HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Some treats for your New Year  

May 2018 be the best

VIEWING PLEASURE

            We have seen some amazing shows recently and would like to share them.  I believe all of these were on Amazon Prime – if you have it take advantage of your subscription, it is a bargain.  I’m sure there are more but these come to mind.  

Let us know if you like them and what your favorites are too!

Water Front Cities of the World – 2 seasons.  A very different view of each city, culturally, economically, how they are embracing modern times, etc.  NOT a tourism show, the French photojournalist gets to the heart of challenges, solutions and the very real people

E² /Design – International series focusing on environmentally sustainable architecture, solving problems with innovative ideas.  Gives me hope!

Untold Canada – an hour coast to coast featuring a country we know far too little about

The Quest for Kiatiaktanga – New Zealand from the series Adventures with Purpose, we watched this segment (meaning similar to malama aina in Hawaiian).  We intend to watch the rest of the series.  One concept suggests that as travelers it is important to note your carbon footprint and select your accomodations “with purpose.”

Dream Island, about a small island off the coast of Wales, is for bird lovers.  Among other significant birds like the rare Manx Shearwater, there is a Puffin colony that is very charming.  I have now ordered the book and put the place on my new bucket list!

Heart of the World - Colorado’s National Parks  Three episodes, they sequence through all five parks several times with different topics.

Voyages of the Continents  - this is serious geology of our planet and absolutely fascinating.  Living in Hawaii, the topic of volcanoes and tectonic plates becomes interesting – but nothing prepared me for all of this current study around the world, mind boggling! 

SIPPING PLEASURE

            By December our Meyer lemon tree looks decorated and the only way to keep up is by making a liqueur from the skins and lots of lemonade with the fruit.  Gil keeps the tree trimmed low for easy pickins, but the thorns are still wicked.

LIMONCELLO

I’ve made several variations, experimenting with alcohol and sugar.  In Italy it is made with grain alcohol where the lemon is the only flavor.  I haven’t found that on island so I’ve tried both vodka and coconut rum as the base, just for fun.  I use less sugar than any recipe I’ve found and used agave instead of sugar until my most recent batch listed below. 

Notice the size variation of my lemons – some small, some quite large.  I probably use 11-12 fruits due to avoiding any blemishes.  Use the cleanest, organic fruit you can find.

FYI: Meyers lemons are sweeter than “store” lemons. 

10 lemons – wash with brush, dry

750ml vodka

3 cups water

1 2/3 cups white sugar (or 1 ½ cup agave to 3 ½ cups water)

*Using a peeler, remove long thin peels from lemons.  Scrape the white pith from inside skin with a sharp knife.  Pour the vodka over the prepared peels in a glass container – cover with saran and place in cool dark cupboard for 10-14 days.  

(Use or freeze the juice for something else.  I use ice cube trays and when set, dump them in baggies with the date to use as needed when the tree is dormant.)

Prep the peels

Rear container, peels have been in vodka 2 weeks, front container is second batch just going into hibernation.  No sugar has been added to either at this point.

*Stir water and sugar in large sauce pan over medium heat until sugar dissolves, 5+ minutes.

Cool completely, then add to peels and vodka.  Leave overnight, covered.

*Strain peels and place liqueur in clean glass bottles with lids.  These can be kept in freezer until you need them or give them away.

Color difference

The darker one was made with agave and the lighter ones were made with sugar.  I like the color and taste of the lighter one which surprises me since it is very rare to use sugar in this house!

Serve in liqueur glasses after dinner as a digestive.  Yum.