The Painted Apron

Party Panache, Holiday Fragrance & Lemons

Posted by the Painted Apron on November 9, 2012 · 8 Comments 

LEMONS! A thoughtful, sweet friend just gave us a big bag of beautiful lemons and I could not have been more thrilled.

These beauties are often neglected in the Fall when our thoughts turn to pumpkins, acorn squash and cranberries, but lemons can play an important part of the upcoming holidays.

And ROSEMARY!   Do you you have any in your garden? I have some rosemary growing in a pot on my patio, a handy plant to have around for holiday cooking and smelling!

Paired with some lemon and vanilla, you can create a heavenly scent throughout your home…

I used a vanilla bean but vanilla extract is just fine too.

Put lemon slices, rosemary sprigs and a Tablespoon of vanilla in a saucepan of water and let it simmer on the stove top.

Your home will fill with a fresh, delicious holiday fragrance.  A simple and easy way to infuse your home with a jolly mood!

I pinned this from Good Life of Design.

The rosemary is very over powering so next time I will use more citrus and less rosemary

and maybe try some Orange Extract too! Tweak it however you like.  Cinnamon sticks, cloves…

There are lots of health benefits from eating lemons also:

Currently there is on going research linking lemons to preventing cancer cell growth.  The lemon peel itself has 5-10 times more vitamins than the juice and helps erradicate body toxins.  Incorporate lemon into your diet as often as you can!

Did you know you can freeze lemons? Yep! Just toss them in your freezer and grab one when you need it.  Grate the whole frozen lemon and use it to toss into your food for added flavor.  You can microwave it for quick defrosting too if you want the juice’

Here are some other things you can do with lemons.  Have a LEMON TODDY first thing in the morning to detoxify your system and jump start your metabolism.  Just mix the juice of 1/2 lemon with 1 cup of boiling water and sip.  This helps cleanse your digestive tract from the day before.

3 Tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 1/2 cups water in your microwave for 5-10 minutes on high will soften any residue and then you can wipe the insides easily clean.

Every time you use a lemon don’t discard the rind, cut it up a little and feed it to your garbage disposal to keep it fresh and sweet smelling.

Rub the cut side of a halved lemon over your cutting board to sanitize and deodorize it.

Deodorize your refrigerator by soaking a cotton ball or small piece of sponge in lemon juice and leave it for several hours.

When buying lemons, check the prices carefully.  Individual lemons are often much more expensive than a bag.  Now that you know all the uses and health benefits of lemons, you will want to buy the bag anyway!

You’re welcome!

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