People think that I grew up in Santa Barbara, but I'll tell you a little secret if you can keep it.
I'm actually from Goleta.
Where?
I know, right?
You might have never heard of such an unremarkable place as Goleta before. (You know I like it better that way anyways.)
It is a quiet, little place. "The Good Land."
Just about 10 miles north of Santa Barbara, Goleta occupies the coastal plain between the Santa Ynez Mountains, the principal mountain range of southern Santa Barbara County, and the sparkly Pacific Ocean.
Here, the Santa Ynez Mountains, covered by sage-colored chaparral and displaying prominent sandstone outcrops, provide a lovely backdrop to the sleepy suburb that's peopled with fresh, young families and old ranch hands. There's a beach with a long pier where Mexicans catch white fish on Sunday for ceviche dinners and an old beach bar that serves stale popcorn and mix-made Mai Tai's.
Compared to Santa Barbara to the south, Goleta feels somewhat sterile.
Clusters of dull suburban tract homes, void of any of the personality or charm hallmark of downtown Santa Barbara's Spanish-style bungalows, are situated between strip malls packed tight with Home Depots and Best Buy's and CVS stores. At the intersection of Fairview Ave. and Calle Real Rd., you can choose to fill your car with gas at one of nine different gas stations, none of which offer competitive pricing. From the Santa Barbara Airport, which is actually located in deep Goleta, you can fly to Denver, Dallas, Seattle, Portland and Phoenix at unreasonable times for an astronomical fare.
But in Goleta, I will say, there is also lots and lots of citrus.
Lemons. Limes. Oranges.
In fact, ever since the first citrus tree was planted in California in 1769 by Father Junipero Serra while building the Missions, citrus trees have come to be known as an iconic feature of the California landscape. Today, California's citrus sector is valued at more than $1 billion annually and is ranked number 1 in producing fresh-market oranges, most notably the navel, but also a significant share of the nation's valencias, lemons, grapefruits and tangerines. There are 42,000 acres of lemon trees in California and fifty percent of that acreage is located in Ventura and Santa Barbara County.
And you can tell, too. This is a citrus city.
Notice the seemingly infinite rows of lemon trees growing up tall and thick in the pastures of the foothills, the air here perfumed by branches blooming with honey-scented petals and juicy, sweet globes of pulpy fruits. I've always loved how big breathes of wind toss the sweet smell orange flowers and lemon rinds that warm in the sun around in the air.
And not just orange trees in farm orchards but in the front yards and back yards and side yards of our Southern California homes, too.
For me, the lemon, and all citrus generally, is a nostalgic thing.
I have such fond associations. With the flavors. The smells.
Sometimes a big whiff of lemon takes me back to Goleta Beach, hot as hell, sandy and salty, in the summer, noontime. In between swims, my mother used to squeeze the juice of ripe, halved lemons into my hair to blonde the locks. In the heat of the sun, my hair cuticles opened wide, the lemon juice lifting and lightening my hair to the color of an enviable, California beach babe.
I still like to squeeze lemon juice in my hair when spending a summer day at the beach, although these days I like to mix the juice in a spray bottle with a couple of drops of Argan oil to keep my hair from getting dry and crispy while it cooks.
Other times, a lemony bite transports me to our backyard garden of our Goleta home, early 2000s, sometime in spring, where my mother's pride was a single variegated citrus tree that grew real-life pink lemons. She'd juice them into glass pitchers with sugar water and ice for super sour glasses of pink lemonade.
For dinner, always whole roasted chickens with lemons from the neighbors yard. Squeezes on berries or eaten whole, like oranges, with a heavy sprinkling of crunchy, coarse sea salt.
Now that we are back in California, Tim and I, and surrounded by citrus, everywhere and always, I love to use lemons for almost everything. And I don't just mean as a staple ingredient in my cooking and baking.
Because apart from being a great kitchen ingredient, lemons work wonders for other things like DIY beauty treatments and natural home cleaners. For real!
Incorporating lemons into my beauty routine has been a total game changer, as this naturally acidic fruit has a number of benefits. I like to use a lemon as an exfoliant. I slice a lemon in half, rub it in granulated sugar, and then I scrub my body with it. It leaves my skin smelling fresh and sweet and feeling smooth and soft.
Want a whiter smile? I do, too. A long time ago my dentist had warned me against using store-bought whitening products, as they can strip away at the protective enamel leaving teeth brittle, susceptible to cracks, chips and lots of pain. With a personally painful and complicated dental history of my own, I like to avoid the possibility of a toothache whenever I can. So, instead of wearing White Strips, I opt for a more natural remedy. I mix baking soda and lemon together to the consistency of a thick paste and apply the mixture to my teeth with a Q-tip. I leave it on for about five minutes and then guzzle, brush and rinse. The paste helps brighten and whiten my smile without having to make the dreaded trip to Dr. Caraco's dentist office.
As I mentioned, lemon juice also happens to be one of my favorite household cleaning ingredients. If you're trying to get rid of hard water stains on your chrome home hardware like I am every day of my life, cut a lemon in half, scrub it all over your metal hardware and watch the stains disappear like actual magic. On laundry day, try brightening whites by adding a 1/4 cup of lemon juice to your regular laundry detergent. Bing!
See! Lemon everything!
I never met a lemon I didn't want to squeeze. Mostly, though, I love to use them in the kitchen. In almost every dish I prepare, a hint of lemon. Sometimes, when I’m asked what the secret is to a dish I’ve made, the answer, more often than not, is not a secret at all. It’s just that.
For us in California, they are plentiful and juicy-ripe. A big bowl overflowing with citrus fruits, always in my kitchen, reminds me of sweaty days and outdoor dinners and spa baths.
It's an essential ingredient in my kitchen, as it should be in yours. I actually suggest you start thinking of lemon as the third seasoning, along with salt and pepper, because lemons are an as crucial a flavor-enhancer.
On your tongue, salt and lemons work a similar kind of magic. But while salt is a mainstay staple in every kitchen and pantry, the lemon is often, tragically, overlooked, even though a generous squeeze of it's fresh juice can be just as good as a dash of salt in developing flavor. And, unlike salt, too much of which can overpower a dish, lemon juice (and the zest, too!) help develop the tastes of bitterness, sweetness, spiciness and umami, and help them reach their full potential.
Not to mention, it's a healthier ingredient than salt. Overflowing with vitamin C, lemons are low in calories and high in potassium. They also contain compounds that have antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. In fact, lemons have been discovered to have 22 anti-cancer compounds. These include limonene, which slows down the growth of cancer tumors, and flavonol glycosides, which can stop cell division in cancer cells.
For all intents and purposes, I like to use lemons the way the French and Italians use vinegar and the Germans and Americans use mustard: as an acid element. No matter what you're cooking—sweet or savory—you're almost always going to need to add acid. (When I say "acid" I basically mean anything tart and tangy: vinegar, pickle brine, citrus juice, etc..) Why? Because, for one, acid cuts through the greasiness and heaviness of fats and offers relief to a bite that might otherwise be too rich. Plus, It helps with balancing out intensely sweet or salty flavors. And because acid stimulates the palate, specifically, the production of saliva. And that, my friends, is the very definition of appetizing: mouthwatering.
While I love so much to use all kinds of acid in my cooking, (red wine vinegars and olive juices and caper brine) to me, fresh lemon juice is the queen of them all and the reason I prefer lemon is because my zesty, spicy, doughy, California cuisine, that frequently features fresh seafood and produce from the region, often calls for a burst of fresh, sour, fruitiness. The juice from the fresh-picked fruit is the perfect ingredient. It's brighter, fresher, and more complex than even the most expensive William Sonoma vinegars you can buy.
Which brings me to their flavor. Sour, acidic, fruity. That glorious, complimentary savor you can’t quite put your finger on.
Use it in preparations of beef, seafood, tacos, chicken, pork, tomato juice, Coke, beer. Adding the juice or zest to any dish, sweet or savory, will enliven the flavor profile. Suddenly, a perfectly good pasta sauce is perfectly great. A berry pie tastes like it’s been baked with bird songs and green grass picnics and all of summer. And braised vegetables are no longer just a convenient side dish but the best part of the meal.
Besides adding flavor, lemons are also used for other purposes when cooking. Lemon juice contains citric acid, which helps break down fats, carbohydrates, and protein and using lemon juice can change a food’s texture, as when macerating berries, tenderizing meat, and “cooking” ceviche.
Try experimenting with the lemon zest, too. (But don't grate too deep – the white pith doesn't taste good!) The zest contains lemon oil, which is where you’ll find the most lemon flavor in hiding, and it can be used to deepen fragrance and add depth in your cooking. Using the zest can be especially useful in instances where you want to add flavor and fragrance, but not additional liquid, like with pie crusts or cookies.
It's important to start with good lemons, no matter what you intend to use them for. They should be bright yellow in color, firm to the touch, smooth, and heavier than you might expect, considering their size. They should also be lemon-shaped. (Seriously! The closer it looks to the ideal lemon, the more likely it is to be perfectly juicy.) If you pick right, they’ll last for several days at room temperature, or even longer in the crisper drawer of a refrigerator. (Chilling lemons makes them harder to juice and zest, but you can roll one back and forth with your palm on the counter, as you would a rolling pin, or pop it into the microwave for a few seconds to release the juice and soften the rind, making it easier to squeeze.)
Before you start cooking, know this: You can fuck up.
For example, fresh, squeezed lemon juice can do wonders for a pan sauce. But, add it to a sauce too early, and you can expect discoloration and a bitter flavor. Avoid this mistake by only adding the juice after you remove the sauce (or stew, or soup, or whatever) from the heat.
Also be careful when working with lemon and dairy. A squeeze of fresh citrus into a cream-based sauce will surely lighten things up, but squeeze in too much and the dairy will curdle. Adding an acidic element to milk, after all, is how cheese gets made.
In my opinion, however, the biggest mistake you can make with lemon is not having any.
Want to know some of my favorite recipes?
Pizza Sorrentina:
Serves 2
30 mins prep/cook time
Here's why I love this dish. For one, because it's pizza. And two, because of it's perfect balance. Spicy, sour, salty, tangy-tart and refreshing all at the same time.The lemon cuts the richness of the mozzarella; the greens, even after cooking, offer a fresh note. The lemon bites aren't too big, which is key. It would be shame for you to spend all this time slicing lemons as thin as you can only for your guests to pick them off.
Ingredients:
Pizza dough (if you're ambitious you could make your own dough, or you could go to Trader Joe's and buy their pre-made pizza dough for $1.19 like I did and no one would be the wiser. But, hey, if watching yeast rise and kneading dough is your thing, you go girl!)
Mozzarella
Lemon slices
Micro greens
Olive oil
Red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and pepper
Instructions:
1. Preheat your oven to 450
2. Roll out your pizza dough on a lightly floured surface
3. Drizzle the dough lightly with some really good quality olive oil
4. Top your pizza dough with fresh mozzarella, lemon slices and micro greens
5. Season with a generous sprinkle of red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt and pepper
6. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes, until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted
Lemon Anchovy Vinaigrette:
Serves 2
5 mins prep/cook time
The best dressings elevate a simple greens into an actual salad. I don't like to use honey or any elements of sweetness in my dressings, like some recipes call for, because I like flavors that are more rough, edgy and raw. I love to eat food that is bitter and aggressive. (Like me)
Ingredients:
2 anchovy filets
Juice from 1 lemon
1/2 cup of olive oil
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
Instructions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor
2. Blend until smooth
3. Dress greens lightly, adding more to taste
Lemon Curd Cake:
Serves 9
2 hour prep/cook time
So perfect for Spring, Mothers day, brunch, lunch, just because. For mine, I start with a vanilla bean cake base and build up from there. Sometimes I like to add yellow dye for coloring, other times I don't. Traditionally, cream cheese frostings are used for citrus cakes but to me, it's an unsophisticated frosting. It reminds me of some baked goods table crowded with monkey breads and dessert casseroles and butter pies at some Sunday service at a Midwest church. Instead, I like to frost with whipped cream because it's not so heavy and it pairs well with the delicate flavor of the lemon. You could decorate with fresh berries or flowers from your garden. I like to decorate mine with fresh citrus slices, so that my guests know exactly what kind of cake I'm serving without having to ask.
Ingredients:
For the Cake:
Vanilla cake batter base (Start with your favorite. I like to use Ina Garten's white cake recipe because the woman is an actual goddess who makes all the right stuff and who's judgement I never question)
1 Vanilla bean
1 1/2 tablespoons of Lemon curd
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
Yellow food coloring (optional)
For the Frosting:
2 cups of heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon of powdered sugar (you can add more if you like a sweeter cream)
1/8 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Garnish:
Citrus slices (any variety)
Instructions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350
2. To your favorite white cake batter base, add the insides of one whole vanilla bean, lemon curd and lemon juice
3. Mix until well incorporated
4. Pour the batter into a greased 9" round pan
5. Bake for 40 minutes, until the top is browned and a cake tester comes out clean
6. Let cool 1 hour before frosting
7. In a separate bowl whisk together heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract high speed until medium to stiff peaks form (Don't over beat it!)
8. Frost and decorate your cake
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