Strange enough, I’ve actually loved the weather we’ve been having. Not only have I gotten to fall asleep to rain battering against window panes, I’ve gotten to hunker down with hot tea as I’ve watch lightening storms from my couch, legs wrapped in the afghan my Nana knit me. It’s a little bit of New England seasonality, without having to wake up at the crack of dawn to shovel out your car. It’s given me the change I’m accustomed to, the sharply cold nights my body occasionally craves, and it has left the city glimmering in freshly-washed renewal.

Truly, winter in LA is the city’s best-kept secret. The city loses its overcoat of smog and with the crisp air comes breathtaking views of snow-capped mountains above all of the lushness 15 inches of rain in three months inspires in the city below.

Earlier this week, we had a thunder storm that dumped half an inch of rain on Echo Park, and over three inches elsewhere in the city. I made pasta and hunkered down to work in my kitchen, enjoying the storm for its percussive qualities, but not daring to venture outside until my housemate asked me to check on a tent she had forgotten to take down. A dutiful friend and housemate, I donned my Wellies and my raincoat and made the venture outside, just as the sun began to break through the clouds. What I noticed first was the dazzlingly luminous, Maxfield Parrish-golden light, streaming out of pocket-sized breaks in the clouds. I ran in to grab my camera and what I saw was this:

A double rainbow! I don’t think I’ve ever seen one before. Unfortunately, I forgot to make a wish. If I had remembered, I would have wished for the safety of the people and homes in foothill communities of La Crescenta and La Cañada Flintridge. While I do romanticize the torrents of rain against my window, they mean something very different to those in the foothill communities.

I’ve been looking for ways to use the denuded lemons and have been on a bit of a gourmet lemonade kick, experimenting with different recipes and using the herbs from my teeny herb garden to mix things up. So far my favorite experiments have been basil lemonade and, no joke, rosemary lemonade, which I’ve been told is amazing with vodka.

Vodka you say? Okay. I’ll bite.

Here’s a Rosemary Limoncello recipe I whipped up, based on a Giada DeLaurentiis recipe. Limoncello really should be made with Everclear, so it can be kept in the freezer without actually freezing. But, I haven’t quite mastered the right sugar/water/grain alcohol equation. This is great anyway and fine with a few lemonade ice cubes.

Rosemary limoncello

13 lemons
1 (750-ml) bottle vodka
3 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups sugar
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary (rosemary can also be swapped out for basil, thyme, or vanilla bean)

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the lemons in long strips being careful to remove the pith, which I later do with a small, very sharp knife. Reserve the lemons for another use. Place the lemon peels and rosemary in a 2-quart, air tight mason jar. Pour the vodka over the peels and let steep for two weeks at room temperature.

In the meantime, I like to juice the lemons and make lemonade, which I then freeze with a few sprigs of rosemary for beautiful ice cubes that won’t water down my limoncello.

When the limoncello is done steeping, stir the water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Let cool completely. Pour the sugar syrup over the vodka mixture. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. Refrigerate until cold. Giada recommends 4 hours and up to 1 month–though I have found it is best to let it rest for at least three weeks to let the flavors of the lemon and sugar mellow before serving or transferring to bottles, strain the limoncello through a mesh strainer, discard the peels.

You might also like my Molten Chocolate Cake recipe.