When life hands you lemons

In honor of my beloved lemon tree that drowned in the floodwaters when the levee broke, I was on the hunt for some Meyer lemons, which make a heavenly salad dressing. I finally found some, but they were only sold in packs of four. I didn't think I could use all four and didn't want them to go to waste, so I hunted on. I couldn't find another store that carried Meyer lemons, so I went back and bought the pack of four. The next day a fellow foodie brought me a bag of four Meyer lemons that she had picked up at the local farmer's market (why didn't I think of that?)! I don't need to tell you what I did, do I?

No knead bread

I knew right away that I had added too much water. Well, actually at first I took your advice and used 1 1/2 cups, but that seemed too dry, so I dumped in more. Dumped carelessly and without measuring, I might add. Without thinking- "hey, I'm baking". So the dough was a wet mess all throughout the process. BUT, I carried on. It ended up almost perfect, actually. A bit moist, yes. But the crust was nice and crispy and the crumb (I think that's what you call it) was dense and yummy. So unlike the light airy breads you find here. A very rustic bread which I will make again and again (though next time I will actually have butter in the house so as to recreate my childhood snow day memory of homemade bread, hot out of the oven slathered in DELICIOUS butter). And sooo easy.

I toasted the slices, rubbed them with garlic, drizzled them with olive oil, and sprinkled them with parsley. It will be a yummy breakfast tomorrow, too.

Thanks for the inspiration, Lou Lou!

Thanks for nothing!

No, I really mean it.

I am thrilled to have a day where the only thing I must do is make my dinner reservation at 6.

A day on which I stay in my pajamas until 2.

A day to dawdle.

This means lying in the sun and reading the paper, baking bread, going for a walk, and taking a nap.

All in all a pleasant way to spend the holiday.