Monday, April 5, 2010

Lemons on Parade

Well, first and foremost...welcome to my first photojournalized blog post! How's that, you say? Well...I got a camera! Now, you will not only get to read my thoughts and experiences, you will also get to see them captured! My mom will be thrilled:) The photo credits for this post....ME!!


Now...that's enough talk about my new passion...let's talk about one that is well established with me...lemons.

Those that know me well, know that me and lemons...we got a thing going on. When people start a sentence of lament with, "well, when life gives you lemons...", I actually take it kind of personally. They are beautiful, they taste delicious, they are unendingly versatile, they make almost any recipe better, and best of all...they smell like the life I want...bright, energetic, straightforward, joyful, crisp, passionate, yummy, and alive! They just reach out and grab you...like they're saying..."hey you! I'm awesome and I want to be your friend!" (They are a very confident citrus.) Needless to say, one of my most favorite recipes is Lemon Spaghetti...


It is one of the simplest, light, and addictive things I make. It's so easy, it's an awesome way to get whole wheat pasta down your kids' throats (it actually tastes infinitely better with whole grain pasta than white), and it's fast! As an added bonus...I get to zest lemon, which is something I try to do as much as possible...it's one of my simple pleasures in life:) Besides all that, I also get to freshen my garbage disposal. Now, I totally get that this is no way to earn my green housekeeping badge, but I love to cut the lemons that I just used for dinner into tiny little pieces, and put them down the disposal...


It disinfects the blades and pipes, and also makes your whole kitchen smell like lemons...which, of course I love! I was doing this, tonight during kitchen cleanup, and I started to think about all the things I do with lemons. I have used it for astringent on my face, I have used it on my hair to neutralize oils, I have used it to clean counters, and as always I have it in tons of my household products...homemade and otherwise!
So, I guess it comes down to this...if life gives me lemons, I really appreciate it...because, then I can just take them out of my grocery budget for that month...and that's just a win/win situation, right there! One more added bonus: I share my love of all things lemon with my momma...so that's fun, too:)

Lemon Spaghetti

1 lb. whole wheat spaghetti
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 whole lemons
zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp. basil or parsley
approx. 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (I like more)

Cook spaghetti in large pot of salted, boiling water. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine olive oil, the juice from 2 whole lemons, lemon zest, parmesan cheese, & herb. Whisk together. When pasta is al dente, drain and add directly to the bowl of sauce. Toss and serve. (add salt & pepper to taste, and more parmesan, if desired).

1 comment:

  1. I got this recipe from my fabulous cousin(wonder who that could be?) a while back and it was really good. I made it with regular spaghetti though so next time I'll have to try it with whole grain. And I'm definitely going to try your trick of lemons in the garbage disposal, never would have thought to do that, but mine has a major aroma issue, so hopefully it will help. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and tricks.

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