Lump and Bump Lemons

The lemon tree in our back yard has been pretty fruitful, and Aaron suggested I go pick them before he and Mike trim the tree and clean up the jungle of a yard the recent rains have caused.  The lemons are a little scary and bumpy looking, but plentiful.  So, we turned our lump and bump lemons into lump and bump lemonade.

The tree

Lump and bumps

Relatively large lemon crop

Blossoms and baby lump and bump

I ventured into our jungle-like yard to harvest the lemons.  It turned out to be pretty dangerous, there are some pretty nasty thorns on our lemon tree!  (I have the scrapes all over my hands to prove it!)  Aaron was playing fetch with Miso while I gathered the large lumpy fruit. 

Picking the lemons

Two bags full.. Aaron told me I should stop since we probably wouldn't use all of them

Miso sitting nicely, waiting for daddy to throw the ball

Miso's true love: ball.

Washed lemons

As large as the lemons were, they were not very juicy.  It was a pretty dry summer, and with water conservation going on, the lemon tree probably didn't get enough hydration.  After we cut into the lemon, the flesh of the fruit was sparse and almost pulling away from the rind.  I tasted the lemon juice, and it still tasted good, though, so we continued with our lemonade making.

Juicing lemons

Pouring lemonade

Delicious finished product

Overall, a fun and fruitful project.  We still have a little bit of our lemonade left and a bag full of lemons.  Just enough to make another pitcher of our signature lump and bump lemonade!

Nozomi is a Homie

This evening my wife and i had one of the best japanese meals i have had in a very long time. We went to a place I have never heard of  called Nozomi situated on the infamous Convoy street. It's a cozy little sushi place with wooden walls and low cielings that gives the feel of an actual place in japan even though i have never been there.

 I started with this appetizer called the Dragon Ball. The menu did not specify what it was, but i saw the avocado in the picture and figured hey i love avocado why not try it. It turns out that this lovely little concotion is layered avocado slices wrapped around a ball of some of the best spicy tuna. They serve it on a small plate with a spoon and its surrounded by this sweet sauce and a pile of the crispy flakes that usually is sprinkled on crunchy rolls.

 We also had the best miso soup ever. It was velvety and rich like no other broth, it definetly had the umami in it.

 Nicole got the Nabayaki Udon which had floating islands of fried tofu, delicate shrimp tempura, a boiled egg, and numerous veggies. Later she found out that it's not so good to save and microwave later haha.

 

We also ordered a standard issue crunchy roll, but when it arrived it was on a huge platter and covered in a snow drift of crunchy particles and topped with what seemed like fried ramen, but nik said it tasted like potato chips.

 I ordered the Spicy Chicken Bento. It was a nice sized bento wth all the trimmings, but what really made it shine was the delicious dressing on the salad. We have all had the drizzly, ginger slop that usually gets passed off as dressing, but this dressing was glorious. It was thick and creamy and tangy , it coated my mouth with fantastic japanese sunshine and made me feel like i was being kissed on the inside. 

So please go and try Nozomi, it is a gem among a sea of the japanese places that are content and just serving passable fare to whiteys that don't know any better hahaha