Rainy Day Sunday Preserved Meyer Lemons

Fresh off the tree

Getting a head ourselves -- in the jars before salting!

Finally, we got it right!

What do you do when there is a break in stormy weather, you run 7 miles, of which 3.5 were up hill and you make lemon preserves. Perhaps more challenging than running up is running down without hurting yourself. Fortunately, the East Bay has some of the most spectacular views of the Bay so on the way down I periodically stopped to enjoy the view which I don't dare do on the way up for the fear of never making it to the top, learning from experience. I absolutely needed to run and while it did rain on my way down, it was worth it to be a little cold.

A friend has the most amazing Meyer lemon tree (it's auspicious you know) and another friend had a list of at least 100 things to do with Meyer lemons so they decided to make Meyer lemon preserves and invited me to join them. It sounds fancy but it's not. Arguably, making preserves was easier than the run though it did take us an hour to get going since there was talking, snacking, and talking some more which is one of many rainy Sunday afternoon luxuries. The process was all very simple. I think the biggest challenge will be how to use them and once we figure it out, and you better believe I'll be writing about it! Placed in canning jars, they make beautiful gifts though I'm not sure who I would give them to.

Remember to toss lemons with salt before putting them in jars. We were so excited we just threw those lemons into the jar.

The only modifications that were made is that in a few of the jars we added cinnamon sticks and cardamom. They reminded me of the Indian version of lemon pickle that my mom makes but a lot less spicy.