I'm a lemon lover...... like whopping bigtime.
Yes. I'm going to write an entire post about lemons.
When I was little I loved lemonade so much, I used to slice a lemon in half, milk it a little bit so the juice was all loosened, pour a spoonful of sugar in all the little crevices, and plop it into my mouth. I can remember riding around on my bike with a half a lemon in my mouth and thinking that it was like an everlasting, awesome glass of lemonade as I went about my day. No effort. Just there.
I try not to think of the poor enamel on my teeth and instead think of the joys of being a carefree little girl and the simplicities of happiness that come so easily through a child's eyes.
I have several happy memories of lemons.....
My Grandma Ede's famous lemon squares. Even Dana (my dearest cousin) and I went on a quest a few years ago to find the best lemon squares in Eagle/Boise because our memories of them on sunny, Sunday afternoons at grandmas house were so blissful. We loved every bite.... and put them on a napkin and always ate them slowly. Dana finally found one at the Cowboy Bakery in Eagle and we'd drive out of our way to deliver them to each other. They had a different taste and we'd stand there nibbling them and hem and haw over what it could be. Dana was pretty sure it was rosewater. And one day when she was in the bakery she got the guts up to ask for the recipe..... and they gave it to her. However, we've both continued to stick with grandma's recipe. There's something about a recipe that's tried and true and a family staple.
My Grandma Shirley's little lemon tree in St. George. The lemons never got to be very big, they just stayed cute and little. But I loved the scent of being near that tree! And lemon leaves are beautiful! I love to use them dried in floral arrangements.
I remember once a friend of mine got sick and had a sore throat. Her mom made her a hot drink of water, lemon juice and honey. Oh man, was it good. From then on whenever I felt the tiniest bit of sickness coming on it was an excuse for 'honey lemon tea'..... and since it was supposed to be good for you, my mom would buy me the ingredients. You see, my mom was a stickler for healthy eating. We never got sugared cereal or candy, cookies, pop, or anything considered junk food.... only on special occasions. So the honey-lemon drink was like an indulgence for me.... and for my mom a way to help me feel better. And there was nothing like it on a cold, winter afternoon.
Lemonade from Hot Dog on a Stick. Yumm!! My friends and I made lots of trips to the mall for it.... and the deep fried cheese sticks with lots of mustard. We also spent a ton of time and ingredients trying to make our own..... the lemonade and the cheesesticks. It took an entire Friday night and Saturday getting down the cheesestick process, but we never really got the lemonade. Until we were adults. And one day I got a call from Carrie E. saying she'd figured it out. And to this day I only ever make it that way. She's pure genius, that Carrie!
Using lemons on my hair when I was tanning because they lightened it up. I was seriously a sight to behold..... dried, lemon crusted hair with skin lathered with baby oil. Scary!
'Debra's Lemon Chicken' from Everybody Loves Raymond..... the only thing Debra can make. And because our family loved watching this show together so much, we've tried a fair share of lemon chicken recipes. And have basically loved them all.
Then there's Ally's Caesar salad. No one makes it like my girl. She told me her secret a few years
ago. She makes the basic Caesar salad recipe, but then she squeezes in a bit of fresh lemon right
before she serves it. It's fantastical!
A few years ago I bought a bunch of lemons and sliced and dried them, because they not only look pretty in a jar, but what if by chance we had a famine?
If any type of cleaner..... soap, spray starch, window cleaner, etc. is lemon scented, it's guaranteed that that's the one I'll pick. Same goes for hand lotion.
Seriously, I could go on and on. My favorite foods are anything that have lemons in them!
Just seeing a lemon makes me happy! They're so bright and yellow and sunny! How could they not make you smile?
I recently sent Ally a package and told her and her companion it was a 'package full of sunshine'.... and guess what it was filled with? Every lemony product I could find I thought they'd enjoy.
Yes...... lemons are a gift from the Gods.