackled some beaded ornaments inspired by a recent Kids Craft Weekly, an email newsletter that features simple, creative and fun projects for kids. (If you’re interested in crafts, you should subscribe. I always smile when I see a Kids Craft Weekly sitting in my email inbox.)

For over a year now my daughter has loved to string things, but until this week we mostly focused on building her hand dexterity and self-confidence by stringing larger objects, such as these fantastic Plan Toy Geo-Beads and the MoMA Modern Shapes Lacing Cards.

At our local craft resale shop I recently found a giant bag of brightly colored (mostly) wooden beads in large and small sizes and had a “we must buy this!” moment (not hard when it was a steal at $3 and supports our town’s senior center).

We started stringing the beads on pipe-cleaners, an easy first step for toddlers. We made simple wreath ornaments and jingly bracelets (with bells!).

(Yes, we’ve been cooking up potato pancakes! We’ve been crafting, cooking and celebrating nonstop. You should see the pile of dishes in the sink.)

My daughter loved beading. She found delight in trying something one way and then taking the beads off to do something else. With the alphabet beads, she liked trying to spell words (such as her name) and giggled as she laced individual letters saying, “S, for [her friend] Sadie! D, for Daddy!”

I enjoyed watching her work and seeing the evolution of her color, shape and size combinations. I found her work always interesting, quite creative and certainly full of beauty. A very special day.

Her First Gig

Another post in our First on Friday series where we share a new experience from the week (or, in this case, from last week!).

Here’s my daughter playing with Uncle Lee’s band, The Honey Gitters, at a brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado.