Lemons are arriving daily!

Better late than never, I say. Normally, our lemon crop is in much earlier than this, but for some strange reason, we have had a 3-4 week delay this year. I remember last year making limoncello and lemon curd in November, but this year, only daughter got in a batch of lemon curd at the 11th hour. So no lemon holiday presents or food this year. Drats….

The bushes are heavy with lemons, as you can see, and we are picking them at a fast clip, every few days. I have donated some to Tea, who is hooked on some sort of green lemonade that she can’t get enough of, brought some to co-workers, and have been using them in cooking whenever I can. Oh, and I am making the best lemon drops! No, not the hard candies, but the alcoholic drink served in a martini glass. Of course, you want a recipe, but I really don’t have one. Lemons vary in their taste and sweetness, so it can be a bit of a guessing game. But the basics are thus:

Squeeze and strain lemon juice into a pitcher, add sugar and muddle/mix until the sugar is fully incorporated (you can use granulated or powdered). Taste – it should be sweet but still a bit tart. Once you have it adjusted properly, add equal amounts of vodka and some ice. Stir the heck out of it, to chill the liquid. I pop in some of Safeway’s Clear (sugar-free) Lemon Sparkling Water and strain into a martini glass. I, personally, like to rim the martini glass with yellow sugar (the fine granulated kind that you use on cupcakes). I just rub a bit of lemon around the edge of the glass and roll in the sugar.

Enjoy!