Chicken tagine with preserved lemons and olives prepared at a cooking class at the Atlas Kasbah near Agadir.

It always seems to catch me by surprise. Before I realize it we have managed to find ourselves in the midst of the holiday season with tasks of getting a Christmas tree, wrapping presents and baking cookies taking up what ever spare time we can find.

I love it. Everything about this season fills me with joy. The generosity that abounds, the daily question of “how many days until Christmas?” from my very eager children, and the excitement of seeking that perfect gift.

This year we’ve decided to go homemade. I’m thrilled and overwhelmed with possibilities. My mission is to create a gift that is not only homemade but also very appreciated and will be used.

I’m pretty excited about this homemade gift from the kitchen. It’s unique, it’s incredibly delicious, easy to make and beautiful to receive. For me it carries with it memories of my time in Morocco. It took a visit to the country for me to fully embrace this ingredient but now that I’ve jumped on board I’m making up for lost time.

Preserved lemon is one of those flavors that is hard to distinguish but you’re glad it’s there. Both tart and sour but not overly so, floral without a soapy or perfumed aftertaste, a truly unique flavor that any one who loves food would be delighted to add to their pantry.

After only a few minutes of work sitting before you is a beautiful jar filled with vibrant lemons. The lemons themselves won’t be ready for thirty days but the recipient can spend that time pouring over recipes looking for ideas on how to use them. Myself? I like them on almost anything. Even Delancey has been known to throw them on pizzas. I added them to my prune and sausage stuffing for Thanksgiving and everyone seemed quite pleased. Tomorrow I’m planning a fennel salad, with green olives and preserved lemons. No special occasion, just my lunch and I’m pretty excited about it.

Here’s to hoping these lemons actually end up as gifts for someone other than myself.

Preserved Lemons

adapted from Paula Wolfert, The Food of Morocco

5 lemons

1/4 cup salt, more if desired

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

5 coriander seeds

2 bay leaves

Have ready a sterile 1-pint canning jar.

Quarter the lemons from the top to within 1/2 inch of the bottom, sprinkle salt on the interior of the lemon, then reshape the fruit.

Place 1 tablespoon salt on the bottom of the mason jar. Pack in the lemons and push them down, adding more salt, and the optional spices between layers. Press the lemons down to release their juices and to make room for the remaining lemons. (If the juice released from the squashed fruit does not cover them, add freshly squeezed lemon juice — Leave some air space before sealing the jar.

Let the lemons ripen in a warm place, shaking the jar each day to distribute the salt and juice. Let ripen for 30 days. To use, rinse the lemons, as needed, under running water, removing and discarding the pulp, if desired — and there is no need to refrigerate after opening. Preserved lemons will keep up to a year, and the pickling juice can be used two or three times over the course of a year.

Gently shake the jar each day to distribute the salt.

* I adore these WECK jars for canning. Use the lemons and the recipient is still left with a great gift.

We grabbed the largest containers we could find, (at our house those just happened to be two growlers) and headed to one of our favorite local beaches. Carrying the growlers down to the beach, we ignored the odd looks from the fellow beach goers that were shot in our direction. Eager to gather our ingredient we headed straight to the water stopping only to catch our breath as the cold bite of the pacific caused a temporary stall in the process.

Soon enough we had the containers filled and we continued our time on the beach searching for shells, skipping rocks and watching the kite surfers rush past us as they soared through the water.

When we arrived home I passed the beach water through several layers of cheese cloth (four, at least) to capture the bits of sand, rogue sea shells and kelp that came with our catch. The water that was left in the pot was perfectly clear.

With the sea water set somewhere between a simmer and a boil it took nearly four hours for us to reach salt. Every so often we would check the process then return to our daily tasks while we continued to wait for the water to vanish and leave behind a finely grained salt that manages to capture the best of sea.

By the time we had salt the boys had gone to bed. My excitement caused rash thinking as for a moment I contemplated waking them to show the end result. Reason took over and I waited until morning to share with them the fruit of our labor.

We ended up with about 1/2 cup of salt after boiling down 2 gallons of ocean. Not a lot considering the time invested in the process but it remains to be well worth it. It has given us even more reason to return to the beach often and there is nothing wrong with that.

As for the salt itself – it’s wonderful. We had been enjoying it on our food for weeks before I ended up at a potluck with Mark Bitterman, the author of Salted– a book I adore, and also the owner of The Meadow located in Portland, OR and New York. I had Mark give it a try and he ended up taking home the remaining salt I had brought with me that evening. The next day he sent me a message saying he had a chef try it and the chef “flipped out”.

Needless to say my boys are thrilled with their effort. Now we find ourselves busy keeping up with the demand as word has gotten out that they are making salt and people have been wanting to buy. In the meantime we are enjoying this activity that provides plenty of learning opportunities, fun times together, and many trips to the beach. Not to mention, great salt.

I realize it’s not Friday but this post was shot with film. Most often I try and post my recent film shots of Fridays. Here are other Film Fridays to peruse at your leisure.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

All images were shot using Kodak Portra 400 using a Canon A1 50mm 1.4.

I realize it's not Friday but this post was shot with film. Most often I try and post my recent film shots of Fridays. Here are other Film Fridays to peruse at your leisure.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

All images were shot using Kodak Portra 400 using a Canon A1 50mm 1.4.

Quick. It’s not too late. In fact, don’t rush – you still have time – this recipe is fast and easy.

I am having such a hard time believing that 4th of July is this weekend already. Excuse me one moment – MY BABY GIRL IS GOING TO BE HERE SO SOON! WAHHOOOEEE!! Okay thanks.

With only three days until the day packed with picnics and *boom* *boom*s is here there is still have time to make these incredible quick pickled red onions. If burgers are on the menu then really I see no choice but to make these. They add the perfect, crunch, tang and snap to your grilled burger. They add an instant “tres chic” quality that will make party goers think you are just the bees knees.

If burgers aren’t your thing these onions are great in potato salad, on sandwiches, hot dogs, green salad or just eaten with a fork. If your pregnant you may even like them with ice cream – non for me though thanks.

I have made these onions several times and each time I double the recipe. They last for weeks – so they say – ours haven’t seen the inside of a fridge for more than a few days.

Feel free to play around with the spices. Speaking of spices, you can find most of them in the ethnic aisle at your local supermarket. Instead of paying upwards of $10.00 for a jar of cloves get a bag of them in the Mexican aisle for a fraction of the cost. That handy tip is brought to you by my savvy shopper husband. Thanks dear!

Quick Pickled Red Onions

slightly adapted from David Lebovitz

3/4 cup white vinegar

3 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 bay leaf

5 allspice berries

5 whole cloves

1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/4 teaspoon coriander

a small, dried chile pepper

1 large red onion, peeled, and thinly sliced into rings

In a small saucepan, heat the vinegar, sugar, salt, seasonings and chile until boiling.  Add the onion slices and lower heat, then simmer gently for 30 seconds.  Remove from heat and let cool completely. Transfer the onions and brine into a jar then refrigerate until ready to use.

Storage: The onions will keep for several months but they are good to go the day they are made.