Lemons preserved in salt are a condiment used in traditional Moroccan dishes. They will be a perfect gift for my friend Daniel who has been trying to perfect his version of chicken tagine.

I think a jar of these lemons will help him. This recipe has only two ingredients and needs no cooking so it is a breeze to make. Here’s how I made it: … read more

I created a lemon rosemary relish for Richard, my friend who loves to barbeque chicken even if he has to shovel a path through the snow to get to his grill.

The relish is perfect as a way to add flavor and moisture to well browned chicken.  It will also add a spark to a ham sandwich. Here’s how I did it: … read more

This time of the year my kitchen is a workshop for making Christmas gifts.

Lemons are sunny, versatile fruit that can be used to create sweet and savory treats. Blueberry lemon marmalade is the first of three lemon gifts from my holiday the kitchen.

I made this marmalade for Jeanine, a baker – friend, who will appreciate this delicately tinted pink topper for her homemade scones. Here’s how I made it: … read more

If you are lucky enough to live in  city where with a Middle Eastern Market you can buy a tube of harissa paste.

If not or if you prefer to make it your own, here’s how I did do it: … read more

My week was busy, a couple of evening meetings and we had tickets for a play. I decided to make a chicken tagine that would serve six or in my case two people three times.

With preserved lemons and a combination of spices that would added flavor, a bit of heat and the warm glow of Morocco, I had all I needed. Here’s how I did it:

… read more

It all began on a Thursday in September when I posted the following:

Charles and I are flying to Sicily for our son’s wedding. Matthew and Alison will be married in Siracusa. Sicily is known for its lemons and also for Limoncello – a lemon flavored liquor server over crushed ice.

I met a woman at the farmers’ market last week and she said the most difficult part of making Limoncello is the waiting. It takes at least two weeks between step one and step two. A perfect recipe for me since I will be far away from my kitchen for two weeks. Here’s the first step.

Limoncello – Part 1

I put the zest of eight lemons into a fifth of cheap 100 proof vodka. Her recipe specified ‘cheap’ vodka because it would have no flavor. I used a micro plane to grate the lemon zest and poured two tablespoon of the vodka down the drain so that there would be space for the zest in the bottle. The zest and vodka need to wait in the dark for at least two weeks before the mixture is strained and sweetened. I’ll post the second part of her recipe when I have returned from Sicily where I will have done some Limoncello tasting.

This is the post that finishes the story.

The wedding was perfect.  The bride radiant, the groom beamed, Ho-hee friends smiled, family delighted, children gorgeous, food amazing, Siracusa gorgeous!

Rather than two weeks, the vodka and zest waited two months. Here’s how I did it: … read more