The newest project...

Hi everybody, it's Paul.  I thought you all might be interested in my latest project, and maybe even want to follow along on your own.

Currently there are lots of beautiful Sorrento lemons at our local fruit/veggie stand, and I've decided to honor some of them by making the very best thing that can be made with lemons.  This is undoubtedly what all lemons hope and aspire to be a part of someday...it's their highest purpose.  You're probably wondering what the heck I'm talking about.  Lemon chicken?  Lemon pancakes?  Lemon asparagus risotto?

No, my friends.  Think of something even more delicious, something positively....INTOXICATING....

Yes, I'm talking about limoncello, of course.  Everyone's favorite citrus liqueur, the cold, sweet glass of Amalfi sunshine with a serious kick.  It's very simple to make, actually, it just takes a bit of time.  If you'd like to make some too, here's what you'll need for the first step:


1. Alcohol.  Pure alcohol - 95%, I'm using 2 liters.  Everclear is a popular brand...it may be a bit tough for you Californians to get, but you can find it in Nevada or Mexico so if you or some friends are going....

2. Lemons.  Lots of them, I used 22 large ones in fact.  Non-waxed is ESSENTIAL, and organic is best if you can find them.  I wouldn't worry about trying to find actual Sorrento or Amalfi lemons, just get the freshest, thickest-skinned ones you can find, probably at a local farmer's market.

3. A large glass jar with a wide mouth and a tight-fitting screw on lid. I used 2 jars, but really all you need at this point is one, although another one will come in handy when you're filtering.

In a future step we'll also use some sugar and a filter, but these aren't necessary right now.  Pretty simple, right?  So let's get started!

Step 1.  Thoroughly wash and dry your lemons and the jar.  You don't have to sterilize the jar like you would if making beer, but clean is good.  And make sure to get all the dirt off your lemons' peel, because that's the part you'll be using.  I used the scrubby side of a dish sponge which worked well and didn't cut into the peel.

Step 2.  Get nice and comfortable.  Someplace you don't mind sitting for the better part of an hour or so.

Step 3.  Peel your lemons.  Here's the thing though - you MUST only get the yellow, outermost layer.  Just below the yellow layer is the pith, which is bitter and will ruin your 'cello.  I would recommend using a standard fruit/veggie peeler, it doesn't take that long.  If you have a Microplane it works well too, it just makes tiny shavings so you'll have a little tougher job when it's time to filter.


I don't know what got into me, but I didn't do any of the above.  Instead of taking one of the easy, sensible, and probably just-as-good routes described above, I decided to peel the lemons by hand with a paring knife. I was able to cut my peels thicker that way than I could get with the peeler, it's true.  I thought that the thicker peels might get me a little more lemon oil extracted in the end, and make my limoncello just that more delicious.  But it took a LONG time, and until I got in a little Zen-peeling-groove, was not easy to do without getting the pith.  And I don't even know if it did any good - so I would say, unless you're willing to sacrifice a sore hand and quite a bit of time for your 'cello, just use a peeler.


Step 4.  Put the alcohol and peels in your jar, close the lid, and place it in a cool dark place.  Even though you'll be able to see the alcohol turning yellow almost right away, we're going to let that mixture sit for about a month.  The peels, I've been told, will turn as brittle as potato chips.  Every few days, you want to check in on your jar and give it a nice shake or two, to mix things up a bit.


Step 5.  Figure out what you're going to do with all those lemons.  Freezing the juice works well, I hear...Emily decided to make granita with ours, which I think she'll be posting about in a day or two...

And that's it for now!  I hope some of you decide to join along by making your own limoncello, leave a comment and let us know if you do.

Eating even better this summer

It's me (Emily) here with the nutrition hat on. But don't worry, I won't be getting too scientific. Also, those of you that are familiar with my doctoral research can rest assured: I won't mention anything about fiber here! I am doing this post because a few friends and family members have recently asked me for ideas on how to make some changes to their diets. To me, the best thing to focus on is eating more fruits and vegetables. It is way easier, more fun, and arguably more effective to add good things to your diet than to focus on taking things out of it. And especially since it is summer, the fruits and vegetables are really good right now, so eating more of them will be enjoyable. Here are 5 ideas for how to go about it:

1) Choose the best tasting, highest quality fruits and vegetables you can find. This is the most important of all of the suggestions. If they taste good, you will want to eat them rather than having to talk yourself into it. The fresher the better, so the ideal would be to grow what you can at your house or a community garden, or shop at the farmer's market or a farm stand. It's true that you will likely pay more for a peach, for example, from the farmer's market than you would at a normal grocery store. But the difference in biting into one where the juice runs down your arm vs. trying to eat one that is dry and mealy makes it clear that it is best not to waste your money on bad produce. Save up by not buying other unnecessary products at the grocery store and buy the good stuff straight from the source. If you can't always make it to the farmer's market, maybe there is another fruit and vegetable market nearby that has good produce. Here in Italy there are little markets all over. They don't necessarily offer all locally grown things, but they do have better produce than the big grocery stores.



2) Make Insalatone. Making big salads, or insalatone, is a good way to eat well in the summer. They make a light but satisfying lunch or dinner, and don't take too much time to prepare. Here is one that Paul and I made recently that had tuna, eggs, tomatoes, carrots, olives, butter lettuce, and radicchio. For salads, I would recommend not buying pre-bottled dressings, as they usually have preservatives and artificial ingredients and they can ruin the taste of your ingredients. You can do like the Italians do and pass olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper at the table. Here in Emilia-Romagna the vinegar of choice is balsamic. Paul and I like to dress it in a bowl so the dressing is better distributed. A good rule for the ratio of olive oil to vinegar is 3 to 1. To make an emulsified dressing, whisk the vinegar and a teaspoon of dijon mustard together in a small bowl and stream in the olive oil while continuing to whisk.




2) Arrange platters of vegetables (or fruit). Many of us are used to making a platter of raw vegetables with dip for an appetizer for a party. But this is something you can do on a regular day too. For instance, if you come back from the market, you can make a platter that same day and bring it out for a few days in a row if you don't finish eating everything. (You can do the same with fruit as well, and this will save you the problem of buying something like a cantaloupe and losing it in the refridgerator. If you cut it up right when you buy it and put it out to snack on, you will be more likely to eat it.) If you can, avoid using pre-cut baby carrots and other bagged, cut vegetables. You will notice the difference if you peel and cut fresh carrots. Paul and I like to have this appetizer before lunch or dinner while we are cooking. It also makes a good snack to eat while watching TV. In Italy the dip of choice is simply high quality olive oil with salt and popular vegetables include sliced, raw artichoke hearts. Other good options for dipping are the same vinaigrette as used for salad, or a creamy dressing made with yogurt or sour cream, lime or lemon juice, chopped green onions, and fresh herbs such as dill, cilantro or mint. If using cilantro, I recommend also adding chopped fresh jalapeno. (Writing this is making me miss cilantro and jalapenos, so please have some for me.) Here is a platter we made last week, which we ate in one sitting as an appetizer. After this I didn't really need or want dinner anymore though, so this could also make a light lunch or dinner.



3) Have fruit for dessert. When you have really good fruit in the house, it is worthy of dessert status. I like how in Italian restaurants, the dessert menu often includes a list of various fruits, which are served simply. At home, consider making a nice looking small plate of cut fresh fruit for each person to eat as a final course. Or even just putting out a bowl of fresh cherries is perfect.



4) Try something new. If you are bored with the typical fruits and vegetables you usually buy, try picking out something you have never had before the next time you go to the market. We did this recently with agretti, or barba del negus, and found that we like it enough to buy it regularly. We kept seeing it and thinking that maybe it was an herb rather than a vegetable. I finally asked a vendor what it was and how to cook it. I am finding that the vendors really like to give suggestions on how to cook what they sell, and other customers who are also buying the produce like to chime in as well, so don't be afraid to ask if you see something, want to try it, but don't know how to cook it. One of the next things I want to try are these baby eggplants....



5) Choose simple recipes with many vegetables. I like making vegetable soups because you can put as many vegetables as you want in them. Here in Italy we have also been making pasta and rice dishes with vegetables, such as pasta with asparagus and lemon, pasta with eggplant and tomatoes, and risotto with squash blossoms. If you are interested, I can post a few recipes in the future.



Buon appetito!! Cheers to GOOD TASTING, healthy food!