Italian Volcano Lemon Juice At Mom's

Simple things, great flavor, especially when you're low on everything else.

I'm becoming a fan of expensive lemon juice as a way to keep things cheap when I want something easy.  A dash in a glass of water.  A few tablespoons in a recipe.  The stuff lasts forever in the fridge, which makes it easy to keep a bottle for everything that I need.

Mom's Organic Market in Jessup sells a brand called Italian Volcano.  Roots in Clarksville sells Santa Cruz.  They're both pricey by the bottle, but cheap if you avoid buying lemons or get to make dinner when you don't have fruit on hand.

Mouth-puckering straight, the juice punches up anything.  I made red beans with lemons from Mark Bittman's cookbook this weekend.  You could make salad dressing with a dash of juice and olive oil or make pasta with nothing more than juice, parsley and parmesan.  Easy buy -- give them a grab.

If you go to Mom's, check out the watermelon radishes in the produce aisle.  They're expensive at $5 a pound, but they're delicious.