When Joe and I were in California in January I mentioned all the citrus everywhere. My in-laws trees were almost bent in half with all the fruit hanging from their limbs. Before we left to come home, I grabbed two grocery bags, filled them, and stuffed them into my already overpacked suitcase. This made Joe mad but I insisted, claiming the virtues of the fruit of the land that he is from. He insisted I was crazy. We’re probably both right. When I got home, we used a few, but most of them I turned into preserved lemons.

I live in extremes. Usually at least once a week we have rice and beans, macaroni and cheese, frozen pizza and hamburgers. It’s the stage of life we’re in. I need to cook fast and within a budget. I do try and include salad and at least one vegetable. (Which lately tends to be asparagus. No joke last week we had roasted asparagus four days in a row.) Life is full and I need to maximize time and money. And usually at least once or twice a week I try and cook something a little more interesting, something a little decadent, something that lets me try something new. Last week that looked like roast lamb with a morel cream sauce.