YOU NEED:
- 3 nice, big unblemished lemons
- A paring knife
- A teaspoon
- A vegetable peeler
- A 2-inch biscuit cutter (optional)
- Unscented tea lights, in their little tin containers
1. Lay the lemons on their sides and decide which end is up: usually, there’s a flatter angle which, helped along, can be used as the bottom of the votive. Once you’re satisfied, cut the top third off each lemon.
2. Take the knife and carefully begin to pry the fruit away from the pith and rind. It’s important to do this with some patience, because you can’t let the lemon rip. It can be helpful to use the spoon, particularly in the bottom part (the future candle holder). When all the lemon flesh is scooped out, clean up the edges with your vegetable peeler. All in all, this little operation should take you about 5 minutes per lemon.
3. Set the now-emptied lemon down on the counter. If it really rocks and rolls, trim a little patch of rind off the bottom to give it a base. Take the cap and, using your knife or the 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut a vent in the lemon peel, so when you light the candle you don’t have flaming lemons on your table. If you cut it out with a knife, make sure to be generous. Of course, if you have little cookie cutters in the shape of stars or hearts, you could use those here.
4. Let the lemons dry for a few hours on your counter. When you’re ready to use them, set the tea lights inside, light them, and replace the lemon caps. The lemons should glow prettily, and the vent in the top should be large enough to avoid singeing. They’ll last you as long as the tea light is burning.
Excerpted from The Two of Us...And Friends, (Marlowe & Company, 2006)
-- Jessie Carry Saunders