I've been doing a lot of cooking with lemons lately (mainly due to my current Mediterranean kick), and have a couple of tips to share should you find yourself doing the same:
*To choose a juicy lemon at the grocery store, pick one that is heavy for its size (color doesn't matter as much as the weight does)*To extract the most juice from your lemon, roll on the counter with the palm of your hand to help burst the juice pods inside before you cut it.
*If your lemon seems to be rather low in the juice department, you can try microwaving it for a few seconds before squeezing.
*When you squeeze your lemon into your dish (provided you're doing it the old fashioned way and not with a reamer), squeeze cut side up so that you'll see and catch any seeds before they fall into (and get lost in) your dish! - see photo ^
*When you're done using your lemon zest and juice, and are left with squeezed out lemon halves, use them (cut side down) to scrub out your kitchen sink. They make it shine, disinfect it, and deodorize it all at the same time! What a wonderful, "green" use for leftovers, don't you think? After you've scrubbed, let it set for a couple of minutes to really go to work neutralizing those odors, then give your sink a quick squirt down with your sprayer. Your whole kitchen will smell fresh! - If you've got a garbage disposal, send the rinds on down to clean and deodorize down there too (as we learned from Meli a couple of weeks ago!), otherwise send them out to your compost pile.
Hope your day is fresh and zesty!
Have any other uses for lemons? Please share them with us in the comments!
