"Have You Learned Moderation Yet?"

That was the question posed to me yesterday by a friend at the CSA as we discussed putting up food. It started with an observation that harvesting and juicing an entire lemon tree in one day may be a bit obsessive-compulsive. Then we moved on to how much food is appropriate to put up: only what you can use in a reasonable amount of time or as much as is available. He leans towards the first option while I lean towards the latter. The latter means you have surplus in case of unexpected house guests, surplus to donate to others in need, surplus to give as gifts.

He's well aware of the crazy food preservation adventures I've had in the last couple of years such as getting two or more shares from the CSA just so I can get more experience canning, taking the huge zucchini that no one else wants - again so I can practice processing a large "harvest", and picking prickly pears until my ears bleed pink. He knows I still have watermelon rind pickles left from Summer 2007. He does not think I'm very good at the moderation thing.

My response to this is to quote Lazarus Long from one of Heinlein's books: "To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites. Moderation is for monks."


This is not a moderate amount of lemons. I suppose I am only being a little obsessive-compulsive since I harvested only half the lemon tree in the back yard this morning. I've worked my way through a little over half of this box so far. There are four ice cube trays of juice in the freezer and another four cups of juice in the refrigerator awaiting their turn in the trays. On the stove top sits a pot of candied lemon peels soaking in sugar syrup. In the closet is a large jar of lemon peels steeping in vodka for a new batch of limoncello.

I'm worn out from processing these lemons and the payoff is not huge. Unlike normal lemons, these contain little juice. Most yield less than a tablespoon of juice but I press on because they are free, they are local, and I will need juice for pomegranate and prickly pear jelly this summer. Perhaps we'll even finish off last year's jelly before the new season begins, but probably not because I made more than a moderate person would have made.

In the meantime, I'll savor the memory of the tasty limoncello I drank this afternoon, the product of my first foray into making my own liqueurs. I sipped half of the small glass and decided it was too intense for midday. I decided to make a refreshing summer drink by adding 3 parts chilled club soda to what was left in my glass. It was wonderful and could be offered as a nice summer party drink in a champagne glass with a wedge of candied lemon peel on the rim. Or perhaps one could rub a lemon wedge around the rim of the glass and dip it in superfine sugar to dress up the presentation. You'd want to do that before pouring the limoncello and club soda into the glass, of course.

And do remember to drink in moderation.