I made a boo-boo yesterday and opened up my Moroccan preserved lemons a week early. OOPS!!! I thought that it had been a month already, but apparently it’s only been three weeks. Oh well, I’m closing it up again and pretending I didn’t do that.

I did have a taste though and they’re a shockingly salty. Maybe I should lay off on the salt a bit next time? Or is it necessary for the preservation process? Also, I can’t seem to keep the lemons in tact- they fall apart when I’m squishing the salt and lemons in the jar. Is this not ok? I’m jarring some lemons again today.

Jud-san had saved an article on preserved lemons from the New York Times Magazine, published in 1999 and he scanned and emailed me a copy. Isn’t it amazing??? In the age of forwarding links from the I N T E R N E T, this is truly a prize- I love the yellowing, wrinkled paper, adorned with coffee spots and condiment spills. It has aged with such grace and kitchen devotion. How much more charming is this compared to the website version?

Priceless.

He recommends the swordfish and fettuccine recipes. I’m gonna try it all. It’s a Preserved-Lemon-Off!!!

Click on the above pics to enlarge.