Lemon Pickles

Lesson1: MAKE SOME EASY AND TASTY ONION AND LEMON MIXES

Listof ingredients and timing: Basic ingredients: 2 medium onions, 4 lemons, a small bunch of celery and parsley and 3-8chillies. 5-10ml herb salt, ½ cup cold pressed sunflower oil or olive oil.	Time:about ½ hour in spare time. Equipment: sharp knife, chopping board and four lidded storagecontainers.

Preparesome sensational food enhancers in your spare time and enjoy them with all yourmeals and snacks. Keep them in airtight containers to enjoy at short notice.Known as healing foods, they can be enjoyed every day instead of junk foods.Do away with preservatives and artificial chemical additives. Chuck out thefattening chips and white rolls, greasy fries and boring cardboard biscuits.Give your taste buds a treat and start chopping!

1: ONION, PARSLEY AND CELERY CHOP
Work on newspaper and wrap up the skins, etc. to prevent a mess. Peel the onions.If they burn your eyes, light a candle and there will be no more tears! Chopthem finely. Then wash the bunches of celery and parsley and chop them veryfine. Mix all together and seal in a plastic container. Keep this mixture inthe fridge for whenever you need to kick-start a stir-fry, an omelette, a quicksoup, casserole or make a salad. Use it to add to dips and sauces made withyour hand-held blender. You will be amazed at how much time this simple tasksaves you during a busy week.

VARIATIONS:add chopped red, yellow and green peppers to the basic mixture. You can alsouse leeks or spring onions and garlic chives. Add freshly chopped herbs or ginger.It is best not to include garlic as it gets very smelly. Always peel and chopyour garlic fresh, for every meal. Add it to the cold pan before you start cooking.A quick dip or side dish: Add some of this onion mix to a can of baked beanswith a little oil, soya sauce and lemon juice to make a super party dip or sidedish. Dip with apple and carrot slices or wrap it in lettuce leaves. Insteadof potato crisps, cut thin slices of rye bread and crisp them up in the oven.People really enjoy these tummy fillers.

2: MOROCCAN LEMON PRESERVE

Thisidea comes from Morocco, but here is a nifty short cut! Slice 2 lemons downwardsinto quarters. Remove the tough centre core and pips. Now cut across into littlefans. Coat the lemons generously with herb salt and pack into an airtight container.It's that simple! This lemon preserve keeps well for at a week or two in thefridge and you can add it to just about any dish. I snack on it when I get themunchies. Any naturopath will tell you that we need to eat whole lemons to reallybenefit from all the healing qualities this amazing fruit contains, especiallythe vitamin K that lurks in the white pith. I am totally hooked on this pickle.It goes well with curries, fish, and spinach. It is a wonderful garnish foranchovy toast or fancy open sandwiches or savoury crackers. Try it with tunasalad, hard boiled eggs, avocado, cottage cheese or peanut butter!

VARIATIONS:Use fresh limes instead of lemons, if you can get them. Add freshly grated gingerand a little honey. Try chopped chives and ground-up mustard seeds. Add a naartjieto make a colour variation and a lime or two.

3: LEMON AND CHILLI RELISH

Cutthe other 2 lemons in thick strips, downward, around the central part. Withthis relish, the lemons are quite tart, so you need less of the juicy centre.Now slice the peel into thin crescents and coat them in herb salt.

Forthe chilli buffs, take your chillies and slice them very thinly. Combine thesalted lemon with the chillies in a seal able container and add the ½ cup ofoil. It can be added to cooked vegetables or a fancy salad to add that specialzing. This relish is great to eat on buttered rye bread - I can't leave it alone,so obviously it must be doing some good. Beginner chilli eaters will find thatthe oil reduces the burn factor. If you are not into bread, use cos lettuce.Spread on a little avocado, feta cheese, chopped radish, etc and top up withthe lemon and chilli relish before you fold over the edges and devour! The oilcan also be poured onto food or salads separately for a little extra kick.

HEALTHADVANTAGES: Chillies help to relieve mucous problems and blocked sinusesas they work like a good expectorant. No wonder, they also contain guaiphenesin,like the patent drugs do. Chillies also boost the immune system, let alone thelibido. Anybody for a chilli kiss? Blood type A should not overdo the chilliesand I have found that most A's are instinctively not too fond of chillies. Theyshould stick with the milder varieties and stay away from Thai chillies, bird'seye, cherry bomb and other super hot varieties. For real softies, stick withred peppers or peppadews, just to add a little colour without the heat. Avoidgabanero chillies as they are unpleasantly hot and are dangerous to keep nearsmall children who may be attracted to them.

VARIATIONS:Use the hearts of the lemons to make lemon juice or toss them into the blenderwhen next you make fruit or veggie juice or a dip. Try making this relish withlimes and add curry powder, cumin seeds, coriander, etc. to make a spicy limepickle.

4 : GENERAL RELISH

Take some of the onion mixtureand combine it with a little of the chilli relish, finely chopped. Add a littlemore oil. This relish makes a lovely instant topping to a salad or plate ofboring veggies. Sprinkle over some cider vinegar or lemon juice just beforeserving. You can also add chopped raisins to make an instant chutney to go witha curry. This mixture can be zapped in a hand-held blender to make a smoothpaste. Enjoy it with peanut butter or cottage cheese on a boring rice cake ora slice or rye bread. They say that raw onions and raisins are very healingwhen eaten together, so enjoy your medicine!

VARIATIONS: Add choppedgherkin, radish or capers to the basic relish mixture. Lovely with tuna, friedfish or chicken. Vegetarians can enjoy it with slices of tofu, coated in riceflour and fried in a smear of olive oil.