say hello to the meyer...

...lemon that is - not oscar

have you heard of it? the meyer lemon? oh my... they are the cutest little things - smaller than a regular lemon... much sweeter, too - running a cross in taste between a mandarin and a lemon... with a skin that is thin, glossy, slightly deeper in color than just yellow - it has this wonderfully orange hue... simply glorious...

obviously it's a citrus fruit - and native to china... first introduced to the united states in 1908 as s.p.i. #23028 (isn't that funny) - by the agricultural explorer, frank nicholas meyer (how'd you like to have a title like that... doesn't it sound cool?)... he was an employee of the us dept of agriculture - collected a sample of the plant on a trip to china... in china, they grow these as ornamental plants... here we have found over time a variety of uses for them... they became especially popular when chefs like alice waters rediscovered them during the california cusine revolution... and of course, the ever popular martha stewart began using them in her recipes - causing a total blowout of the meyers...

soooo... try them: in chicken dishes... lemon breads... ice cream... a martini... candied... in water... as a cold remedy (1/2 of lemon in hot tea w/a pinch of cayenne)... there are a bizzillion ways to enjoy them - you could even get your very own tree from four winds growers... how fun would that be? then you'd be able to take in their fragrance year-round - enjoy the fruit of your labor always - experiment all those different ways to use them... perhaps i'll get a tree myself - relish the wonder of nature in my own home - that would clearly make for...

a

happy day.....