Lemony Goodness

I was over at my sister Michelle's house the other day, and her lemon tree was BEGGING me to pick some of the gorgeous, huge Meyer lemons from it.  I am a sucker for lemons... I put slices in my water and tea, juice them in salad dressings, add zest in all kinds of dishes.  Lemons are a great substitute for salt in cooking, they help neutralize flavor if you've made something too sweet or too salty, and whenever I think a dish needs "a little something", lemon does the trick; it naturally brightens food.  If you haven't tried adding lemon zest to your repertoire, you need to do it...next time you're cooking seafood add a little zest to it and you'll be sold, I promise.  And then, unless your thumb is greener than mine (or you can afford a gardener) you're going to suffer from...

...Citrus Envy.  When I see a tree like the one at Michelle's or the ones allllllll over my neighborhood, taunting me on my daily walks with my dog, I get definite citrus envy.  I've contemplated waiting til dark, putting on my camouflage gear (no, not really - all black would be fine) and comandeering a few of the neighbors' lonely lemons, but a friend once told me that he chased a lady down the street who was pilfering his tree, and I don't want any part of that action.  I have a sad little dwarf lemon tree that my friend Nancy gave me years ago.  It blossomed beautifully the first year and I watched as a few lemons popped up.  I was waiting until they were good and plump, then one day I walked into the yard and......they were gone!  Some critter climbed the fence and stole my lemons.  It must've scared the poor tree, because it never produced another lemon again (although my mother says something about watering and fertilizer??)

So with my legally obtained lemons I made a yummy lemon herb cream sauce, with lemon thyme, parsley and chives from my yard.  I added Swiss chard (spinach or kale would be good, too), garlic, onions and tomatoes I picked up from the farmers' maket today.  I'm a big "one pot" girl...I like to put as many veggies into simple things, so I can avoid making a side dish or a salad.  Only one pot to clean is a bonus.

I tossed the sauce with Trader Joe's spinach and chive linguini - my new fave - but regular linguini would be just fine.  Best of all, it comes together in about 15 minutes...my kind of meal.

Linguini with Lemon-Herb Cream

Serves 4

8 ounces linguini

2 teaspoons olive oil

¼ cup finely diced red onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 teaspoon lemon zest, plus 3 tablespoon juice (from 1-2 lemons)

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 cup half-and-half

2 cups Swiss chard, stems removes and leaves chopped

1/3 cup quartered kalamata olives

½ cup halved grape or cherry tomatoes

1 tablespoon chopped chives

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook pasta according to instructions on package.  Be sure to reserve 1 cup of cooking liquid to add to the sauce if necessary.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium.  Add onion and garlic and sauté 3-4 minutes.  Add thyme, parsley, lemon zest, salt, pepper and half-and-half.  Continue cooking, stirring occasionally for 5-8 minutes.  Add Swiss chard and kalamata olives, cooking for 1-2 minutes.  Remove from heat and add stir in the lemon juice.  Immediately add drained pasta, tossing to coat.  Use some of the reserved pasta water if necessary to create adequate amount of sauce.  Garnish with tomatoes and chopped chives.