First Citrus Harvest

Finally, after all of these years of trying to grow citrus we are being rewarded with fruit! The oranges are from a tree I bought Chris when we were still living in our tiny rental here in Houston circa 2011/2012. The tree finally went in the ground when we moved in to the house and we added to the little grove over the years. The lemon tree we added as as a sacrificial tree for the giant swallowtail caterpillars that were chowing on our smaller trees out back, only we didn’t realize at the time of purchase that they were treated with a systemic pesticide and our act of goodwill was really an act of death. Lesson learned. The systemic is long gone and the tree has since hosted caterpillars and finally a bowl full of lemons this year!

Forest and I have been enjoying seeing them ripen over the last month and I know that I enjoyed coming home and driving up the driveway to the sight of bright yellow ornaments dangling from the tree. But it was time to harvest them and we ventured out yesterday afternoon to pick them off the tree. Forest helped—the lemons were much easier than the oranges to pull—and now we need to make something with them. Lemon curd is definitely on the agenda and maybe some kind of lemon dessert for Christmas. Do share your favorite lemon recipe with me!