4 Years, 13 Days, and 8 Hours

Yesterday I was sitting in front of a Starbucks enjoying this beautiful Georgia weather and enthralled in a quite hilarious book when an older gentleman and his daughter asked if he could sit at the table I was occupying. The sun wouldn’t directly hit him there. Of course I was more than anxious to oblige, so the man sat down and his daughter headed to her car for a couple of hours of shopping with her mother. Instead of me getting up to find another place to sit I stayed right where I was and continued reading. The man interrupted to thank me again for letting him sit there and proceeded to tell me a rather funny story of a time he fainted in the sun. We exchanged names, his was Sal. Sal then asked me to guess his age. I started at a rather low number and he kept making me guess higher, and higher. I couldn’t seem to get it right and he finally told me he almost 90 years old. I couldn’t believe it! He didn’t look a day over 70. I asked what his secret was and he said ‘I always liked the age of 25, so I thought in my mind I’d stay there forever.’ Perfect advice I think for someone who just hit that age and I have to admit I quite like it myself. I may take Sal’s advice and stay here for a while.

Sal started telling me stories of being an Italian and growing up in New York. He said how in Junior High he worked for a $1.25 a week at a shop for a horrid man before getting fired after asking for a raise. Now Sal’s mother was a widow with another baby at home and they depended on that $1.25 to barely get buy. So he went home, and told his mother not to fret and went to a man in the streets who sold produce on a push cart. This man new Sal very well and asked why he wasn’t at work. Sal said ‘Don’t worry about it, but the next time you go to the market can you bring me back a box of lemons?’ The produce man asked how Sal planned on paying for this box of lemons, and he answered ‘I’ll give you the money when I sell the box.’ And sell he did. He sold all the lemons in one afternoon and started doing this and was now making $4 a week and could provide for his mother and little brother better than ever. Sal told me lots of stories about selling lemons on the streets of the city, standing in the bread lines, and finding out his father had been murdered when he was much older. He also told me about being drafted at 18 to fight in World War II. These were such fascinating stories of poverty, love, and war and he told them so well. Sal tried to write a book about his life, but after 60 pages in lost everything and decided not to start the project again. He just wanted something that his children and grandchildren could read and see how different life was then, and get a better understanding of what made him who he is now. Our visit to the past was short, because an hour and a half later his daughter and wife came back to get him. I helped him in the car, met his lovely spouse (Sal’s a cradle robber by the way) and said goodbye to a great hero.

In honor of that visit, and the stories he may never put on paper, I’m dedicating this Tea Time Tuesday to lemons, and all the great experiences he had selling them. First up, because it’s so warm outside I’m making an Iced Green Tea Lemonade to cool off with. Next, some sweet Lemon Bars, made with fresh squeezed lemon juice. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I enjoyed listening to this amazing man. Citron!

Iced Green Tea Lemonade:

5 cups cold water

2 large Green Tea- tea bags

¼ cup Granulated Sugar

2 Cups Lemonade

Boil 4 cups of water in small sauce pot. Once boiling remove from heat and add tea bags. Let seep for 5 minutes. Add sugar and stir. Allow tea to cool for 30 minutes to an hour. Pour into what you will be serving the tea from and top with remaining cup of water and lemonade. You may add lemon slices for garnish. Pour over ice and serve.

Lemon Bars:

1 ½ Cups plus 3 Tablesppons All Purpose Flour

½ cup plus 1 Tablespoon Confectioners Sugar

1 ½ sticks Cold Butter cut into small pieces

2 Large Lemons

3 Large Eggs

1 cup Granulated Sugar

½ tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13x9 baking pan with foil. Make sure to extend foil on short ends of pan. Lightly grease foil. In a medium bowl combine the 1 ½ cups flour and ½ cup confectioners sugar. With your hands cut the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle dough onto prepared pan and bake until lightly browned (about 15 minutes).

From lemons grate 1 teaspoon of rind and squeeze 1/3 cup of juice. In a large bowl mix the eggs on high sped for 3 minutes until thick and lemon-colored. Reduce speed and add all remaining ingredients (except the 1 tablespoon confectioners sugar). Beat until blended and scraping bowl occasionally. Pour lemon filling evenly over warm crust.

Bake until filling is set (about 15 minutes). Allow to cool completely. Lift foil off pan and pull away from sides of bars. Cut lengthwise into 3 strips and cut each strip crosswise into 12 pieces.