When looking for spices, besides looking in the baking aisle of your store, check to see if the ethnic food aisle also has spices.
EXCELLENT point, Mary!!! For that matter, little ethnic grocery stores, Asian and Hispanic are other possible alternative places to get certain things.
SO....I accidentally ordered double on every item of my last Walmart curbside pickup order. Their system was glitching the night before my order could be edited for the last - didn't realize - luckily it was a small order. We'll use it all, just have some extra Pop Tarts now basically - oh NO
But it also meant I ended up with 4 lbs each of lemons and limes.
Sigh.
So I juiced them all - my arm hurts so bad!!! - and have frozen the juice in ice cube trays.
Now I'm working on what to do with all the rinds!!! Normally I would just freeze them but I want to save freezer space for meat right now.
So far I've come up with adding several rinds to a big jar of vinegar - I can let that sit for 2 weeks, strain it and use it as a cleaner. Can use full strength or dilute 50/50 with water.
I'm going to bust out the dehydrator and dehydrate as much of it as I can. Then process in food processor to make powder.
I'm going to use some of the rind to make DIY Lemon Pepper Seasoning by mixing with fresh ground pepper and kosher salt. I'm thinking I'll try and make a Lime Pepper Seasoning as well - just for the heck of it.
I've perfected making fresh lemonade one glass at a time to DS's supreme satisfaction.
Ways to used dried citrus zest:
Mix bits of dried peel with black tea or herbal tea for a citrus kick.
Use it in homemade liquors and liqueurs.
Add a burst of citrus to bath scrubs and salts with a few tablespoons of dried peel.
Combine it with sea salt for a citrus seasoning for chicken or fish.
Add it to a vinaigrette with other herbs to toss on a salad, fresh vegetables or even fresh fruit.
What else can you guys think of?
I also found this other interesting method of preserving rinds - in Salt!!!
https://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/salt-preserved-citrus-skins
In other pantry news I've been saving bread heels and am trying to think of what to use them for. Meatloaf? My mom used to add bread and egg to ground beef to stretch the meat when making burgers. I guess I could make homemade bread crumbs? Any other ideas?
I baked an acorn squash for DH's lunch today and have saved the seeds. They are washed and set out to dry on top of a splatter screen - will toss with olive oil and spices and roast.
I'm addicted to
Quarantine Crackers (formerly known as Seasoned Oyster Crackers) - TRULY - I CAN NOT STOP EATING THEM...
So easy to make!!! And they can be frozen too - I actually prefer them cold out of the freezer.
That's all I got for now!