ingredients & the pantry

To become a cook you only need a few essentials:  an appetite, some ingredients, a kitchen to work in, a few tools and a little inspiration.  The desire to eat good food is the motivation to become a good cook.  By taking pleasure in the process of thinking about food, imagining how it might taste, the flavors and textures you want to achieve, reading books and recipes are a great start.

You do have to spend time in the kitchen before your own ideas come easily, when cooking becomes instinctive.  Ideas on what to cook come from a thought process and from practice.  One of the best places to start is with ingredients; they have always been my best source of inspiration.

First and foremost you have to have something to cook.  One of the best places to look for the freshest most seasonal ingredients is from the farmers’ markets or markets that sell organic and locally grown foods.  Go to the market with an open mind before you decide what to cook, see what’s there.  Be open to what’s available.  I have learned a lot from talking with the farmer’s and those working there.  Ask questions like what variety is this?  How was it grown? How do you cook it?  How long is it in season?

When it’s not possible to frequent the farmers’ market and the supermarket is the only option, stick to the periphery of the store, where the fresh, unprocessed food is usually found and avoid the aisles upon aisles of processed food.

Ingredients for stocking a pantry I believe should vary with the season.  For the winter pantry items such as:

Olive oil

Vinegars

Salt

Black peppercorns

spices

Dried and canned beans: cannellini, chickpeas, black, pinto

French green and brown lentils

Arborio and basmati rice

Faro

Quinoa

Assorted pasta

Couscous

Polenta

Dried mushrooms

Dried chilies

Canned whole San Marzano tomatoes

Anchovies

capers

Imported oil-packed tuna 

Flours

Baking Powder and baking soda

Good chocolate

Vanilla

Wine

If your pantry is stocked with these ingredients, you can be secure in the knowledge that no matter what time it is, and no matter who shows up hungry on your doorstep, there will always be something to eat.

~Shannon

3rd and Fairfax

What began as a dirt lot for farmers to congregate and sell their fresh produce has now grown into a renowned dining paradise combining nostalgic charm for natives and tourists alike.  L.A.’s Original Farmers’ Market is the place where visitors can experience authentic cuisines from around the world, enjoy old Hollywood stories and maybe even catch sight of a celebrity or two.  Fresh produce, meats, seafood, cheeses and baked goods abound in this condensed area.

If you want to grab something for either breakfast, lunch, dinner or anything in between you can find it here.  From Mexican to Middle Eastern to Brazilian and even good ol' American diner fare the Farmers' Market has something for everyone.

We hit the market at lunch time so we decided to try the famed Pampas Grill.  It is a Brazilian barbecue joint that seems to always have a line at least 10 deep.

In the center of the restaurant, you’ll see a large mesquite barbecue, where the finest cuts of meat are simply prepared and spit-roasted to juicy perfection. 

The food is priced per pound, customers select dishes they want as they walk along and pay by weight at the end.  

The fried plantains, braised collard greens and black beans were the perfect choice with the succulent lamb for my lunch.

After lunch we headed over to stall 150, Monsieur Marcel’s Gourmet Market.  Where carefully chosen imported fine foods and private label groceries are stocked to over flowing.  You’ll find over twenty five varieties of extra-virgin olive oil, impressive wines, fine cheeses and top quality essentials such as black truffles, beluga caviar and hundred year-old balsamic vinegars.

After narrowing down our purchases which wasn’t easy, we finished up our afternoon with something sweet from Littlejohn’s English Toffee House, it was the perfect ending.

in the eye of the beholder

I think we’ve been trained to think that anything ugly can’t be good. This is especially wrong when looking at figs. They have to be gushy, ugly and soft before they’re good.

Most figs we find in the grocery stores are picked too early; they need to ripen on the tree because they won’t ripen off of it. But growers who sell through farmers’ markets can pick their figs dead-ripe and count on finding customers who don’t care that the fruit’s not picture-perfect.

The harvesting of figs is not an easy task, and probably the main reason why they are a little pricey. Figs are brutal on workers’ hands because the stems “bleed” latex when it’s cut. The latex so irritates the cuticles and the area under the nails that the pickers have to tape their fingers like football players do. At night, workers soak their hands with medicinal herbs. Usually growers will maintain two crews so no one picks too many days in a row.

Look for figs that are very soft. Black Missions, the typical ones we find here in California are tear drop shaped with a thin purplish-black skin and a slightly reddish flesh, these taste best when they start to shrivel. The small round Kadota fig has a greenish yellow skin with a honey sweet flesh. When ripe they should have a drop of “honey” at the end. Avoid figs with any sign of mold.

Don’t store figs in plastic; they don’t like humidity. Refrigerate them in a paper bag, or better yet on a plate. They should keep a week.

Even though figs are delicious on their own, I have a favorite way to enjoy them for a simple appetizer or in-between meal nibble. Simply halve the figs and put a small knob of goat cheese on top of each one.

Drizzle with a touch of Balsamic Vinegar or Vincotto, then wrap in a thin layer of prosciutto. The tender sweetness of the fig with the tang and creaminess of the goat cheese pairs beautifully with the salty prosciutto.

Remember the season for these little beauties is short so enjoy them while you can!

Enjoy!
Shannon

a little inspiration and some soup

Garlic may be available year-round, but the season for young garlic is terribly short, only a few weeks in spring and early summer. At a recent jaunt to the farmers’ market I stumbled across a crate of these naked-looking new bulbs, soil still clinging to their roots and stalks. Their nearly skinless, barely formed cloves have a crunch similar to Granny Smith apples. These immature heads when harvested early are filled with a milky juice that is both pungent and sugary.

For the time-pressed cook, young garlic has a practical payoff: there is no need to remove the annoying raspy skins, as with mature garlic. You can slice and sauté an entire head like an onion, and the green parts of the young garlic are also edible.  Young garlic is an excellent candidate for soups, roasting alongside meats and puréeing for mashed potatoes, aioli and the like.

Coming away from the market with new found inspiration as well as a bunch of beautiful young garlic, some spinach and a couple of potatoes, I rushed home and got cooking.

Enjoy!

Shannon

Young Garlic & Spinach Soup
Inspired by Heidi Swanson

serves 4-6

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

3 young garlic bulbs with green stalks, bulbs cut into small dice, and green stalks sliced into 1 inch lengths*

2 russet potatoes, unpeeled, ½ inch dice

1 bunch spinach

1 quart chicken stock

¼ cup crème fraîche

½ tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Start by washing the spinach really well in several changes of water. Spinach tends to hold dirt on the leaves and stems. Rinse until the water runs clear. Set aside.

In a good sized soup pot melt the butter over low heat until it is softly foaming. Add the young garlic, stems and all and cook until softened and translucent, 5-8 minutes. Add potatoes to the garlic along with the stock and simmer, covered for 20 minutes until potatoes are tender. Take off the stove and add the spinach, stir in until wilted. Purée in small batches using a conventional blender (or you can use an immersion blender if you have one). If using a conventional blender use caution. The hot liquid can create pressure and burst out of the top. To insure against this, use a kitchen towel over the lid holding down firmly. Once puréed add back to the pot and heat gently. Whisk in crème fraîche, add freshly grated nutmeg and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve, garnished with chive blossoms if desired.

*If you have trouble finding the young garlic, a substitute of 1 bunch green onions and 3 cloves of garlic would be fine.

a little lunch and a word on labne

I love the back-palate fieriness that radishes give. Pair that with some hard-cooked farm-fresh eggs, a bit of flaky sea salt and a simple toasted crostini smeared with some homemade Labne and you have a perfect breakfast, lunch or mid-day snack.

Labne is a cheese made from drained Greek style yogurt. It is a Middle Eastern favorite and very easy to make at home. It is delicious used as a spread and can be used as a substitute instead of butter.

When raw materials are this alluring, it just makes me smile.

Enjoy!
Shannon

Line a fine sieve with 2 layers of damp muslin, allowing the muslin to overhang. Combine thick natural yogurt, such as Greek-style yogurt, and a little salt in a bowl (this helps draw out the whey). Spoon into the muslin. Draw up the corners of the muslin to cover the yogurt mixture and knot securely. Thread a wooden spoon through the knot and place over a bowl to drain in the fridge for 2-3 days or until the yogurt is very thick. Labne can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

alla primavera

“Primavera” literally means first spring. Pasta primavera is an Italian-American dish that consists of pasta and fresh vegetables. Some recipes include chicken, sausage or shrimp, but the focus of primavera is the vegetables themselves. The dish is typically highlighted by light flavors, aromatic herbs and bright colors.

I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of English peas and fava beans, (also known as broad beans) at my local farm stand. Finally on a recent outing I found them, a little mound of each just waiting for me, and thought they would make a lovely addition in a pasta primavera.

I decided on a simply cooked pasta, tossed with some fresh ricotta loosened by a little of the pasta cooking water. Topped with a sprinkling of freshly torn mint and green onions it made a wonderful spring luncheon dish that was perfect served at room temperature.

This kind of dish works well with a simple roasted chicken, or a small rack of lamb, and if the weather warm, this would be a wonderful meal savored outside.

Enjoy!
Shannon
 

 
Pasta Primavera
serves 4

1 pound fresh English peas, shelled
1 pound fresh fava beans, shelled (double podding*)
1 pound pasta (spaghetti or linguine)
1 cup ricotta cheese
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
¼ cup mint, torn in pieces (plus more for garnish)
½ cup sliced spring onions
Olive oil
Salt & freshly ground pepper


Fill a large stockpot with water toss in some salt and bring to a boil; meanwhile prepare an ice bath. Place fava beans in a sieve, and lower into the water. Let water return to a boil, about 1 minute; blanch 1 minute more. Remove sieve from water, and place beans in ice bath. Transfer to a colander; drain. Peel and discard tough outer skins; set favas aside. Using same blanching water and sieve, blanch peas until just tender and bright green, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove sieve from water; transfer peas to ice bath. Transfer peas to a colander, drain and set aside.

Discard blanching water; fill stockpot with fresh water. Add some salt and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente.

Meanwhile, combine ricotta, Parmesan, mint, and some salt and pepper to taste. Just before pasta has finished cooking, add 1 cup cooking water to ricotta mixture; stir to combine.

Drain pasta, and transfer to a serving bowl. Add a glug of olive oil and toss. Add ricotta, reserved fava beans, and peas. Toss to combine. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle with mint leaves and green onions; serve.

*Double podding fava beans may seem a bit tedious, but it transforms them from a tough, dull vegetable into tender beans that are beautiful to look at and a treat to eat.

dinner

I have never enjoyed shopping for my dinner more than in the last few weeks. The air is crisp…at least in the morning, and the farmer’s market stalls are groaning with root vegetables, cabbages, beets and potatoes. Apples are in abundance and are so juicy; the pears are still a little hard and would probably hurt your gums. I am still finding quince and even some sweet plump figs in small baskets tucked here and there. I also spotted some chestnuts that were quite large and firm, just ready for roasting. But what caught my eye are the squashes; the tiny crinkle-edged patty pans, the striped delicata, long-necked butternuts and others as fat and round as a football. I tend to prefer moderately sized fruit, squashes whose skins a thin enough to cut without resorting to an axe and small enough to bake within an hour. I usually make a soup of some kind or purée for a later use or simply roast them with butter and thyme.

A roast pumpkin is a side order rather than a main dish, though it would be lovely with brown rice and a thick tomato sauce, or incorporated into a savory bread pudding, even some caramelized sausages alongside would be a welcome combination for a cold night.

Enjoy!

Shannon

Roast squash with thyme

4 small to medium squash

2 Tbsp. butter

A glug of olive oil

Fresh thyme

Set the oven to 350°. Cut the squashes in half and scoop out the pulp and seeds from the center. Lay the squashes cut-side up on a baking sheet. Cut the butter into thin slices and put a slice in the center of each squash, together with a little olive oil, a good pinch of thyme leaves, a sprinkling of salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Roast for an hour, checking them occasionally to see how they are doing. You want them to be sweet smelling and the flesh to be totally tender when you pierce it with a knife.

Serves 4

further developments

It's annoying to come across a recipe raving about the taste or beauty of something exotic or unattainable. I first heard about quince from the renowned Australian Le Dame D’Escoffier Maggie Beer. She makes an awesome quince paste that is imported from Australia that I found in a nearby specialty food shop. It is a reddish jello-like block or firm reddish paste. Once I tried it I was hooked. It is typically eaten in sandwiches or with cheese, traditionally Manchego cheese, or accompanying fresh curds and is delicious. The sweet , floral notes of the quince paste contrasts nicely with the tanginess of the cheese.

Although not everyone can find quince in their local market, they're not necessarily all that hard to track down. I actually found some at a Whole Foods market not far from my home. There were only a few, stuck in an odd spot off to the side. They look like a strangely deformed pear, and actually they are related to apples and pears. The immature fruit is green with dense grey-white kind of “fur”, most of which rubs off before maturity in late autumn when the fruit changes color to yellow with hard, strongly-perfumed flesh.

Most varieties of quince are too hard and sour to eat raw; mostly they are cooked before eating. They are used to make jam, jelly and quince pudding, or they may be peeled, then roasted, baked or stewed The very strong perfume means they can be added in small quantities to apple pies and jam to enhance the flavor. Adding a diced quince to apple sauce will enhance the taste of the applesauce with the chunks of relatively firm, tart quince.

Quinces aren’t all that easy to prepare. But like most things that we so desperately want, they take time and patience, and they take work. They are pretty darn hard to cut so be careful. They are about as hard as a pumpkin to get into, so it might be a good idea to steady it on a kitchen towel while preparing to stabilize it a little.

I have been baking, simmering and poaching quince this week, so stay tuned.  Who knows what will turn up.

Enjoy!
Shannon

the conclusion

Today I stumbled upon a few precious baskets of figs at my local market. It is definitely the tail end of the season for these lovely fruits, so I was happy to see them.

Figs grow best and produce the best quality fruit in Mediterranean and dryer warm-temperate climates, but are also grown in the Northwest as well. In Southern California the Brown Turkey cultivar is most common. Its’ skin is a purplish brown, and the flesh is a pinkish amber. The matured fruit has a tough peel, often cracking upon ripeness, and exposing the pulp beneath. The interior has a white inner rind containing a seed mass bound with jelly-like flesh. The edible seeds are numerous and generally hollow, unless pollinated. Pollinated seeds provide the characteristic nutty taste of dried figs.
Figs must be allowed to ripen fully on the tree before they are picked. They will not ripen if picked when immature. A ripe fruit will be slightly soft and starting to bend at the neck.
Fresh figs do not keep well and can be stored in the refrigerator for only 2 - 3 days, so enjoy them quickly.

with a passion

Passion fruit is a plant cultivated commercially in frost-free areas for its fruit. It is native to South America and widely grown in, New Zealand, the Caribbean, Indonesia, California, Florida, Hawaii, Australia, East Africa, Israel and South Africa.

And now is the time to enjoy them here in Southern California. They will be in season for about another 3 weeks, according to my farmers’ market vendor. Passion fruit is not widely available in stores, so most of the fruit comes from backyard gardens or wild groves. It can be found, however, in farmers' markets throughout my area.

The passion fruit is round to oval, yellow or dark purple at maturity, with a soft to firm, juicy interior filled with numerous seeds. The edible part of a passion fruit lies under a leathery, dark purple, bitter-tasting skin.

Within is a cavity more or less filled with an aromatic mass of double walled, membranous sacs containing orange-colored, pulpy juice and as many as 250 small, hard, dark brown or black, pitted seeds. The unique flavor is appealing, musky, guava-like and sweet/tart to tart.

The fruit can be grown to eat or for its juice, which is often added to other fruit juices to enhance aroma. Its intense, tropical-flavored orange pulp and seeds are excellent in fruit desserts, sorbets, beverages, jams and sauces.

Choose the largest passion fruit available. They're usually sold by the piece. Look for one that's partially deflated or creased to be sure it's ripe before eating. Cut the passion fruit in half with a sharp knife. Scrape out the pulp with a spoon. Press through a fine sieve to remove the tiny seeds if desired. You'll get about 1 tbsp. pulp from one of the egg-shaped, 2-inch-long passion fruit.

So yes, I bought a bag full and they are still on the kitchen counter waiting for inspiration to hit me. 

Until tomorrow.

Shannon

heirloom salad

I am almost giddy when I arrive at the farmer's market and I see an entire length of a table given to a showcase some of the most glorioius tomotoes this season has to offer.  There are so many heirloom varieties now at our fingertips, from the typical deep red Beefsteaks (some literally the size of a porter house) to the purplish black Brandywine tomatoes.  The Green Zebra has green and yellow stripes which not only give it a unique color but it also has a full bodied tomato flavor as well.

Then there is the Golden Queen, a large yellow variety that when ripe has a pinkish hue at the blossom end, and when cut into the color continues with streaks of orange and red.  Honestly, these are so delicious with just a sprinkling of sea salt and a fresh grind of pepper, you don't need much more to enjoy them.

But to take it up a slight notch, I made a preserved lemon vinaigrette to dress some baby greens, slices of tomato and topped it off with a shaving of good Parmesan.

Pretty simple.  But tasty.

Enjoy!

Shannon

Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette

makes enough for a salad for 4

Depending on the salty intensity of your preserved lemons, you may or may not want to rinse them.  Use only the rind for this vinaigrette.

rind of half a preserved lemon

juice of half a fresh lemon

1/2 cup really good extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper

Coarsely chop the preserved lemon rind and put into a blender or food processor with the fresh lemon juice, process until smooth.  With the machine still running add the olive oil in a single stream to create a nice emulsion.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Lightly dress salad greens and tomato slices and top off with shavings of fresh Parmesan.

al dente

al dente isn't probably the first word you would use as a descriptor for zucchini, but for this vegetable side dish it is the best one.

We need to give a shout out to Jamie Oliver for this innovative approach.

This recipe is incredibly simple. With nothing more than a few zucchini, a vegetable peeler, a squeeze of lemon juice and a glug of olive oil you can enjoy this crunchy side dish too.

Raw yet delicate. Zippy with a kick!

And yes, there is yet another use for zucchini!

Enjoy!

Shannon


Zucchini Ribbon Salad
adapted from Jamie Oliver

4 zucchini, (i used 2 green zucchini and 2 yellow crookneck squash)
juice of half a lemon, or a whole if it's stingy
a glug or two just to moisten
salt and pepper

Wash zucchini and trim the ends if needed. Then with a vegetable peeler take the outer section of each squash making thin ribbons, I stop once I get down to the core. Then squeeze on the lemon juice, a glug of olive oil and salt and pepper. You can serve immediately or let set for up to an hour. If you have any leftover it is a great addition to some freshly cooked linguine and Parmesan.

Serves 4

courgette's

There are some words I love to say, and look for opportunities to squeeze in whenever I can. One of which is...courgette [Koor-zhet]. Basically it is a zucchini, but how fun instead to say courgette adding a little French accent (even though I don't speak French, I pretend when I get the chance). But who cares, I love the way it sounds.

Technically, for sake of this post we are only using the blossoms of the zucchini (courgette) and not the courgette itself.

A few days ago I was part of a conversation in which courgette (zucchini) blossoms came up in the discussion (surprisingly I did not bring them up, but yes did participate). One person asked "What do they taste like?" Another chimed in "Why on earth would you want to eat those?" Still another, "Those are way too much work".

Well, to answer the question about what they taste like I guess you could say that they're mild and squashy, with a texture that's soft and delicate when raw or steamed, crisp and toothsome when fried. As good as a fried courgette blossom is, it's even better if you stuff it with some kind of soft white cheese - ricotta, goat or mozzarella. When the blossom, lovingly twisted shut, hits the hot oil, several magical things happen at once. The cheese begins to soften, picking up the flavors of whatever herbs you've added as it warms. The outside of the flower rapidly crisps, like a fine layer of pastry.

No question, courgette blossoms are an ingenious and elegant packaging material - tastier than a wonton wrapper, prettier than parchment, and way less work than phyllo. And they fry up into crumbly golden shells. Also, they're produced in crazy, profligate profusion. So if nothing else, plucking those blossoms during their brief summer window is a highly effective form of zucchini birth control.

As to the comment of too much work...well, I guess the only thing I can say is that anything worthwhile takes a little effort. And frankly these little beauties don't require that much work, just some basic prep.

The recipe below is in my opinion definitely worth trying. It has been adapted from a Wolfgang Puck recipe. The tempura batter is totally his, which I think is brilliant; very light and crispy. The filling I have modified a bit from his original recipe.

I hope you might try these. Even if you choose not to fill them, just fry them up using the tempura batter, and when they are just out of the fryer toss on a little sea salt, they are delicious.

Enjoy!


Shannon



Tempura Fried Squash Blossoms with Tomato Sauce

Tempura Batter:
1/4 cup rice flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 Tbsp. salt
1 tsp. cayenne
3 cups soda water

Filling:
4 oz. mild goat cheese, softened
4 oz. ricotta
5 sprigs thyme, leaves removed and chopped
2 Tbsp. chopped chervil
2 Tbsp. chopped chives
1 Tbsp. chopped tarragon
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1-2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
16 squash blossoms
Tomato Sauce, recipe follows
Fried Basil Leaves, recipe follows

Directions

Tempura Batter:
Sift together all of the dry ingredients. Whisk in the soda water, a little at a time, until the right consistency is achieved. The batter should coat the back of a spoon, but some excess batter should run off the spoon. Allow to rest in the refrigerator at least 1 hour before use.

Filling:
Combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Shape the mixture into 1 tablespoon balls. Or alternatively put mixture into a pastry bag with a large tip and pipe into blossoms that way. Make sure blossoms are well cleaned, I take out the stamens as well. Open the flowers and insert the cheese mixture in each flower. Gently press the filling into the base of the flower. Cover with the petals and pinch the top to seal. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat a fryer or a deep pot halfway filled with peanut oil to 375°.
Hold the squash blossoms by the stem. Dip each into the tempura batter, making sure to coat completely. Let any excess batter drip off. Place the blossom in the oil and fry until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes, turning often to brown evenly. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.

Place some of the Tomato Sauce on the bottom of a plate. Top with squash blossoms and garnish with fried basil leaves.

Tomato Sauce:
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 Tbsp.
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 Tbsp. chopped garlic
Pinch chili flakes
2 cups peeled, seeded, and diced tomatoes
Salt and Pepper
1 tsp. sugar
4 thyme sprigs, leaves removed and chopped
4 basil leaves, chiffonade

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and heat. Add onion, garlic, and chili flakes and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Add the sugar and stir to combine. Lower the heat and cook until the tomatoes start to disintegrate and mixture is of sauce consistency, about 15 minutes. Add the thyme, basil, and remaining olive oil and mix well. At this point I sometimes put the sauce in my food processor and give it a few good pulses to puree it for a smoother consistency. If you have any leftover sauce it's great on pasta!

Fried Basil Leaves:
Vegetable oil or peanut oil
8 basil leaves

Heat about 1/2-inch of the oil in a steep-sided saute pan to 350°. Or heat a deep fryer to 350°. Pat the basil leaves dry to remove any surface water. Carefully drop the basil leaves in the hot oil. The oil will spit and splatter as the moisture in the leaves fries. Fry for 10 seconds or just until the leaves start to become translucent. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate.

well preserved

No matter how many times I recite that familiar mantra on the way to the farmers market "I will not overbuy, I will not overbuy", something happens to me when I get there. I get out of my car, grab my fabulous expandable shopping bag, all the while remembering self control is a good thing.

But as I walk in and smell the strawberries, see the plethora of lovely lettuces piled high or notice those yellow zucchini blossoms...something happens. I inevitably end up in some sort of fresh fruit and vegetable trance, and then proceed to go to town filling up my shopping bag.

Once I get home with half of the market in tow, I usually get that "You need to join a group" look from my husband. Now in my defense, I have been cooking up a storm, finding new and creative ways to use up all of these wonderful finds. But still, I must confess there are those times that I open up my fridge and see those beauties, that don't look quite so alluring as they did at the farmers market days before. I feel guilty when I see them wrinkling, browning and bruising, just waiting for me to get inspired.

So to ward off some of the guilt as well as preserve some of the bounty that is in season. I have been boning up on recipes and techniques for putting up small batches of seasonal foods to enjoy later in the year.

To that end I will be sharing with you my findings...the first of which is preserved lemons. I actually used Meyer lemons, while the trees produce fruit throughout the year, the majority of the crop is available in winter. It is native to China, and thought to be a cross between a true lemon and a mandarin orange. The fruit is yellow and rounder than a true lemon with a slight orange tint when ripe. It has a sweeter, less acidic flavor than the more common lemon and a fragrant edible skin. Which makes it a perfect candidate of preserving.

Preserved lemons are a staple in Moroccan cuisine, but can be adapted to many other dishes. They add a wallop of flavor to any dish that calls for strong lemon flavor, including condiments like homemade mayonnaise and vinaigrette. However, they are intense and should be used in moderation. There are about a thousand recipes for preserved lemons out there. This one, I like best and is a confluence of many. I like the tangeriney quality of Meyer lemons, but you can preserve any kind of lemons with this recipe.

Preserved lemons are a type of pickle made by the dry salt method: brined in salt and the lemon's own juices. After the curing process, they are stored in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Shannon

Preserved Meyer Lemons

makes 2 pints
10 Meyer lemons, regular lemons, or a combination, scrubbed

1/2 cup kosher salt

With a sharp knife, remove the stem ends of 6 of the lemons. Slice the lemons into quarters from pole to pole.

Bring 2 wide-mouth pint jars and their bands to a boil in a large pot of water fitted with a rack. Boil for 10 minutes. Remove jars with tongs (the tongs don't need to be sterilized). Simmer new lids in a small pan of hot water to soften the rubberized flange. When the jars are dry but still hot, shove the lemon wedges into the jars, trying not to crush the fruit too much, but do pack them in, sprinkling 3 tablespoons of salt per jar as you go and making sure the salt is well distributed throughout. Meyer lemons are softer than regular lemons and therefore easier to squash down in the jar.

Juice the remaining 4 lemons. Top each jar with 1 final tablespoon of salt, then distribute the juice between the jars, making sure the lemon wedges are completely covered with juice. If you see air bubbles along the side of the jar, slip a butter knife down into it and press aside the fruit to allow juice to fill the space. You may need more juice depending on the juiciness of your lemons. Set on the lids, and screw on the bands fingertip tight. Let the lemons ferment on your kitchen counter for 2 weeks for Meyer lemons, 3 to 4 weeks for regular lemons, which have tougher skins, and ferment until they are soft enough to tear. Turn the jars upside down every other day to make sure the salt stays well distributed. The lemons will become soft and the salt and juice mixture syrupy. Transfer the fermented jars to the refrigerator, where they will hold for up to 6 months.

To use, remove a lemon wedge and scrape off the seeds. If you see white stuff on the lemons, don't worry: it's just a precipitate of salt, oils, and whatever from the pith. Scrape the pith off the lemons before using. For a milder taste, rinse before cooking.