What a week. I thought all my checklists and plans could prepare me for dropping off my daughter at college. Everything went awry. From flights to hotel reservations to our communication. It was a rough one. I can report it did get better and culminated in joyful hugs on the beach and more texted heart emojis than I’ve ever exchanged with another human before.
I’ve been sitting here thinking about what I could have done better as a mother, as a planner, as a traveler. In the end, I’m not sure I could have changed much. I need to simply chalk it up to things not going as expected and to emotions running high at this tender rite of passage.
So let’s move forward and make some lemonade out of lemons. Er, make that preserved lemons…since life has been a little salty this past week. Use them anywhere you would normally need a hit of good acid (salad dressings, soups, vegetables etc.).
I was taught how to make this delicious accompaniment by Peggy Markel, friend, culinary travel impresario and my dinner companion this coming Saturday. I’m her guest and I have no doubt she will roll out the red carpet in her simple and unassuming way. The linens will be Italian, the flowers just picked from a walk, and the drink will be from her son’s winery. Whatever we eat will have been cooked with such love, tenderness and resourcefulness that can only come from the hands of someone who has made cooking her life’s passion.
Cheers to that and to rolling with life’s stumbling blocks so we may carry on tastefully.
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Peggy Markel’s Preserved Lemons
Makes: One jar of preserved lemons
Prep time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
Canning jar with plastic or rubber lid covering is best
5 – 6 small organic or meyer lemons
A large handful of sea salt
Directions:
Cut the lemon from top to bottom in quarters, but not all the way through. Basically a cross at the top, all the way down, but not through. Stuff each quadrant with approx. 1 tablespoon of salt.
Put 5 – 6 lemons (however many will fit) into the jar and seal jar tightly.
Leave lemons on the kitchen counter for 3 weeks. Turn them upside down, then right side up every day. Can keep for up to one year in pantry or refrigerator. After opening the jar, use a wooden spoon to scoop them out. (Avoid metal.)