Chickpea Salad with Lentil and Curly Parsley

The most we see the curly parsley being used is as a garnish on top of a dish or on a plate.   This salad contain garlic, red onions, French lentils, chickpeas, orange bell peppers, and curly parsley; sea salt and peppers, olive oils, red sherry wine vinegar, and served with Jasmine Basmati fried rice with raisins, chickpeas, flavored with cumin, turmeric, paprika, cayenne pepper.

Salted Lemons and Limes

Ever since I learned to include salted lemons in the Mediterranean style cooking, the salted lemons recipe has joined my 'favorite' recipes. 
This year with abundance of home grown limes, I preserved some limes also.

 After removing the seeds from each cut limes and lemons, stuff each wedges with sea salt mixture.

 Pack the sanitized mason jar tightly and pack with the rest of the sea salt mixture.

Clean the rim of jar very well, and cover with mason jar lid tightly. 
Label with Date and Content info.
Take advantage of the cold weather and store in garage if you do not have room in your pantry or have a cool dark place to store. Shake the jar a bit to help with settling every 2 weeks.  Ready for use after 2 months.
The followings are Salted Lemons made from homegrown lemons.

Candied Orange Peels

This candied orange peels recipe worked out quite well.   The oranges are peeled and pithed,. and simmered in the 4Cups:4Cups  --  Sugar:Water ratio with 1tsp of heavy corn syrup added to keep from crystallization.  5 nice medium size fresh oranges.  Preferably home grown (or un-waxed oranges.)    Extra sugar to roll the peels in.
3 Wire racks and sheet pans covered with 'wax' paper to dry peels on.   1 large wooden spoon; 1 tongue; 1 plate with rim.      *(wax paper is cheaper than parchment paper for this purpose or do without)
Mason jar to store in.
Tips:  Boil the water first and add corn syrup; then, to make sure that the sugar would not form crystals and start to crystallize the rest of the syrup, carefully add sugar in small portion at a time and stir well to dissolve without getting the sugar sticking to the sides of the pot, then add another portion of sugar.  Once the orange peels are added, basically those acid would keep the crystals from forming.   But if it's non-acidic type fruit peels, I noticed, even with corn syrup, the crystals might form. 

 Use a flexible fruit pairing knife and slide it across the peel in horizontal angle.

 

 Didn't think that there will be this much pith - 200 some grams of it.

 Bring water to boil; add heavy corn syrup; then, while stirring with a wooden spoon, add separate portion of sugar at a time to dissolve completely before adding more;

Simmer for 1 hour or until the peels are translucent.  Cool completely in the pot.

Transfer the peels to wire rack.  Blot to remove excess liquid.  

  Roll in sugar and place on clean dry wire rack to dry overnight. 

 Store in sanitized air tight mason jar.
You can eat it just as is or chop and add to cookies, bread, etc., dipped in melted chocolate and make chocolate dipped orange peels; or chop and add to prepared main dishes.