It's Lemon Season!

We tend to think of lemons as a summer fruit, however now is harvest time for most varieties.  Isn’t it nice to get a bit of sunshine in the middle of the cold dark winter?

Lemons are definitely good for much more than lemonade.  They heighten other flavors and add a brightness to many dishes.  They are full of vitamins, fiber, potassium, and lemony goodness.

Look for small, heavy fruit without bruises, cuts, or blemishes.  If you plan to use them fairly soon, leave them on the counter, or for longer storage, loosely wrap them and keep them in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.  If you store them in the frig, remember to take them out and let them warm up before using them.  Roll the lemon gently to loosen the juice sacks and then cut the lemon in half crosswise and remove the juice and pulp on a reamer or cut them lengthwise into quarters and squeeze out all the juice and pulp by hand.

I’m going to give you three favorite uses for lemons and another little secret is that it is also avocado harvesting time... can you beat the flavor of lemon and avocado too?

A delicious salad dressing is made with lemon and garlic.  I grow lots of garlic and I love using it all winter.  This quick little recipe for salad dressing will brighten up any winter salad.  When I say winter salad, I mean anything goes on a salad - except tomatoes.  To a chopped romaine, I add anything like cooked beans, grains, dried fruit like cranberries, or chopped apples, pears, or beets, carrots, or cooked potatoes, but never tasteless winter tomatoes.

Lemony Garlic Dressing

  
2-3 medium cloves of garlic - minced
3 lemons to make ½ cup of juice
1 tablespoon of fresh parsley - minced
1-2 teaspoons salt - to taste
1 tablespoon chia seed (optional, but makes a creamy dressing that doesn't separate)
 1 cup olive oil
½ cup water

Put all this is a blender and let it whirl until fully blended.  It will come out creamy and delicious.

Next, let’s make a simple and oh so delicious soup to go with that salad:

I had this soup years ago and never actually knew the name of it until recently when I was searching for just what it was.  Avgolemono is a classic Greek soup made with egg and lemon.  At first the pronunciation of the name might look a little overwhelming but it is Avgo (say - ah go (egg)) and lemono (say - lema no (lemon)) and there you have it.

There are some similarities to a Senegalese Lemon Soup, but the one I remember was Greek.

 Avgolemono

 8 cups chicken stock
 1 cup orzo pasta - this is Greek, or you can use rice
 4 large eggs, separated
 Juice of 3-4 lemons
 Freshly ground black pepper
Greek yogurt and lemon zest (optional)

Bring stock to a boil and add orzo or rice, simmering until tender, about 20 minutes. Season the stock to taste with salt, if necessary.

Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until peaks form.  Add the yolks and lemon juice, whisking continuously until it is all combined.

Temper the mixture by slowly adding about 2 cups of the hot stock into the egg-lemon mixture, while beating vigorously to prevent the eggs from solidifying.

With the heat turned off, add the beaten mixture back into the soup pot, whisking thoroughly to blend it all together.

Serve immediately with a nice romaine salad and a warm crusty bread.  I like to serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt in the middle with a little lemon zest and cracked black pepper on top.

I’m not through with lemons yet!  

I don’t necessarily recommend the soup and the following recipe together as that might be a bit much.  But, for that Sunday dinner, I have a local Hutterite chicken defrosted in the refrigerator and more garlic and lemons.  Here is a nice Mediterranean version of a roasted chicken.

                                                                                      Mediterranean Roasted Chicken

 
1 large, local roasting/frying chicken or about 4 pounds of cut up chicken

2 lemons - washed and chopped (skin and all) into about 8 pieces each

6-8 large cloves of garlic - peeled, smashed, and cut into ½" pieces




1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 fresh rosemary sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary or Italian blend
2-3 teaspoons of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups of new or red potatoes, skins on, washed and pared into 2" chunks

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Cut up the chicken into pieces if using a whole chicken.  Rinse and pat dry.
Place a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom of the roasting pan and arrange the chicken skin side down.  Add the lemon sections, squeezing each one slightly to release the juice and pressing them down in among the chicken pieces. Scatter the garlic cloves and rosemary or spices over the chicken and dribble the rest of the olive oil over the chicken and sprinkle it liberally with salt and pepper.

Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes.

Raise the oven temperature to 400°F. Turn each piece of chicken over and add the potatoes to the pan, stirring to coat them well with olive oil. Return the dish to the oven and roast for another 40-50 minutes, or until the chicken and the potatoes are crisp and browned.

By now the smells of this roasting will have you a bit delirious, so serve it up with that salad and a glass of good red wine.

Enjoy!

BMW - (broccoli my way)

I heard there’s a beautiful crop of organic broccoli down at the co-op this week.  I love fresh sweet broccoli and steamed is always good.  A lot of people think just plain steamed broccoli is just too ... well, too green.  If this is you, I have a couple of alternatives that will help you win friends and influence people.  Here is a simple stir fry or roast possibility for that sweet, green, cold weather friend.

The ingredients I use for either are the same and I always tend toward the stir fry because it is so fast.

2-3 pounds broccoli
2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 red onion chopped
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice (and a little zest if you have a fresh lemon)
1/2 teaspoon of dried basil (a tablespoon of fresh is even better or if you have some basil pesto* in the frig you can use a tablespoon of that)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

To stir-fry:
Cut the broccoli into small florets.  Peel the stalk and chop that into half inch cubes as well.  You paid for the stalk and it is one of the best and sweetest parts of the broccoli, so don’t throw it away!
Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet and add the broccoli and onion.  Toss it all around to get it coated with the oil and then add a couple of tablespoons of water and put a tight fitting lid of the skillet for a minute or two.  This steam gives a quick cook to the broccoli and will evaporate quickly.
Now add the minced garlic and the sea salt.  Toss that around for a minute or two and add the lemon juice, zest, and the basil or pesto.
This whole process should not take you longer than 5 minutes.  Be careful to not overcook the broccoli - you want it to be tender, but still bright green and not mushy.   
Have some rice, linguine, or fettuccine already prepared and put a helping of this on top with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese or serve it as a side dish. 

To roast:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Cut the broccoli into florets and chop the stalks, same as above and place in a bowl.  Mix the olive oil, garlic, and salt.  Pour over the broccoli and onion and stir to coat evenly.  Put in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for about 20-25 minutes, until crisp-tender.  You don’t want it to be brown and mushy. Remove from the oven and toss with the lemon juice, zest, pesto* or basil.  Serve either as a side dish or over rice or linguine topped with the Parmesan cheese.

* some of you have my basil pesto recipe already and you know this as a year round ingredient in a lot of my cooking.  The rest will just have to hang in there until basil season, when I will share it with the world and then you too will always have a supply of the world's best basil pesto on hand.

Now, what are you waiting for?  Head on down to the co-op and pick up some of that delicious organic broccoli today.  Your body will thank you for it.