Saving Sunshine: A Great Equinox Ritual
Make delicious preserved lemons flavored with foraged herbs while bottling up some autumnal sunshine to enjoy later.
New to foraging? Learn more about ethical and safe foraging (plus how to get started) here!
Though the Fall Equinox has passed, the energy of it lingers in the air. It’s never too late to engage with seasonal changes, and this little ritual was too lovely not to share!
With evenings getting noticeably longer, I want to soak in every moment of sunshine I can these days! Even my taste in food reflects that; as I enjoy the end of harvest season, the last of the summer tomatoes and peaches, I think ahead to what I will be craving in the darker days of winter. Jars of jam for toast on cold mornings. Acidic brightness to stir into soups and enliven sandwiches. A little bit of the forest, all wrapped up in a blanket of lemon. Mmmm.
As someone who can never quite get enough lemon, preserved lemons are my new love in life. Salting them mellows the tart bite and instead brings out a surprising sweetness and strong lemon flavor that stands out in all kinds of recipes! They are known for their association with Moroccan tagines (yum), but these gems can cross cultures and find their way into dips, dressings, roasts, and more. They do take a couple of months to fully cure, so it’s best to start them early so you can enjoy that tangy brightness in fall and winter recipes!
This is a truly wonderful project for the fall equinox, as it both celebrates the changing seasons and looks ahead to winter days. It’s a simple ritual of noticing and celebrating the sunlight, then packing it into special jars to enjoy later on.
You’ll need:
A basket and some scissors
A small notebook and pen
The ingredients for the preserved lemons, below
A gold paint marker to write on your jars
Directions:
Give yourself some time for this ritual. You want to allow your mind to drop into a flow state as you wander and feel the sense of peace that nature has to offer.
Go on a walk in an area where you can forage. Look for aromatic plants you can gather to flavor your lemons with a bit of your landscape. You don’t need much of anything, just a sprig here or there.
After you’ve been wandering around for a little while, find somewhere comfortable to sit down and journal about your experience and your thoughts on this day that is the mid-point between the long days of the Summer Solstice and the long nights of the Winter Solstice.
Think of what kind of blessing you’d like to carry with you into the coming season. Write down a few iterations of it until you are happy with the words you have chosen.
Make your way back home, not in a rush. Make the recipe below. Once the jars are all sealed with your nature goodness inside, use the gold paint marker to write your blessing on the outside of each jar.
Save your new sunshiney goodness to liven up meals in the darker months of winter!
Forest Flavored Preserved Lemons:
Ingredients:
2 clean pint jars
4 ripe lemons with thin peels
Kosher salt (or medium sea salt)
2 bay leaves
2 juniper sprigs
2 fir branch sprigs
2 yarrow sprigs
2 small mild red peppers
Directions
Sterilize your jars by pouring boiling water into them, then let sit for a few minutes. Pour the water out.
Sprinkle 1 Tbs. salt on the bottom of each jar.
Prepare your lemons: wash well, then cut into eighths, keeping the lemons connected at one end. Remove as many seeds as you can. Rub 1-2 Tbs. salt into each lemon, gently massaging it into each wedge. Then, close up the lemon and pack it into one of the jars. Repeat with the other jar.
Repeat the process of salt-packing lemons and pressing them into the jar, sticking in the aromatics as you do so that the jars are both beautiful and full of forest flavors. By the time both jars have been packed tight with lemons, juice should be covering the top. If it’s not, squeeze another lemon and pour the juice to cover. Seal the jars and leave at room temperature for one week, shaking the jar a couple times a day.
After a week at room temperature, transfer the lemon jars to the fridge and let them mellow for about 2 months.
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Join me for a little winter night magic as we bake this cake full of rich seasonal flavors and black cocoa!