Bonjour, lovelies!!

This evening as a few office friends and I left our 9-5 gigs, I mentioned running to pick up a few things after work, like mason jars to begin making preserves.  It is Meyer Lemon season, after all!!

And just as the words came out of my mouth, the thought crossed my mind that if it weren’t for the concrete jungle in which I live, one might never know I was much of a city girl, let alone a bit of a country girl too.

One work friend asked where I am originally from, and my answer, “San Diego,” was met with a bit of a chuckle, since San Diego certainly isn’t thought to be very ‘country.’ However, if you ask anyone who was born (in the 70s or earlier) and raised in San Diego, they would actually tell you a different story.  I grew up in a small town of less than 40,000 people in a northern suburb of America’s finest city, where there was a lot of open farmland, even a fully functional (and quite pungent) dairy, avocado and citrus groves – a little bit of country surrounding the small growing metropolis.

I know that it is because I grew up with things like fresh local eggs, produce and open land that deep down inside, during those evenings of never-ending brake lights, stop-and-go traffic, and blaring sirens as background music… I yearn for the country, even though I always thought of myself as more of a big city girl.

So while my life is currently rooted in one of the world’s most exciting cities, I try to bring that little bit of country into my concrete & steel world.  I can’t wait to start canning the Meyer Lemons for baking and cooking!  And in getting in touch with my country side, I have found a number of great links with instructions, recipes and tips:

~ Introduction to home canning and preserving

~ 85 Recipes for home canning fruits & veggies from A-Z

~ The Kitchn’s roundup of 5 great canning websites

If you aren’t into the whole sterilization/hot water canning/pickling procedure, here are some gorgeous and novel (and relatively easy!) ideas for mason jars outside of home canning:

What do you do to bring a little bit of country into your fast-paced city life?  Any suggestions for this country-turned-city girl?

Keep living your best belle vie, bon ami!!

♥ LBH