Meyer lemon time!

I don't think it was a Meyer lemon that Nicole sent, but sunshine. Nicole has commented in emails that when her Meyer lemons arrive from her Lemon Ladies it is like a box of sunshine has arrived on her doorstep. I think this is exactly what the Meyer lemon brings, and in the case of this little doorstep it seemed to happen quite literally, upon the arrival of Nicole's package the sun has begun to shine and there has been a definite hint of spring in the air. Hurrah!

Armed with sunshine, a lemon burning a hole in my mixing bowl, and N working from home, I decided on Thursday that it was time to tackle the difficult question of what to make with my yellow bounty.

Having eagerly read all the lemon posts on Nicole's blog I decided that if I could get as much zest and juice as possible from the lemon I could probably make two things. Lemon bars and lemon butter cookies. So I set about very, very carefully zesting my lemon.

I don't think a lemon has ever been so carefully and methodically zested in history. I was determine to get every single last bit of usable zest, and I think I managed it. I was so impressed at how much I managed to get, that I will be more precise in all my lemon zesting in future!

Once I'd done that I rolled the slightly warm lemon (from being in my hands) along a chopping board a few times and then cut it open to juice it. The warming and rolling trick is one from my Mum, she uses it when making lemon curd (yet another thing on my "to make" list this year) and she says that if they are slightly warmed in a microwave or in your hands and/or rolled on a counter top they give more juice. Once again I very carefully got every possible drop out of the lemon, and it turned out to be just enough for the lemon bars. Perfect.

I stupidly didn't save the seeds to plant my very own tree, but given my history of killing off perfectly good fruit trees (my lemon from last year didn't make it through the winter) that's probably for the best.

Having gotten as much as possible from the lemon it was time to get on with the baking action. I did indeed have enough to make both the bars and the cookies! I was so pleased. I adapted the recipes ever so slightly, taking the sugar in both cases, mixing it with the lemon zest and whooshing with my hand blender. This little trick is supposed to get as much oil from the zest as possible (and the oil is where the flavour is) and impart it into the sugar for a stronger flavour. It's not something I've tried before, but wanted to get the most from my Meyer lemon I figured now was the time to try. I have to say both recipes were very Meyer lemony so it probably worked.

I think my bars were a little shallow, probably because I didn't have an 8" square tin and so had to improvise. I also think I might have either over-mixed the topping, or cooked it too long, because it had a slightly white, crusty, almost merengue top. I have to say that I rather liked this about them, as it was very slightly like eating a Meyer lemon version of my Mum's lemon merengue pie (which is delicious in case you were wondering).

The cookies I made in two half batches, one vegan and one non-vegan. I have tucked the dough for the non-vegan away in the freezer so we can draw out our experience of the Meyer lemon for as long as possible (ie until my Mum gets here in a few weeks) and I baked up the vegan version for immediate indulgence. Due to the vegan margarine they were a lot softer than expected, even with a bit more flour added. Even after chilling the dough didn't really firm up enough to slice cleanly, and would probably have benefitted from being rolled and cut with cookie cutters. They also didn't have the short-bready quality that the ones Nicole sent me at Christmas did, again I think because of the marg. They were slightly soft in the middle even after baking and cooling. I still really enjoyed them though, and the flavour was lovely. I'd definitely make them again with ordinary lemons (or Meyer of course if I can source them here) and can't wait to try the all butter ones.

I'm not going to post the recipes because they're there on Nicole's blog and you should head over there an see all the other lovely things she's made with Meyer lemons too.

I will however have another lemon recipe of my own appearing soon which I think would be equally good with Meyer lemons, and that I plan to serve with Nicole's Meyer lemon jelly to celebrate my Mum's visit (can you tell I'm a bit excited about some mother-daughter time?!)

Now I get it; or, when life gives you a lemon...

I get the hype, because I got one of these:
That, ladies and gentlemen, is my very own Meyer lemon! Oh yes! Shipped to me from Alaska, although originally from here.
My baking career and foodie experience will be forever indebted to Nicole for this, the amazing sending of lemony goodness. I think we might be blogging dopplegangers (dopplebloggers? Bloggergangers?), what with all the lemon appreciation and banana troubles and such like. I was lucky enough to draw Nicole in the Jammin' Jelly Exchange last year, and then by a stroke of blog-fate she got me in the Christmas Cookie Exchange. It was like our friendship was meant to be. Having sampled the delicious Meyer lemon butter cookies in her christmas package I was delighted that she suggested a sneaky swap: some of her Meyer lemon jelly for my Seville marmalade.

So last week (or maybe the week before, I forget) I wrapped up a bunch of little treats to post off to the other side of the world, and waited eagerly for a package to arrive here. I was extremely intriguied when Nicole emailed to say she'd sent it quickly because she was concerned about the time limit of some of the contents. I was secretly hoping a few cookies might have snuck in the box. I'd never have guessed that there, nestled perfectly in yellow tissue, wrapped in ribbon and encased in bubble wrap would be a Meyer lemon for my very own.

You have to understand that this is not only a special thing for me to receive, but a very special thing to send, as I know that Nicole orders hers all the way from California, and so for her to part with one to send to me is so lovely.

It's sitting proudly on the table and every time I walk I pick it up and smell it. It has the most wonderful aroma, lemony, but not quite, a little sweet and almost flowery. So now I have a problem. It's such a beautiful thing that I daren't make something with it, because it will feel like such a shame to zest or cut it. But I know I must. I have been searching on Nicole's blog for the perfect things to make and think I've come up with some ideas from the myriad she's tried.

Tomorrow, when I have lots of time I shall spend the day using and appreciating my wonderful gift. N is also working from home, so I will be able to share the whole experience with him. Look out North London Meyer lemony goodness is coming your way.I know this post has really been all about the lemon, but that should in no way detract from the other fabulous things Nicole posted. As promised there is a jar of her Meyer Lemon jelly, which I am going to save for a special occasion (like when my Mum, the origin of the lemon love, comes to visit - yes Mum, you'll get to try some!). There were also two sweet little pots of Meyer lemon marmalade from her Lemon Ladies (I couldn't resist and cracked one open straigh away so I could try the Meyer lemon flavour again. Delicious). On top of all of this there was a huge tub of non-dairy organic hot cocoa (oh yeah! perfect as I still have six homemade marshmallows left and it will help our cutting down of dairy), two little chocolates to go with it (I'm hoping we'll get to share those tonight) and some more of the North Pole coffee that I so liked from her last time. All of this was packaged so beautifully and the coffee and chocolates were tucked in such a cute little drawstring bag which I am going to use to hold some of my knitting bits.Am I a lucky girl or what? Nicole I cannot thank you enough.

p.s. I noticed that two days ago marked a whole year of this blog! I think Nicole's parcel was the perfect present. It's allowed an expansion of my baking as well as signalled how welcoming the food blogging community has been. Long may it last.