Preserved Lemons and Rabbits

Out of the window I am watching a small brown rabbit jumping in the grass.  The grass is not long but the rabbit seems to be enjoying nibbling it down.  The rabbit is young: it has very small ears.  It thinks the grass is very tasty.  I know my dog, Angus would think IT very tasty!  Usually there is only one rabbit, but today, in the sunshine and the temptation of juicy green grass, there are two and every now and then one takes it into its head to jump, spin and land to show its little white bob tail.

Luckily the rabbits don't seem to think lemons are that tasty.  I love lemons and I would be upset if they ate them instead of the grass.  I love their sharp clean taste.  Our lemon tree is producing enough lemons to satisfy us at the moment.  Being organic they are not huge but then neither is the lemon tree.  Then, the neighbour gave me some extra lemons.  What to do?  Ah-ha... preserved lemons.

According to my mum, my grandma used to preserve lemons by just throwing them into a brine solution in a baby bath and every now and then stirring it and throwing in a lemon to keep the whole  process going.  I'm not sure which bits have been left out, so below is a recipe I know works.

Preserved Lemons:
Ingredients:  One sterile jar
                      Lemons
                      Lemon juice
                      Salt.
                      Cinnamon sticks
                      Coriander seeds.

Method:
Drop salt in the bottom of the jar until it is covered well.
Next, get as many lemons that you judge will fit into the jar.
Before putting them in the jar, almost cut them into quarters and pack 1tbspoon of salt into each lemon.
Holding salt in the lemon, push them into the jar so they fit snuggly.
Push in the cinnamon sticks so they sit beside the lemons.
Sprinkle coriander seeds on top.
Fill up with lemon juice so everything is covered.

You must now leave this for 2-3 days on the kitchen bench and a further 5 weeks covered in the fridge.  Do not use a metal lid as it will go rusty from the salt. They are supposed to be delicious with chicken.  Oh, and its not the flesh you eat... it's the lemon peel which will be deliciously soft and not bitter at all.

Until next time, here's to your very good health.

Linda.