When Life Gives You Key Limes…

Yeah, sure, I know the saying goes When Life Gives Your Lemons... but in our case we received ten pounds of organic Key Limes from Brother Steve. DT's brother, Steve, and his wife, Gina, live on a gorgeous piece of property just north of Sacramento. They have acreage. They have a horse. They have an arena. They have an orchard. They have a huge pond/small lake. They have a massive organic garden. They have an organic Key Lime tree on steroids producing pounds and pounds of fruit.I filled our kitchen sink with Key Limes. They look like lemons on the outside (but are only about the size of a large walnut) and are a very pale green on the inside. The juice tastes like a combination of lemon and lime juice. Very acidic. Very delicious.

I juiced Key Limes for hours. I froze the juice in one-cup and ice-cube sizes. Needless to say, there is a slim chance we will be contracting scurvy anytime soon.

Just in case you were worried.

Key Limes are so small, I had to halve them on the diagonal to use on my juicer. I juiced over 100 Key Limes... and I still have four pounds to go! I won't be able to lift my arms tomorrow.

Do y'all remember when I mentioned in my Thursday column that we stopped at the Liquor Expo before crossing the border into Oregon so I could purchase a bottle ofHangar One Kaffir Lime Vodka? 

I was planning ahead.

This afternoon I made a ginger syrup (3/4 cup chopped ginger, 2 cups water, 1 cup sugar - simmered for ten minutes, cooled and strained) and made a little cocktail with the Kaffir Lime Vodka, ginger syrup, a squeeze of Key Lime and a splash of soda - over a lot of ice.

Garnished with a slice Key Lime and a piece of crystallized ginger, the cocktail really hit the spot as we sat in our kitchen waiting for the snow storm to arrive.

Seriously, I was expecting Jimmy Buffett to knock on our door at any moment.

This is just a pretty photo of a Fuyu Persimmon from Gina & Steve's Ranch. Unlike your every-day persimmon, the Fuyu is firmer and super sweet. The taste reminds Gina of a Papaya. I sliced this persimmon and put the fruit in our salad tonight. So yummy. If you haven't tasted a Fuyu, try one soon - this is the season!

The predicted snow has yet to reach our mountain. The storm remains north of us. Seattle is a mess. The mountain passes are a mess. It rained all day in Portland, but now the sky is fairly clear - full moon! The temperature is below freezing, so I assume the roads are a sheet of ice. I will never know, because I'm not leaving the house.

Until my next update, I remain, your warm & toasty (and slightly buzzed) correspondent.