[Sundae]

"When life hands you lemons..."
Well if Life handed me lemons I'd wonder why an American magazine had tracked me down.
But as unwaxed lemons were very, very cheap at work - even before staff discount - I bought them.

Mum is having the girls over in February. I've been planning this for ages, but it's been delayed for one reason or another, not least the festive season taking a month out of many of their social calendars.
Five ladies who work shifts aren't all that easy to pin down.
And ladies that work for the Police are trained not to be pinned down anyway.

So I had in mind to make preserved lemons.
I didn't actually squish the first ones down hard enough - there shouldn't be as much space in the jar - I got seven in though. Still, it meant I had enough lemons left to make some Limoncello.
This is the very beginning, where the lemon zest is steeped in alcohol.
American recipes call for a much higher alcohol volume; European recipes tend towards vodka. I think it's just what you can get hold of. There's a litre of vodka right there. Not even a cheeky sip missing.

The preserved lemons need time to maserate.
Which I had to look up. Micturate I got. Masturbate, masticate, eviscerate...
FTR, to soften or break into pieces. Especially when using liquid to absorb flavours. You scrape off the pulp you see, when using them.

The Limoncello is already yellowing.
I hope it will acquire a bright yellow hue, as this will be softened slightly when the sugar syrup is added.
I should get 1.5 to 2 litres of liqueur.
And no, Limoncello is not typically Moroccan.
(If I didn't say here then I'm sure I did elsewhere that this will be the loose theme of the evening) but they fit well with the preserved lemons, which are.

Now I need to find some 100-150ml bottles for them to take some Limoncello home with them. There will be at least one driver, and possibly two. And as it's a digestif, those that are drinking might not appreciate my amazingness by that point. Hope it's amazing.

I've sourced them at about £20.00 so far.
Sod that.
I've already bought the lamb, dried apricots, couscous, hajib (for me), vodka, lemons etc.
It's been over the last few months and I do it because I love it. I am a frustrated dinner party hostess/ events organiser.
And Mum always offers to pay and really means it.
But if she was in charge of the budget we'd have a slap up roast chicken dinner that no-one would ever talk about again and where's the fun in that?

This way she gets to relax and enjoy her friends' company.
I get to play with things I really, really enjoy.
I earn my keep.
And honestly, her friends do talk about it for ages.
Winner, winner, Moroccan dinner.