Buckets of Lemons

Our Meyer Lemon  tree has provided us with buckets and buckets of lemons.  The boughs of the 40 year old tree drooped towards the ground as it attempted to hold on to all its lemons.  The question is, “What does one do with all that wonderful fruit?”  The lemons came in all sizes. We squeezed and strained each and every one of them.  There is nothing as wonderful  in the midst of winter as the beautiful juice  of the Meyer Lemon .

We made many a Meyer Lemon Meringue pie and gave them as gifts. I must say I never realized the Lemon Meringue was the favorite of so many.  It was gratifying to see the look of pleasure on the faces of the recipients of the pies.  The giving of a home made pie, I believe,  brings back  many pleasant memories for folks.  The question still remained, “What do we do with the rest of the juice?”  The answer soon presented itself and just in time.

My good friend,  Maryanne,  found a wonderful cookbook at a garage sale,   “The Household Searchlight Recipe Book” printed in 1931.  She  presented  it to me as a Christmas gift.  Within the pages of this beautiful antique cookbook were many canning and preserving recipes and amongst them, a Lemon Jelly recipe.  We make delightful jams  from the fruit we grow but jelly is another story indeed.  The timing couldn’t have been better as this gift gave me the perfect recipe for all that lemon juice.

Erickson Ranch Meyer Lemon Jelly

I followed the recipe exactly as written and it makes the most beautifully clear yellow, Meyer lemon flavored jelly.  One may ask, “What does Meyer Lemon Jelly compliment”?  I used it as the spread  between the layers of our daughters birthday cake and topped it with lemon flavored cream cheese frosting.   Absolutely delightful!!  The jelly makes a light and refreshing  spread on a scone or  slice of  pound cake.

Our two 50 year naval orange trees  are loaded with fruit and the next project and blog  will be Orange Jelly from the Searchlight Recipe Book.  I didn’t think I would ever be making  jellies during the winter season but as any farmer knows we must take take advantage of the fruit when it in season!

Take a Walk in our sleeping garden!

Welcome to the Erickson Ranch blog, “Shed Talk”! With Christmas over and the New Year here, we are looking forward to staying in touch with you throughout the seasons.

This is our slow season and there is always a job to be done. We repair the well used equipment, and plan for spring that will arrive before we know it.

The fields are left dormant but  are seemingly full of life as the Robin, Quail and  the Sparrows are in constant search of winter’s offerings to  fill their bellies.   They dine on berries, seed pods, the remaining Hichya persimmons too high to harvest as well as juicy earth worms trying to stay hidden in the soil.

The  shed that was full of produce during the growing season, now kept warm by the stove, is transformed into our workshop for repairs and the completion of many projects. The seed catalogs have already begun to arrive. We will spend many an evening browsing and picking out not only the good old standbys but always something new.