Adding A Little Zest To Your Life

Have you ever thought of the many uses of a lemon?  While I was sitting at the table, this morning, eating breakfast with my lovely wife, my eyes fell upon our Myers lemon tree just outside our window.  Although we have had the tree for many years, it had never really been very prolific… until this year.  I went to great lengths this last summer in caring for this tree.  I tenderly pruned away the dead and misshaped growth, added fresh soil to its redwood container, placed it on a regular feeding program and watered it on a regular schedule.  Currently, with the abounding threats of frost, I check the weather forecast daily, and cover the tree when the temperatures even hint at dropping below the freezing mark!

And now, like a proud and diligent father, I am enjoying the fruit of my labors!  (no pun intended!)  Our little tree is abounding with fruit and has been providing the “kick” for many new recipes!  Lemon juice is approximately 5% – 6% acidic acid which gives it a sour taste.  It has a pH of 2 – 3.  It can be used as a marinade, as a neutralizer, a tenderizer, a preservative, and is a popular garnish.  It is an anti-bacterial agent, can be used in the fermentation process, has electrical conductance, can be used as a wood cleaner and polish, as a household cleaner, and as a nontoxic insecticide treatment.  I’ve always enjoyed its flavor in drinks, cakes and muffins, lately as a marinade over baked chicken, and as a household deodorizer.

The one downside to making it attractive to the palate is the amount of sweetener that you have to add in order to soften the sour tang it produces.  But once the right combination is found, the results are mouth watering!  This is like the extra effort that we sometimes have to put in with the different people we meet in life.  There are some personalities that come off as very sour compared to the ones we enjoy being with.  Many times though, these acidic influences are just what we need to spice up our lives.  They cause us to dig a little deeper, to work a little harder, and to look at ourselves and at life from a different perspective.  Proverbs 27:17 says “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens the wits of another.” (God’s Word ©)

Sometimes it is just that one small squirt of lemon over your fish, or in your beverage, that makes all the difference to the enjoyment of what you are consuming.  The same statement can be said about that small dab of influence from that “different” personality when mixed into the flavor of your life.  It can improve the overall quality of your well-being and purpose!  That sour lemon might just add a needed zest into your life…

“Whose for a lemon treat?

Suck it slow, your mouth contorts

Eat it quick, you might feel sick

But add it little to a drink

or whip it in some cream and sink

your spoon into the lemon-goo

I bet , like me, you like lemons too”

(Sammy Stein http://www.helium.com/items/1836168-poetry-lemons)

So, before your shrug off that individual who may seem a tad sour to you, take a moment and think about how a cup of sweetness can totally change their taste… and yours!  Stay tuned and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”