One of the loveliest things about living in Arizona in January is the way people want to give you fruit that, believe it or not, is falling off the trees in their yards. Last week I scored four sweet, juicy grapefruit at a weekly game of Mexican Train (game to be covered in a future post). Over the past ten or so days I have been given numerous fresh lemons, the like of which I have never seen in a produce section on either side of the border. Orange-sized, smooth, plump and fragrant, these beauties yielded at least as much juice as two average-sized supermarket specimens, and the zest grated more easily than any other in my experience. This in itself makes the trip worthwhile.
This year the citrus fruit has been extra welcome, as a number of us have been stricken with a cold that refuses to loosen its grip. Grapefruit with breakfast, lemon in tea or hot water and honey with lemon juice and a splash of one’s favourite spirit at bedtime; what could be better?
Okay, baked goods could be better. Lemon squares and lemon loaf. Tonight I made a lemon loaf from my Mom’s recipe. The lemon I used yielded much more juice and zest than needed, so I did the logical thing and used it all anyway. Then I did another logical thing. I chopped up the last quarter-cup of chocolate chips and tossed them into the batter as well.
The results speak for themselves.
This Tuesday, try taking something local and make something good from it.
Betzcee Rambles 
I would love to get that lemon loaf recipe from you! Even if I only have the sad old northern Alberta grocery store lemons to work with!
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That’s all Mom ever had to work with! Here it is.
Mix 1/4 cup sugar with the juice of a lemon and set in a warm place, stirring occasionally.
Cream 1/4 cup butter with one cup sugar until fluffy.
Add two eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
In a separate bowl combine one and a half cups flour with one teaspoon baking powder and a half teaspoon salt. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with a half cup of milk. Stir in the grated zest of a lemon.
Bake in a greased loaf pan at 350 F for about an hour or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Pour juice mixture over loaf while still hot.
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