I thought for certain I had already posted this recipe but because I don't have a search function on my blog (bad, BAD blogger - must add one pronto) I couldn't find it and if I can't find it then you probably can't find it. If you like lemons and vodka you need this recipe because it makes the very best lemon drops AND you can make Crema di Limoncello which is heavenly served over ice.
I wish I could credit this recipe too, but all I have is the magazine page, torn from its origins, with no hint of where it came from 3 or 4 years ago. The article is by Ann Hood, about her childhood and homemade food...
Whoa! Wait a minute! I just did a search for Ann Hood's limoncello and guess what I found... my own blog and the recipe for limoncello! So without further ado, here it is!
I meant to make limoncello and crema di limoncello a month or more ago and give it away, but time just kept getting past me and other things took priority. I had two bottle of Trader Joe's vodka set aside just for this purpose and kept buying bags of lemons that would go bad in the fridge. Finally, JC came home last night and said he was going to make himself a vodka martini and I thought about how refreshing a lemon drop might be.... and next thing I knew I was knee-deep in lemon zest.
I did have a lemon drop to celebrate riding my mare again. I'm just taking baby steps but I think now it will all start accelerating. She is fabulous and I just have to work through the head games and develop some trust in her (and in myself and my abilities again). She wants to please and I have to be completely confident when I'm on her. I kept thinking of that quote that is often attributed to John Wayne, "Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway" as I fumbled my way through tacking her up, ground-working her, doing everything BUT riding her.
Getting hurt, getting older, and feeling the frailty of being human is a hard lesson to learn... I don't really want to learn it. I'd like to somehow regain the fearlessness of youth but something tells me that is gone forever. In its place is a new scale that has to be balanced... the memory of broken bones against the years of time in the saddle and knowing how to ride it out. My body knows how to do this but my head has become the non-stop voice of doubt and fear that I have to just SHUT UP somehow. I'm betting that listening to myself, doing this at my own pace with the help and support of a couple of women I trust will help me find a healthy balance again. I can ride this mare and we will have many years together.
There is the possibility I could turn into an alcoholic while working through this... I keep a "buck-off" bottle of Jack Daniels in the saddle shed now and have been drinking a beer before riding her. I just drained my last Mammoth Brewing Company's Double Nut Brown before yesterday's ride, and don't know what I'll drink before getting on her this afternoon. Taking the edge off the nerves and anxiety is important though - these rides need to be good for both of us. A bit later we can go through ups and downs (well, not literal ups and downs, please and thank you very much) but these first "getting to know you" rides are just confidence-builders. I don't think it will take long now.
What a good way to start off a new year!
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