Ingredient spotlight: lemon

Currently, I’m really digging:

the Alison Krauss and Robert Plant album

fresh honeycomb from Savannah Bee Company on…everything

garage green screens

fresh fennel

a sweet t-shirt from 1996 that I just found in the back of my closet

my fuzzy leopard slippers

and…

lemon.

I love the way that using just a little fresh lemon zest really brightens up recipes…baked goods, especially.

I love being subtle with it, causing only the hint of brightness…something you can taste but can’t put your finger on.

I also love going strong: creating baked goods so creamy and lemony that it takes you straight back to summer, even on the chilliest of days.

When I was little, my parents would sometimes take my brother and I to Ben & Jerry’s for dessert.

This was special in and of itself because my mom loved to make dessert at home usually, creamy chocolate mousses and meringue cookies were favorites in our house. However, some nights we loaded up and headed downtown to Ben & Jerry’s. It was right on the water and we loved to eat our ice cream and watch the boats go by.

I always ordered the exact same thing: lemon sorbet in a waffle cone.

There was just something about the puckery sweet sorbet and the crunchy cone that satisfied like nothing else. I loved the last little bit, that laaaast bit of waffle cone with melted lemon sorbet soaking through.

What about you? Are you a lemon fan? What’s your favorite citrus flavored treat?