Fun Fact:

Singing in a dirty "French" voice about dirty things...really solid way to make sense of the world.

Geography!

Wisconsin is the Texas of Canada.

Also, beer festivals are AWESOME!

Preserved lemons...ROCK MY SOCKS!

Okay, preserved lemons are one of the most awesome things ever, it's a Scientific fact. I say so, and I make Science. Anyway, I make them, I love them, I eat them. And I am always looking for more ways to do all three. If you don't know what preserved lemons are--well, you're deprived, no two ways about it, but--you're not alone. They can be made a number of ways, but the way I make them is very simple: Combine lemons and salt in a jar (it is more detailed than this, but I can't imagine you care--and I am not an authority and you should ask someone else--that being said, I will tell you anyway: cut off the stem end of your lemons, quarter them, but don't cut quite all the way through, pack the cut surfaces with kosher salt, pack the lemons into a jar with "shoulders", cram them down as hard as you can with a wooden spoon, pack as many as you possibly can in the jar, smooshing the juice out of them, if necessary add more lemon juice to cover the lemons, add a tablespoon or so of kosher salt, seal, and store in a cool dark place for 4 weeks, shaking/turning over occasionally. The finished product will store about a year in the fridge). [I bet any English teachers' heads exploded with all those commas.]

So, upshot: They are extremely salty and sour. I WANT TO PUT THEM IN COCKTAILS. Sort of a sweet/salty kinda notion. This works extremely well with li hing mui (a salty/sweet/sour dried plum), which makes amazing margaritas, infused vodka, and a variety of other cocktails.

IDEA 1: Preserved Lemon Simple Syrup

Not sure how this will work out. It is sweet, salty, and slightly bitter. Thick. This is going to take some experimentation. No, I didn't take a picture. Use your imagination.


IDEA 2: Preserved Lemon Dirty Martini

Use a bit of brining liquid instead of olive juice and garnish with a bit of lemon. I hope to try this later...but I have had beer, and an attempt using IDEA 1, and the Kool-aid is calling me.


ATTEMPTS

Preserved Lemon Drop- This was weird. I may have put too much syrup in. I dunno. I ended up dumping it into a pint glass (before I thought to take a picture) and adding  diet lemon-lime soda.


Okay...dinner time...maybe I will try again later...