Winter citrus

A gift of 10.5# homegrown Meyers (thank you J!) is transformed to a base for 1.5L limoncello, 15.5C marmalade, 3C lemon-ginger-honey concoction (not shown) for what ails you and 12 lemons leftover.

It's not paying the rent but it's still of value.

Bastille Day

Big Fun at the Cal Expo State Fair again this year!  of all the things I saw this weekend,  I am especially taken by two pieces. Lynn Dau's "Endless Possibilities" (left) and Faye Schoolcraft's "Jackson Pollack's Ideal Woman" (right).

And I spent a bit of time in the kitchen making lemon marmalade (27C) and salted lemons (4 tall jars on the left in the photo).  Many thanks to the homegrown source and conversation that came with it.

TdF update:  another 12g carded and spun for the RUSTIC series.

Also - another installment of a written piece drafted.  I now look forward to first drafts.

And the Zimmerman acquittal disturbs me greatly.  Young ones of color are not safe.  Trayvon Martin could have been my son.  In conflict,  the presence of guns throws off any sense of balance. Maybe it's Florida which generally seems off-kilter to me, but I don't understand this verdict at all.

Lemons four ways

What would you do with 15 pounds of lemons?

1. Chop them up to make marmalade.

2. Peel the zest and make limoncello.

3. Preserve the smallest ones in salt.

4. Freeze the juice in 4 icecube trays.

Spend 6 hours doing it.

Jul 17 update: Marmalade was jarred today. Limoncello will take several months to infuse. Salted lemons will be ready to use in another month. It's satisfying work, and I feel like I'm putting money in the bank.

Data: 12C chopped lemons + 1.5Q water soaked 24 hrs => 3batches(6+6.5+1C mixture + 5+5+.75C sugar) = 13.5C yield (3pt + 3-12oz + 3-8oz). // 2L: 16 lemons + 1.2L-80proof. 1.5L: 10 lemons + .75L-80proof. // 1L salted lemons. // 1 tray = 16 cubes = 1C juice.

What the widow wrought

When life gives you lemons...

...transform them into something grand.

Last week I received lots of homegrown Meyer lemons - tart, bitter, sweet, and very juicy. Thank you, K.

So I added salt to some, and preserved them thus.

Marmalade on L, Preserved on R.

And I added sugar to some more.
Specifically, I cut up one grapefruit and many lemons to make 12C, added 1.5Q water, soaked, cooked and added 1C+9C raw+white sugar to yield eight-12oz plus one-10oz jars marmalade.

Oh yeah, THAT's what I'm talkin' about!