Ponderosa Lemon Update

I headed back to my local bar with Lemon #3, the smallest of all of them. RC squeezed it for me on their fancypants old-timey juicer, and I got 1.5 Jack Rose cocktails out of it (had to supplement the juice with that of another lemon for the second). A Jack Rose is comprised of apple jack (apple brandy), lemon juice, and grenadine. I’ve only ever gotten one at Quarter, and I imagine it to be pretty gross elsewhere, because the grenadine would make it cloyingly sweet. However, they make theirs in house, and this difference turns what sounds like a nasty drink into something lighter – refreshing and delightful, even.

The first half of Lemon #4 has been juiced and zested – the zest went into the freezer, and most of the juice joined some rice wine vinegar, olive oil, dijon, and various other ingredients in a vinaigrette. I had some on a baby arugula salad with orange peppers, hard boiled eggs, blanched broccoli, blanched green beans, and the last of Lemon #1′s zest. I dumped a good amount into a spelt pasta salad for lunch a few days ago, and there was still some that made it into the fridge in the dijon jar.