Acid. It's good for you.

Acid.  I'm currently obsessed with it. And I'm not talking the kind I dropped when I was seventeen and watched 'The Wall' for the first time.  I'm talking the kind of acid that balances out a dish and makes you come back for more until every bite has been devoured.  Currently my obsession is with lemon.  Obvious, I know but it took me a long time to come 'round to the lemon.  I've always been a lime-y kinda gal but lately I've been ramping up my fish intake, hence the newly found lemon fascination.

I've always sought out balance because it's muy importante not only in cooking but in life. So after decades of cooking to just now fully understand the potential of the precious little lemon is quite honestly disappointing.  I should have grasped this concept much earlier but hey, you learn from your mistakes and move on, yeah?

Tonight I made crispy, skin on trout (because crispy fish skin is freaking fantastic and it's all about texture, y'all) in a lemon butter caper sauce alongside an herbacious salad with heirloom tomatoes dressed in a citrus vinaigrette. Citrus makes for a sexy dress.  It was awful and I absolutely did NOT savor every single bite.

So, point is, kids, get your lemon on. You probably already know this but it's crazy versatile.  A surprisingly delicious use that I'm all about is roasted asparagus with lemon zest and freshly grated nutmeg.  Stole this recipe from Alton Brown, that foodie genius.  The asparagus tips come out crispy while the stalks are still tender and juicy.  The lemon zest and nutmeg balance each other out and give this fantastically simple dish depth.  Fair warning: you will want to eat the stalks right out of the pan.  All of them.  Recipe can be found here at Food Network.  Enjoy!