lemon juice in a jiffy

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I love the tangy sourness of lemon juice - a few drops perk up almost any dish. Yet, laziness often gets the better of me, since it also means taking out a lemon, washing/slicing/squeezing/deseeding. and then storing the rest of it back...yadda yadda yadda.

These are my 2 quick-fix solutions - tried and tested for decades now. Open fridge and voila, no cutting, no seeds, pure fresh juice!

1. Lemon Juice -

I buy veggies for the entire week, lemons included. Here I've gathered the materials I'll need - knife, lemon squeeze, and an air tight container. And lemons, of course! 

Cut each lemon in half, squeeze the juice in a wide-mouth utensil. Sorry, no pics with my messy hands! 

Pour into the air-tight jar. Sieve if there are any seeds. Refrigerate. It lasts easily for up to 2 weeks and still tastes fresh!

2. Lemon wedges/slices - 

When I don't have time to squeeze and store the juice, but need lemon juice immediately ....

Slice the lemon off-center so that the seeded part remains. Notice how I got 4 seedless slices, and I can choose the size of each slice depending on the requirement. Store in air-tight container.

However, seedless is not the only reason I do this. A half-squeezed lemon tends to spoil easily - it might have something to do with the skin being crushed. 

Hence, always store a cut slice that hasn't been squeezed, and it lasts for a long time.

The above 4 slices are for this pictorial. In practice, I simply slice off what I need and store the lemon. It works fine.

What tips do you have to store lemons?

peel the beet

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One of the staples in my fridge is raw beetroot pickle. Ages back my friend had shared this simple recipe but the tip on how to peel raw beetroot was my Mom's. Mom had such a curious nature and never stopped learning and experimenting.

Scrub and clean raw beetroots in water. Dunk them fully in clean water and refrigerate overnight. I often leave it for longer, depending on my mood or if I get busy. The thickness of skin might also affect the time, so try it out...
Notice that hardly any colour has seeped out.

Next day, cut off the tapering portion (not on the leaf side) and with a simple knife start peeling the skin back like a banana! No need for a peeler, etc. I actually enjoy it ;-D

Well the next step is grating the beet. Make a solution of cider vinegar, sugar (I use either brown sugar or boora), pinch of salt, pepper. Mix in the grated beet, put in an air-tight jar, and refrigerate. It can be eaten immediately, but certainly the next day onwards.

I hate cooked beet. So this recipe is something that appeals to me and is a quick replacement for a proper salad. A healthy side adding tangy sweetness. It goes well with so many cuisines!

How do you prepare and eat your beets?

ginger fresh

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 Fresh ginger has such an alluring aroma and taste and is good for digestion, etc. However it has a hot essence, and is best consumed during winters when it generates heat within the body. 'Adrak ki chai' (ginger tea) is a staple in most Indian homes during winter months and to ward off cold and cough.

Stephanie Wilson and I have intermittent discussions on cooking and food - she has acquired quite a taste for Indian spices, and dishes! She shared how she grates and freezes fresh ginger (in tiny globs) to simply dump into the dish that is cooking.

Here is what I've been doing since, in order to get the freshness of ginger in my tea! And to understand why I am not a monkey, check out this popular Indian saying/muhaavra for an interesting read - https://www.quora.com/There-is-an-Indian-Hindi-phrase-that-says-Bandar-kya-jaane-adrak-ka-swad-Why-was-this-made 

I use a planar to slice the root. This time you can see the pink freshness of the new root.

Because it is a new root, there is more moisture.

So anyway, I spread the slices on the tray and left it on the table for a few hours for this extra moisture to evaporate.

Then I place the tray in the freezer. This step ensures that the slices do not stick together.

The next day or so, I fill an air-tight mason jar with the frozen slices and shove it back into the freezer.

Since I forgot to take pics earlier, you can see the frost on the cool bottle.

Slicing gives me the additional option of crushing or julienning them if I need it for any recipe.

Each morning, I pick out a few slices, and along with 1 clove and 2 black peppercorns, and sometimes a couple of tulsi leaves (holy basil) in my mug of water, I microwave it for absolutely fresh-tasting herbal tea!

Yes, we've tried many commercial brands (hubby's choice) of ginger tea, etc. but there is absolutely nothing like this (in my opinion). Freezing the slices reduces my prep time each morning, yet gives me the full fresh aroma of fresh-cut ginger.

So, are you a monkey or not?!

Thank you, Stephanie, for making my life easy 😍 

luscious lychees

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 The male of the human species can be quite the baby when it comes to eating berries or peeling fruits! They much rather not eat such fruit. At least the specimens around me show these symptoms, sigh. So as a good housewife I have to find ways to keep my sanity .... errrrr, keep fruits fresh for longer and also to serve them with least amount of effort to both genders.

So here's how I store and peel lychees.....thankfully, I no longer have to deseed and slice away the pulp. My specimen has been tamed a bit ;-P

After several different ways, here's the one that works foolproof for me (the batch above had been bought and stored 4 days before taking these pics and one helping already served)

1. Do not cut away the twigs and leaves... keep the lychees attached. 

2. Put the entire bundle in a cotton bag and wrap nicely. 

TIP : I use old cotton pillows, folded and sewn along the sides to give me an open bag with double cloth layers. These are ideal to store select fruits and veggies. My MIL handed me her spare new cotton pillow covers for use, like the one photographed ;-D 

3. Place inside any air-tight container, be it a zip lock pouch or lidded container, and refrigerate.

The berries stay fresh easily for 10 or more days! 

Now comes the serving and eating part where the male specimen cannot be bothered! 

4. Break the berries from their stems, rinse, and soak in clean water for a couple of minutes. With your bare fingers, simply tug the stub and start peeling. Voila, the hard dry skin has softened and peels off smoothly. 

Gone are the days when I used to struggle to peel the skin in small bits and pieces.

Notice the new batch of pre-soaked almonds in the bottle?

Lychees served with cherries and soaked almonds. The condensation is still visible on the cherries! That's how quick this entire exercise was.

Other berries such as cherries and Indian blackberries (jamun), strawberries, too, are best stored in similar fashion. Line a container with paper towel5/napkins or cotton cloth, place the cherries, cover with another sheet of paper napkin, then close lid and refrigerate. They stay fresh for days.