Preserved lemons

I've finally been convinced by all the gorgeous pictures of preserved lemons that have been floating around Punk Domestics these days. I found myself in the grocery store staring at the organic lemons and went for it.

Preserving lemons is ridiculously easy. Basically you just wash and cut up the lemons, pack them with sea salt and stuff them in a jar. After a month or so, you are ready to throw them in anything Moroccan tangines to salads, vegetable dishes and marinades. These lemons are preserved whole, and the result is a tangy, intensely lemony ingredient that goes well in a range of dishes.

You'll need:

Organic lemons
Sea salt
A clean mason jar

Step one. Buy organic lemons, and wash them really well. You'll want organic because you'll be eating the skins.

Step two. Cut the ends off the lemons - just enough to get to the fruit inside. Squeeze about a tablespoon of juice from each lemon into your jar.

                        this requires more effort then one might imagine


Step three. Cut a cross in the top of each lemons, leaving about an inch at the bottom of the lemon intact.

Step four. Pack the lemon with sea salt. Use a lot - about one and a half tablespoons per lemon.

Step five. Pack the lemons into the mason jar. No need to sterilize the mason jar first, but do make sure its clean. Pack the lemons in as tight as you can - I used ten lemons and one large mason jar. Don't be afraid to really pack them down. When all the lemons are in the jar, fill up any remaining space with fresh lemon juice.

Step six. Leave the lemons at room temperature for about a month, or until they are soft. After that you can store them in the refrigerator.

If you're wondering what on earth to do with preserved lemons, I've made a list of promising recipes. They turn up a lot in Moroccan cooking, and especially in Moroccan tangine dishes, although I've also seen a range of different uses for them.

Chickpea tangine with preserved lemon
Chicken with olives, preserved lemon and coriander
Preserved lemon semifreddo with basil syrup (scroll down to the third recipe - although the other two look great too)
Preserved lemon with spring vegetable risotto 

Waiting a month is going to be the hard part.

Hot Buttered Rum: Warm Drinks for Cold Days

Its getting seriously cold out in our neck of the woods. The dog and I were crunching through the first serious snowfall this morning, and it gets dark at like, 4:30 in the afternoon. Agata is confined to the office typing away at the masters-thesis-that-never-ends, and I'm excited about Christmas.

This is somewhat uncharacteristic, all this holiday spirit. I happily roll my eyes when it comes to other highly corporate, monetized holidays (Valentine's Day? I would never.), but Christmas seems to get me every time. Especially the part with the tree. I love Christmas trees. I would keep one in the house year-round if I could.

I'm going to blame my parents for this one (why not?). They always had a somewhat lackluster attitude towards Christmas trees. They were game for the rest of the Christmas thing, there were always stockings, and lights outside the house, and even Christmas cookies ... but their performance around Christmas trees has been a bit spotty.

One year, Dec. 23rd rolled around, and all the Christmas trees were sold out at the local lot. My father strung a rope across the living room and had us all decorate that instead. Other years, unsuspecting potted plants would get the treatment. So here I am, a decade later and the first guy at the tree lot.

Besides Christmas trees, the best thing about the Christmas has got to be the hot, boozy drinks. I have long been a fan of mulled cider with rum and hot toddies, and I am happy to add this recipe for hot buttered rum to the list. It is deliciously rich, spicy and warming. I may never go to bed sober again.

Even better, you can make up this recipe in advance and keep it in the fridge, adding a spoonful to some hot water and rum whenever the urge takes you (which may be often). I think I'm going to give this jar to my brother, along with a bottle of rum.

You need:

3 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp orange zest (optional)

1. Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and mix until the sugar has dissolved into the butter.
2. Pour the mixture into a jar.
3. Add one tbsp mix to a mug of hot water with 1 ounce of rum. If you're feeling fancy, add a cinnamon stick.

Enjoy!