Who decided that lemonade is a summer’s day drink? ‘Round these parts, lemons ripen in colder weather. My Meyer lemon tree is covered in fruit, and I picked a couple this weekend to gauge their ripeness. The fruit was still quite sour (Meyers usually have a bit of sweetness), so I turned them into lemonade.
To supplement the citrus tang, I added the zest of a makrut (aka kaffir) lime and a half dozen spearmint leaves. The makrut fruit are dry, bitter, and pulpy–the tree’s leaves are used in cooking–but the zest is intensely aromatic. Merely touching it can trigger intense cravings for Thai food.
This weekend’s cooler weather encouraged me to replant a long-neglected garden patch, and I added Spanish spearmint, chocolate mint, and peppermint to my herb selection. Though all will grow throughout our hot summer weather, the mints’ foliage is more lush in winter and spring.
It was too cold and wet to sit on the porch swing to enjoy a glass of lemonade, so I had to settle for the sofa and an afghan. Lemon pies, tarts, cookies, and risotto are in my near future….as is my winter favorite: blood oranges!
Bouillie 
Marvelous! It’s 38 here in St Martinville and my neighbor gave me a bag of lemons yesterday. I had decided to make some lemon curd this morning and some lemon marmalade this afternoon. I do like a glass of water each morning with 1 lemon’s worth of juice squeezed into it-nice liver cleanse and so refreshing-I don’t need sweetner since I love sour things.
Aside from the lemonade, it’s nice to have winter lemons in hot tea.
I agree with the lemon in tea idea, and I also peel them with a veggie peeler (to avoid the pith), and dry the strips for tea later; also make lemon marmalade. Let’s not forget lemon curd, either-basically lemon pie to slather on a biscuit, scone or toast.
Ooooo, oooooo. I forgot about drying lemon slices for decorations and scent around the house.
I like 8 shots of Bombay Gin in my pitcher of lemonaide.