Springilicious
The cats are snoozing in the sun on the west balcony, the tomatoes are in their new, bigger homes, enjoying real sunshine, and my office is cheerful with the scent of sweet peas from a friend's garden. Spring is here. I know, technically, spring doesn't start for a couple of weeks, but no matter—for all intents and purposes, it is here.
If you are not able to relish in springtime yet, perhaps this salad dressing will help. It makes the best of the seasonal pleasure of Meyer lemons and tastes of the zingy freshness of brighter days.Meyer Lemon Salad Dressing
You will need:
1 Meyer lemon
1 large garlic clove, peeled
½ teaspoon of coarse sea salt
a very generous glug of good olive oil
Equipment:
Mortar and pestle
Small strainer
½ pint jar with lid
To make the dressing:
Using a mortar and pestle, mash the garlic clove and the salt together to make a rough paste. (Do not try to make it smooth or you will overpower your lettuce.) Stir the juice from the lemon directly into the mortar.
Pour the lemon-salt-garlic mixture through the strainer into the small jar, and discard the solids that remain in the strainer. After taking a moment to look to see how much of the lemon juice mixture you have, pour in roughly the same amount of olive oil. Screw on the lid, and finally, shake the ingredients together to emulsify into lovely, golden-green garlicky goodness.
Dress your naked greens and eat them with someone who won't mind your breath.
Comments
Your kitty is sooo cute!
Question - are meyer lemons very different to normal lemons?
Winedeb: Thank you! Oh wow, you're are already in their permanent homes--that's great. I'll tell Rose you think she's cute. She'll love the compliment.
Wendy: This dressing would be great on it. A Meyer lemon is different from a regular lemon. It is like a cross between a lemon and a tangerine, with thin dark-golden skin and a wonderful, slightly floral scent. They're juicier than regular lemons and in my mind, much better. However, I think you could make this same dressing with lemon juice and a splash of orange or tangerine to make the juice a little less sour. I hope that helps.
Have a wonderful evening, everyone.
I'll post more about the worms - I have been reading much about them and having fun keeping them going. They are like pets in some strange way ... although much less work.
Have bookmarked the recipe - glad to see your toms peeking through. Mine have taken over the front garden and are spreading, unchecked, all over the pavers...
Lucy: Hi friend. That is Rose, the female half of the feline pair that call this place home. I took a couple pictures of my chard to send your way soon--I'll be making the chard tart on Friday, after Emilio, the consummate carnivore goes away for his stag weekend. Three weeks away this wedding of mine is--can you believe it? What kind of tomatoes do you have growing?
The tomatoes are yellow cherry ones - I'm getting about a pound a day from them and frankly, that still isn't enough!