Surrounded by yellow
It started with our daffodils coming into bloom a few weeks ago, followed by a visit to the Filoli Estate where over 250,000 daffodils were on display. Their vibrant yellow inspired a pair of earrings and my own version of an Etsy treasury with the daffodil as inspiration.
The next dose of glorious yellow came in the blankets of mustard plants in wine country seen on a recent day trip. The yellow of these mustard plants is almost electric, and is so refreshing and energizing.
The latest burst of yellow in my world is our little meyer lemon tree which is literally straining with fruit this time of year. We try to incorporate lemon in as many recipes as possible, but are always looking for a good lemon (preferably meyer lemon) recipe. What is your favorite lemon recipe?
In an attempt to expand our lemon repetoire, this weekend I’m going to try Thomas Keller’s Cured Lemons from his Ad Hoc Cookbook. He says that you can use these cured lemons in many applications, so we’ll give it a try.
Here’s the recipe in case you want to try it.
Cured lemons
8 lemons (3-4 ounces each), scrubbed
1 3/4 plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons kosher salt
Cut 1/2 inch from one end of a lemon, leaving you with the nicest, widest portion, and slice the lemon into 1/8 inch rounds, removing the seeds as you go and stopping 1/2 inch from the other end. Repeat with the remaining lemons.
Combine the sugar and salt in a large bowl.
Sprinkle just under 1/2 inch of the sugar mixture in the bottom of a storage container that is about 6 inches square. Arrange a row of slightly overlapping lemon slices on top, and top the a layer of the sugar mixture that just covers the lemon slices completely. As you layer the lemons, the goal is to have enough of the sugar and salt mixture evenly distributed on the slices so that when it dissolves, all of the lemon slices will be covered with the liquid. (It is better to use too much sugar and salt than too little, because any exposed areas of lemon can mold.) Continue the process, alternating the lemon slices and sugar mixture and ending with a layer of the sugar mixture on top.
Put the lid on the container and wrap the container tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 weeks, or up to 1 month.
