Something that I have been learning to do during this time is to slow down and pay attention to the little things that I appreciate. I notice that the little things that I appreciate point me to God, because they are part of his creation. Something that God created, that I have always loved are Lemons. It sounds kind of silly, but I’ve always wanted a lemon tree in my backyard. I love cooking with lemons and I’m always buying them at the store. Earlier this year we finally had a lemon tree planted in our back yard, the only bummer is that it will take a couple years for it to start producing lemons. So, until it does, I will continue to be on the hunt for a bag of homegrown lemons, so I can continue to create my favorite recipes that involve lemon.
Hands down, what I most often use lemon for is salad dressing! There is nothing like a homemade salad with homemade lemon vinaigrette. Here is my favorite recipe for Lemon Vinaigrette.
Ingredients
Extra virgin olive oil (~1/2 cup)
Fresh lemon juice (from ~2 lemons)
1-2 cloves pressed garlic
Dijon mustard (~1 tsp)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
In a jar, combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and mustard.
Seal jar and shake, add salt and pepper to taste and shake again.
I also love to make Chicken Piccata that involves lots of lemon, click here for a great chicken piccata recipe.
For dessert, I recently discovered this recipe by Ina Garten, for super delicious
gooey lemon bars, these are fantastic, they require one whole cup of lemon juice. Click here for the recipe, you can also find a gluten free lemon bar recipe here.
One of the simplest ways I like to use lemon is by cutting up a perfectly ripe Avocado, put some pink Himalayan salt on it and a drizzle of lemon juice.
Can’t forget how much I love drizzling lemon on my chips and salsa!
And last but not least, on a hot day, a nice big glass of ice water with tons of lemon. Not only is it refreshing, but it provides a boost of vitamin C, and can be cleansing for the body.
Enjoy!
