Lemon Aid

I happen to have the good fortune of a mother-in-law who is adept at giving gifts you never new you REALLY really wanted, needed, coveted, and delight over. The first January she sent us a box of glowing Meyer lemons fresh from the Lemon Ladies Orchard in California we bent over the yellow treasure with sighs of satisfaction and utter surprise while the frigid wind and treacherous ice raged outside the window. Grandma's lemons in January has become something of a tradition now, accompanying the slow return of the sun and all the seed catalogs that cheerfully pack our mailbox with their promises of juicy strawberries, gilded tomatoes, and crispety crunchety snap peas...oh for that first snap pea! They are our first promissory note of the goodness of live growing things to come...The CSA members begin to rowse from their holiday hibernation too...and the applications begin to trickle in. How I love the noble Minnesotan CSA member, who, when the New Year has dawned, optimistically and forward looking, goes on the hunt for the perfect farm to support and savor. Of course, there is no perfect farm, and we are still two and a half months from planting out into the earth...but there is certainly a farm for everyone, and every farmer is bouyed by this early show of support, when he shoulders the old anxiety that is planting schedules, plowing plans, seed ordering, starting, and research. I wonder if our urban farm-family members ever fully realize what a lift they are to us in the beginning of a new year. They are our meyer lemons amidst the frigid gasps of Late Winter.

Click on our CSA applications and Meat Share info/order forms to the right here...on the sidebar to join us for our 2012 Season!! Revel in the absolute TIZZY or excitement!

Seed Catalog Scones

2 Cups flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/3 C sugar

1/2 tsp salt

(whisk together all of the above)

then add:

Meyer lemon zest from one lemon

1/2 C chocolate chips (for the decadent or dreary days)

or 1/2 C dried currants

Cut in

6 Tbsp unsalted cold butter.

Whisk together

1/2 heavy cream and one FARM-Fresh egg

Add to mixture. Gently knead against the side of the bowl. Pat into a circle, cut into wedges and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush a little water or milk or cream on the tops of the scones and sprinkle a little sugar in the raw over them for a delectable crackily finish. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. Sigh.