If life hands you lemons..... or limes!
I was in WalMart a few months back, looking for lime juice. We used to get these huge bottles of lime or lemon juice at Dollar Tree back when everything was a dollar and food was cheap and life was good and no one contemplated a Trump Presidency. Boy, those were the glory days - the Obama years.
But they stopped selling lime and lemon juice at Dollar Tree, or if it was available, it was a tiny bottle for $1.25. No real bargain.
What do we use this for? Well, lemon juice is used in cooking, but it also comes in handy as a way of making your seltzer water more appealing (as opposed to artificial flavors). If you are making a Gin-and-Tonic, and don't have any limes, a squirt of lime juice works well. Or if you are making a Gimlet, just lime juice and Gin (or Vodka). It comes in handy.
If you are drinking Corona (or any Mexican beer) and are out of limes, a shot of lime juice has the same effect. It is handy to have around, but you have to refrigerate it after opening.
So I was intrigued when I saw this "True Lime" and "True Lemon" products at WalMart. Like Land O' Lakes (I thought they went bankrupt?) "Mini-Moos" they require no refrigeration and can come in handy when traveling. Our mini-coolers have a zipper pocket in them and I throw a few True Limes in a small ziplock in there. Having a beer? Put some True Lime in it. Making a Gin-and-Tonic? True Lime to the rescue!
I digress, but in Barcelona, the bars there had signs out front saying "GinTonics!" as they called any cocktail a "GinTonic" even if it was made with bourbon. Something got lost in translation. But you have to love the Catalonians - they are such friendly people.
But getting back to topic, the True Lime and True Lemon products come in little packets like those "pinks" and other sweetners you see at restaurants. You tear the packet open and pour the powder in your drink. What's in it? Lemon or Lime - crystallized. So it does live up to its name, I guess.
I suppose it would be fun to rim a Margarita glass with it as well - but you'd need a few packets and it would be tart - which some folks don't like.
For us, well, it is a permanent part of our picnic hamper. And yea, we are the kind of people who always have a picnic hamper in the trunk, or on the bicycle, or in the golf cart, or in the kayak, or in a backpack, or at the beach, or at a picnic, even!
You get the idea. Sadly, most American's view of a "picnic" these days (based on our observations) is limited to eating fast-food out of a bag, sometimes in their car. Why get out of the car? Too much pesky wind and sun and bugs! Just wolf it all down, toss the bag in the trash, and drive on. Another task to check off the list on the race towards death. Total time "wasted" on a picnic: 5 minutes.
But I digress, yet again.
