And The Plants are Growing

Been standing around almost wishing I could see the plants grow. I know every day bit by bit... So Im pleased with progress. I do still need to get a better filter system in place to avoid solids going into the plants.  Ive tried along with bio balls, to add some additional filter cloth and covered the flow pipe to the plants with a fine mesh.  Latter works fine but keeps blocking up quickly. Ill be giving this some more thought. Need a bigger surface area for the filter fabric.

Fish look happy and always ready for a feed. Plants, well I have not heard any complain to me yet....

Mulberry Preserves

Put the Mulberries in a jar, where they cant stain anything.

If you dont remember seeing a mulberry tree youve probably noticed the deep purple mess it leaves on sidewalks. The debate continues over the mulberry tree. Is its fruit friend or foe? Mulberry trees liter the ground and your driveway, car, shoes, and anything that comes near, across yards nationwide. The fruit falls whether its ready or not, and doesnt really taste ripe until its final few weeks. When it gets around to ripening watch out plump juicy black berries will bombard your lawn every time the wind blows. The berries are sweet mild tasting fruit that gel nicely with some lemon. Collect and jam them saving your lawn from the purple scourge and make something tasty for your toast.

Coming to a yard near you

Mulberry Preserves

1.5 lb mulberries
1 lemon and zest
3/4 cup sugar

Rinse berries thoroughly and remove stems. Mulberries have unfortunate short stubby stems that dont come off too easily. I found I had to pinch them at the base to remove, which often resulted in berry splatter. Where an apron when you do this.

Caught red-handed picking mulberries

Bring berries, sugar, lemon juice, and half the lemons zests to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes stirring occasionally. Mulberries are also loaded with seeds, but they float on top of the pan. Scoop them up and throw away as you watch the fruit reduce. Preserves will be ready when the mulberries have thickening more than half. Stir in remaining lemon zest and remove from heat. Cool and store in a glass container, or can it in mason jars.

If you dont pick this it will plummet to the ground

Pickled Lemons are Your New Best Friend

Influence of salt and lemon as one

My kitchen has an calendar of its own. 2 seasons, oven off (hot outside) and oven on (cold outside). We are entering the oven off season as the fresh greens and veggies poke out of the ground and find their way to my kitchen. I wont be cooking them, but I would love to layer them with homemade condiments, pickles, marinade, dressings, and other goods. Pickled lemons are the new phenomenon around here, and Ive been salivating over them since I spotted them on Tigress in a Pickles blog. Salty, lemony, punchy, bright, and spicy acid flavors with an exclamation point. You can use them anywhere you would use salt, or every darn place.

Hot Pickled Lemons

1 lb lemons, seeded, quartered and cut into 1/8ths, organic are best
pinch saffron
1 teaspoon cayenne powder
3/4 tablespoon sugar
4 1/2 tablespoons sea salt
2-3 extra lemons

Coat lemons with all the ingredients in a bowl. Add to a clean 1 quart jar with a lid. Squeeze down the lemon with a very clean hand. I like to think of it as punching in slow motion. Juice should rise about 3/4 of the way up the jar. If not, add juice from extra lemons.

The smell is nice too

Let sit on a window sill for 7-10 days. Shake and punch down every day. By the 3rd day the juice will rise over the lemons (see top photo), which is ideal. Pickles are ready to eat when they are soft and easy to chew. Rinse under water, scrap lemon flesh from the rinds, and serve. Keeps for 2-3 months chilled.

Pickled lemons on day one, the fluids cover 3/4 of the lemons

Spiced Pickled Lemons

1 lb lemons, quartered, seeded, and cut into 1/8ths, organic are best

seeds of 15 cardamom pods, or 1/4 tsp ground
8 whole cloves
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
3/4 tablespoon sugar
4 1/2 tablespoons sea salt
2-3 extra lemons

Repeat the instructions as above.

Everything about this recipe is elegant and stupid easy

Here are suggestions to get you to pickling: serve next to grilled fish, shrimp, seafood, in stews (think tangine), in salad dressing, roasted with potatoes or vegetables, chopped up fine on top of steamed veggies, garnishing olives, Baba ghanoush, or hummous. Maybe a twist of pickled lemon with some gin and tonic, are you sold yet?

100s of divine uses

A quickie recipe: Heat green beans in 1/4 cup water seasoned with 1 pickled lemon over medium heat in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and drain immediately. Toss with a few dabs of butter, finely diced pickled lemon and 1 small minced clove of garlic. Serve.