We are eating THEM tomorrow night.

I am slightly scared.  (Not really . . . things have grown in mason jars on our counters for longer than seven days before . . . try 20!)

At least we won’t get scurvy.

The boys learned about bacteria . . . and culinary practices . . . and why they should have a little something fermented with every meal.  Improved digestion, in case you were wondering.

This was a new type of fermentation for me, though. 

Fruit. 

Thank you Nourished Kitchen.  Jenny’s cooking comes into my “in-box” every week.   And she said that I could share some of our meals with you. 

I don’t know why, but I like Jenny.  She takes good pictures.  She also lives in Colorado.  (I think.)  She cooks really good food.  At least, it tastes good on my dinner table.

I subscribed to the Nourished Kitchen meal plan for a lot of reasons.  For starters . . . I needed a menu plan.  Secondly, I needed someone else to do it for me.  I’m more like a sheep in the kitchen.  Tell me what to cook and I’ll follow.  Thirdly, the Nourished Kitchen meals are exactly how we eat anyway.  (Minus a few  choice animals, which I substitute.)

Lastly, Jenny sends me a grocery list.  I loathe making grocery lists. 

Oh, one more reason.  I almost forgot.  I hardly have to change my produce bin for my Green B.E.A.N. delivery.

I need simplicity.  Likewise, I need fermentation.  I crave it.

Ready? 

Fermented (Preserved) Lemons

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs lemons, preferably Meyer lemons  (The reason—they have a softer skin!)
• 2 tbsp unrefined sea salt

Directions:

Cut the lemons, as though to quarter them, without splitting them completely through. For some reason, I struggled to understand this . . . lack of sleep, I suppose.  The point being, keep your lemon in-tact.  My thumb is hiding the fact that these lemons really are attached by a pretend neck.

(By the way, I’m assuming you {the adult} will cut the lemon – not your child.   I just thought I would clarify.)

Sprinkle the flesh of each lemon with sea salt.  You might want to supervise this task if you have little helpers. 

If it happens to be snowing outside, you might find salt descending upon your kitchen counters in the same way.  Just saying . . .

Umm . . . your kids will have fun with this.  Just make sure they don’t have a paper cut or tiny flesh wound on their fingers.  Salt will slightly aggravate said cut and potentially cause a wee bit-o-pain and a slight spillage of tears.

Manually force Place the lemons in the mason jar.

Mash the lemons with a wooden spoon (we used a wood rolling pin) until they release their juice. 

Their juice should combine with the salt to create a rich brine. 

Continue layering, salting, and mashing until your lemons are exhausted and the brine covers the lemons.

Place a lid loosely on the jar and ferment at room temperature for one week before removing to cold storage.

Wanna know what we are going to eat this with . . . Moroccan Chicken.  (The bird is thawing right now.)

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