Preserving Lemons

It’s winter and the markets are citrus full. I’ve been wanting to preserve lemons for a while now and I finally did.

I took the best looking lemons of the bunch I bought at the market on Saturday. Washed them and rubbed off any blemishes. Then I cut off the ends or stems and cut down about 3/4 of the way in a cross to quarter them but leave the base intact.

I put about a tablespoon of Kosher salt in the bottom of a jar and then poured salt inside the quartered lemons. Then I shoved, and I mean shoved, the lemons in the jar so that the salt would mix with the lemon juice. Once the jar was full, I squeezed a few lemons to fill the jar with juice and sprinkled some more Kosher salt on the top.


Supposedly in three weeks I’ll have preserved lemons and we can try some Moroccan dishes. Fingers crossed.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Back in November, I bought an apartment with some friends here. It was a big move for me since I've pretty much lived from paycheck to paycheck my entire adult life. I was worried that if I didn't invest my savings, I'd spend everything, but I didn't have enough to buy my own place. Then I lost both of my jobs.

Panic!

So, I went on vacation, took a lot of pictures, and started writing some fiction.



I was writing this blog(albeit infrequently) and the one for our loft, editing the thousands of photos I'd taken in California, and meeting weekly with a writing group. I felt like I was spending all my time at the computer. Not much of a life. So, I deleted my Facebook account and stopped writing Inspirosity (unable to actually give up on this blog, just holding off on it for a while). With no Facebook to distract me, I've finished two stories and learned all sorts of neat Photoshop tricks.



Our loft is constantly booked and a few neighbors are asking us to manage renting out their lofts. We're considering expanding our site to add personalized tours and other services for tourists. So, now I'm learning about website design and management.

When I lost my jobs, people kept asking me if I was doing alright and I'd answer, "yea, I know it will all work out. It always does." But I wasn't sure I believed myself. Lo and behold, it is all working out.

The best part is that without a job, I've been able to hang out with the people that rent our loft and I've joined a really cool social networking site for travelers and hosted a few people in my apartment. Meeting other people who love to travel, to experience new places, to learn new things, is what makes life so great.

Since I'm inspired again, guess I'm back.