On Sun, 3 Jul 2016 16:36:57 -0500, heyjoe >
wrote:

> On Sun, 03 Jul 2016 11:28:55 -0600, Janet B wrote:
>
> > The poster may not have the ingredients in his pantry but I bet most
> > here would consider those ingredients standard for a decently stocked
> > pantry.
>
> I've got all the ingredients, except a fresh lemon for the zest. Hardly
> ever use them and do not keep any on hand. Also don't keep celery on
> hand. It annoys me to spend a dollar or more for a bunch of celery, use
> a stalk or two and then have it go bad before I need it again.
>
> So . . . celery I frequently omit (don't really like it anyway). But
> there is no easy substitute for lemon zest (or is there?) and it's
> probaly not something that should be left out of this recipe.
>
> Anybody know a shelf stable substitute for lemon zest?
>
> Liquid smoke? Always on hand. I'm a fan of Wright's Liquid Smoke!

AFAIC - both can be eliminated if you don't have them or don't like
them. Particularly lemon, if it's only the zest. I've followed many
recipes verbatim and have ended up wondering why they bothered with
zest - not enough bang for the buck. I'd rather use juice if I want
to taste lemon. Celery can go either way. Too much is a prominent
celery flavor, but the right amount is umami in the lightest sense of
the word. I buy a "snack pack" of celery or go to the salad bar if
I'm lucky and the grocery store I'm shopping in has one (my regular
grocery store doesn't).

--

sf