Triptych

I have finished my design class homework!  Here is the triptych:

The theme was supposed to be “Dreams”, so I’m titling the triptych “Dreaming of Freedom”.  It’s not great art, but it’s better than I expected to do, given the constraints.  I actually rather like it, conceptually, and wish I had more time to work and develop the pieces.

Meanwhile, for the foodies, here are 8 pounds of kaffir limes:

I’ve already stripped off the peels, cut them into chocolate-dipping sized pieces, and started the candying process.  I don’t generally blanch citrus peels (though you’re supposed to), but for these I decided blanching would be helpful – kaffir limes, it turns out, have a TON of oil in the peel, enough to make it unpleasantly pungent.  After blanching for 10 minutes and then rinsing in cold water, the peel is toned-down enough in flavor that I think it will be delicious, once candied.

I’m really excited about the prospect of having my own candied kaffir lime peel – it’s a rare and exotic citrus fruit, and the only other one I’ve ever seen was in Granville Island’s food market, while I was honeymooning in Vancouver.  Hopefully by next year my tree will be bearing its own kaffir limes, but for now, it’s nice to know I can order them.  (The kaffir lime tree, by the way, is usually grown primarily for its leaves, which are often used in Thai and other Southeast Asian cuisines.  I have seen very little about the culinary uses of its fruit, it’s almost always the leaves that are used.)

Later this week I intend to start candying Meyer lemon peel…I’m hoping to have a variety of candied citrus peels to dip in chocolate for this year’s candy boxes.