Some people buy fresh cut flowers. I buy lemons and limes for our table. Sounds weird. I am a weirdness in many areas of life. Why pay a lot of money for flowers that are going to drop petals and stickiness and lose color and droop muddy the water and ...yuk.I don't have anything against cut flowers. Actually I am pretty good at making passable and pleasing arrangements and I have discovered that cutting the stems every other day or so and replacing the water with fresh VERY warm water, will hold the flowers for ten days and more. The frugality of it is that this is an expensive luxury and one of my main weirdnesses is frugality. Not cheap, mind you, but definitely frugal.
Lemons and limes last for a very long time AND they are practical -- edible, tasty, a wonderful addition as zest, juice, slice, wedge. Can't say that about cut flowers. I have a favorite use for lime wedges which I keep in a little baggie in the frig. I wet the rim of a tall drink glass, dip the rim in salt, squeeze the wedge into the glass, shake in a few drops of Tabasco, and top with a can of Miller Light. Don't laugh, it is a wonderfully refreshing drink.
My friend Kathy has discovered that lime wedges and slices, frozen on a tray/plate and then bagged will keep in the freezer for a long time and are instantly ready for culinary use. I haven't tried this yet. Today's super bargain of a dozen limes for $1.99, of which I purchased TWO dozen, is certainly incentive to give this a try.
Lemons and limes, do turn, though. Lose color. Sometimes get fuzzzy spots. I can't bear to throw them out so I move them to a "past their prime" spot. Maybe not as attractive as fresh but interesting in its own way.When my sons say to me, "Mom, you're weird," they are undoubtedly right.
Lovable though.
