At our house, we have a Meyer lemon tree that grows more like an exuberant shrub and produces an abundance of fruit every year. As I love to tell people, this particular tree was little more than a stick when we put it in our garden several years ago. When we moved to our present house, the long hedge under the front window consisted of two Meyer lemon trees pruned into a low hedge. We pulled them out and replaced them with privet, intending to get the lemon trees into the ground in the garden.
We waited so long that they became mere shadows of their former selves and looked like they were dead. We tossed one into the compost heap and, for some forgotten reason, kept the other. An older gardener friend wisely told us to plant that remaining Meyer lemon and it would come back. Although we didn't believe him 100%, we stuck it in the ground. Lo and behold, it blossomed forth into a massive plant that has supplied family, friends and neighbors with lemons for years.
Have you ever tasted a Meyer lemon? It's thought to be a cross between a "regular" lemon and an orange--perhaps a mandarin. The flowers are deeply, gloriously fragrant and the leaves are a lovely dark, shiny green. The fruit is rounder than a true lemon, without the pointy football ends. The skin turns from yellow to almost orange when the fruit is ripe, and the fruits can stay ripe on the bush for many weeks (dare I say months?) in cold weather. The fruit is sweeter than true lemons and adds a wonderful taste to dishes--especially baked goods. I freeze a lot of juice each year for lemonade, but, to be honest, I prefer regular lemons in lemonade because they're tangier.
Here's a healthy, tasty concoction for coughs and sore/strained throats: 2 T. of lemon juice (I use a whole Meyer lemon), 2 T. of honey or real maple syrup (gotta love the antibacterial properties of honey!), and a sprinkle of dried cayenne pepper.
I came into some free oranges, blood oranges, limes and true lemons a few days ago.
I juiced the limes and lemons separately and froze those juices, then juiced the remaining citrus together.
The juice was a gorgeous, jewel-like red from the blood oranges. Very, very pulpy, but we like it that way. Suffice it to say that it didn't make it into the freezer.
Rinds went out to the chicken yard, where the chickens will help compost them by pooping all over them and grinding them into the dirt. :-)
At this point, since this is a kitchen blog, I feel compelled to share my mom's delicious lemon bread recipe. It's a tea bread, so please practice crooking your pinky finger as you read.
Oven at 350. Find a loaf pan.
1/3 c. melted butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs (unbeaten)
1 1/2 c. sifted flour
grated rind of one lemon
3 T. lemon extract (I don't always add this)
1/2 c. ground almonds
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. whole milk
Mix sugar with melted butter. Beat in eggs. Mix and sift all dry ingredients together. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, and beat just enough to blend. Fold in lemon rind, lemon extract and almonds. Bake 50 minutes. Remove from pan to cool after 20 minutes. While still hot, drip juice of one lemon mixed with 1/2 c. sugar over top. Wrap in aluminum foil. Do not cut for 24 hours. (HA!) This is a teacake that can be served plain or toasted, keeps well, and freezes well.
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