Is summer already over? Do I now have to come back to my weekly blog posts? That was the plan before I decided to take a break but this break isn’t breaking! Blogging is a bit of work and this little habit of not having to work hard is becoming a bit of an indulgence. While I do think that a break is a good idea, I also think it can totally derail me from my well kept habits.
About a week back I received an email from the FBC (Food Bloggers of Canada). It was an exciting email that came with homework. While I sat down to tackle my “homework” it felt good to be back at writing and reading blogs. Suddenly the inquisitiveness felt good. “How are ‘they’?” I thought. “What have they been doing all summer?”.
This week FBC has chosen Keep Calm and Eat On as their featured blog for which I am very thankful. If I hadn’t worked hard earlier I probably wouldn’t have caught their attention now, so I had better get back to blogging.
And for being so patient with me, I leave you with a recipe that tests your patience a bit further: Preserved Lemons (at least they are done in 6 weeks or 1 – which takes less time than my comeback).
PRESERVED LEMONS( Moroccon)
Ingredients:
- Lemon: 4
- Lemon juice: from 4 lemons
- Course sea salt: 1/3 cup or more
- bay leaf: 2
- cinnamon: 1 stick
- whole black peppercorns: 1/2 Tbsp
- vegetable oil: as needed
Method:
- Wash and clean lemons
- Make a cross wise slit almost up to the end keeping the lemon in one piece.
- Pack the slits of the lemons with course sea salt.
- Arrange lemons in a mason jar. Add the black peppercorns, bay leaf and the cinnamon sticks.
- Pour the lemon juice and the vegetable oil before sealing the jar.
- Leave jar in a cool dark space for 6 weeks. Every over week without opening tip the jar back and forth to let the salt and liquids mix.
- The preserved lemons can be used after 6 weeks and will last up to two years.
HOT ANS SPICY PRESERVED LEMONS (Indian)
Ingredients:
- Lemon: 4
- Lemon juice: juice from 1 lemon
- Course sea salt: 1/4 cup or less
- bay leaf: 2
- Dried red chilli: 3 (or more if you like it hot)
- Coriander seeds: 1/2 Tbsp
- Garlic: 2 small coves (optional)
- Vegetable oil: as needed
Method:
- Wash and clean lemons
- Quarter the lemons or make slits the same way as the Moroccan lemons mentioned above.
- Arrange lemons in a mason jar. Add the spices.
- Pour the lemon juice and the vegetable oil before sealing the jar.
- Leave jar in on your windowsill to sit in the sun for a week. Tip the jar back and forth every other day to let the salt and liquids mix.
- The preserved lemons can be used after one week and will last up to two years.
Congrats on your feature!! And thanks so much for this recipe. I LOVE preserved lemons, so I shall definitely be thinking of making this.
Thank you!I It is nice to get a bit of attention once in a while 🙂 Preserved lemons are the easiest thing to make and so much better home made than store bought. Hope you get a chance to make some. Good Luck!
Chiles with lemon…magic! Beautiful looking stuff x
Magic it is! Does backflips on the taste buds…love it!
I didn’t know about preserved lemnos, what are they used for?
Preserved lemons can be used in many different ways. You can use the lemon rinds to infuse the flavour in any savory food you want from salad dressing to soups to stews and so much more. Moroccan tagine is usually incomplete without the addition of these. Indians love to use them as a condiment and in stuffings for parathas. It’s got a lovely fresh taste. Try it you’ll love it! 🙂
I’ve been meaning to try this again! I love the addition of chillies….
There are these Indian preserved lemons that are packed with spices…more chillies along with other whole spices that I like too. I love the ones with chillies with dal. Hope you get a chance to make some 🙂
Such a beautiful art of preserving those lemons and even better you have a feature! congrats! Its certainly heating up here in the southern hemisphere so it comes as no surprise to me that you’re capturing the very best of those flavours! enjoy 🙂
Thanks Alice! We are officially into Fall now. I had made the preserved lemons early in the summer but never got to blog it. I look forward to the fresh summer food from your end soon!
good reminder to start a new batch of preserved lemons before we run out! congrats on the FBC shout-out… lovely blog.
Thank you, Thank you for stopping by and the lovely comments! You have a lovely blog yourself too….loved reading it. 🙂
So glad you are back and congratulations on being featured with the Food Bloggers of Canada. You deserve it!! This post is further proof of that.
Thanks Danielle! I have been so busy over the summer and haven’t had a chance to see what everyone else was doing. Hopefully I won’t disappear any more.
Congratulations! Well deserved recognition for your great work. Welcome back too. We (I) have missed you.
Best,
Conor
Thank you Conor! It’s nice to know that I make sense sometimes….Hahaha. Thanks for the support. 🙂
Hola!!!!!
Muy interesante, tienes un blog maravilloso.
saludos.
Gracias por tus amables palabras! 🙂
Congratulations on your feature and the preserved lemons recipe looks wonderful. Gorgeous photos!
Congrats my friend, so well deserved 😀
This recipe looks gorgeous!
Cheers
CCU
Thank you CCU! Everyone needs to get a chance to get featured…we all deserve it.
Fefe Noir made a jar of indian-spicy preserved lemon that matured today. She just gave me a piece to taste and, holey shirt, Debjani, those are delicious. Completely different flavour than the lemon-and-salt-only we usually do. Now we have jars of both. Very exciting times.
Indian preserved lemons are different – spicy and hot, sometimes sweet too. I have been trying out recipes but not satisfied with the two batches so far. I want your recipe! Any blog post soon?