The Meyer lemon report for 2013

My Meyer lemon "tree" yield this year was five lemons. I picked three for use with xmas eve dinner - see below. I haven't decided the fate of the last two yet.

Each lemon juiced nicely, yielding about 3 tablespoons each. There was virtually no pulp left after I reamed each half on my hand juicer. I grated the rind of one, which produced about a teaspoon of zest, as the rinds are very thin.

The xmas French cheesecake was a bust, but I had some today, to see how it tasted. Rather bland, but that might have been due to the fromage blanc. It is a creamy cheese but not particularly flavorful, which may be due to the nature of the cheese, the milk I used, or my technique - who knows? Glad I did not serve it to others.

I used a lemon in the guacamole, which worked well because it protected the guac from browing without adding a lot of flavor. Note to self: next year, make more guac, as we ate it all.

I used a lemon and the zest in lemon bars, which were met with mixed reviews. The strong lemony zing was missing, replaced with a much more subtle hint of lemon. Sugar cream pie is a Hoosier tradition, and the consensus was my lemon bars resembled that more than lemon bars. So while perfectly edible, these received many NO votes.

So the lesson learned is, be careful about substituting Meyer lemons for regular lemons. If the zing of lemons is desired, stick with regular lemons, but if you want something more subtle, use the Meyer lemons.

When I was a little girl and caught a cold, my mother would give me hot lemonade to drink. I have no idea where she got the idea for this, and the lemonade usually irritated my already sore throat with its acidity, but it was sweet-sour and I liked it. I made myself some hot lemonade with the juice I didn't use for the dishes above, and the beverage was much more palatable, still sweet-sour but without the acidity.

My little tree looks very sad. I don't know if I over watered it or it needs more fertilizer or what, but the leaves keep turning yellow, then they dry up and fall off. My plan for recovery is to repot it this winter, using an azalea mix, fertilize it well and repeatedly if necessary, and not let it bear fruit in 2014. Hopefully, all that will help.