Check this baby out

Yes my A-Maisie-ing Maisie Miao Miao AND what she’s holding.  That is NOT a grapefruit, that is a lemon!  It’s like a lemon on steroids weighing in at just shy of 2 1/2 pounds and I can’t wait to slice into it…which I have plans to do very soon. 

Thursday when I arrived home I was surprised to see a package at my door because I knew we weren’t expecting anything.  It was a small square box and quite heavy and when I saw that it was from Alyson & Ford my interest was piqued and I was excited.  A number of months ago Ford posted about datil peppers and they sounded wonderful so I asked if he wouldn’t mind sending along some seeds so that I could try and grow some in them garden.  I figured at some point before planting season I’d receive a little envelope of seeds but here was a heavy box…oh the intrigue.  Maisie and I had just walked in from her gymnastics practice and she wanted her dinner so the package had to wait as I reasoned feeding my child was more important that satisfying my curiosity.  After dinner and getting Maisie into bed I finally got to open the package. 

In the box I found a bag of beautiful fresh red sweet datil peppers and also a bag containing some dried hot datils.  I just had to try one of the fresh sweet peppers so I trusted and even though they looked just like a ripe and ready habanero, I took a bite and it was delicious.  The pepper was a bit sweet, had a little bit of heat behind it and a really nice smoky flavor. I saved the seeds and can’t wait to plant them along with the hot datil seeds this summer.

Okay so back to the giant lemon.  Included in the box Alyson & Ford sent a Ponderosa Lemon which is a new one for me and I’m excited and ready to give it a try.  Funny thing is, this week lemons were on my shopping list as I needed some for a recipe for one of my upcoming cooking challenges over on Cook Lisa Cook so perfect timing and I know that I’m not going to need more juice than this baby contains!  I can’t reveal any of the details of the recipe now but I hope that you’ll come back to see what I make with the lemon, the recipe will be posted over on Cook Lisa Cook on January 19 so I hope you’ll check it out. 

Though not made with this awesome Ponderosa Lemon, they could have been and these are lemony delicious!  Lemon Bars, when made well, are one of my favorite cookies and these Glazed Lemon Squares are buttery and tangy delicious and they’re my newest recipe posted over on Cook Lisa Cook.  Just click on the picture to be taken to the recipe.

Other delicious recipes posted on Cook Lisa Cook include: Mango Lassi, Stir-Fried Asparagus with Water Chestnuts, Ginger & Cashews, Curried Roast Chicken Pieces with Spicy Sweet Potato & Carrots, Grilled Corn & Bacon Pudding, Oriental Chicken Salad, Potato Salad with Bacon, Coffee Crusted Steak, Home Style Chicken Curry, Watermelon Frosty,  Mango Gazpacho, Toll House Double Stuff Oreo Brownies, Long Beans with Walnuts, Blacksmith Pizza, Rhubarb Crisp, Laksa, Math Book No Bake Cookies, Aloo Gobi, Mint Lassi, Red Curry Chicken, Lamb Curry, Grilled Corn, Avocado & Tomato Salad with Honey Lime Dressing, Baked Egg Cups Two Ways, Thai Peanut Salad, Holy Guacamole, Cantaloupe Agua Fresca, Wallaby Darned, Piggy-Out Cookies, Wicked Good New England Lobster Roll, Long Beans with Garlic, Super Simple Summer Shrimp Salsa Salad, Grandma’s Teriyaki Steak, Watermelon Tomato Gazpacho, Red Chinese Long Beans with Peppers & Red Curry, 24-Layer Crêpe Cake, Fig & Watermelon Salad, Grilled Chèvre & Fig Panini, Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad, Grilled Prawns, Spicy Brown Sugar Bacon, Kicked Up Piggy-Out Cookies, Pesto Pita Pizza, Cilantro Lime Chicken, Nutella Crêpes, Mango, Lime & Chile Spiced Ice Box Pie, Roast Beef & Garlic Herb Cheese Sandwich, Layered Crespelle with Bolognese, Fresh Mozzarella & Basil, Jamaican Jerk Meat Pies, Nutella No Bake Cookies, Velvety Mac & Cheese, Welsh Cakes, Tom Yam Ghoong (Spicy Shrimp Soup), Lime Jewels, Southwest Pasta Salad, Walnut Roca Squares, Uncle Bubba’s Shrimp & Grits, Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps, Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies, Copycat “KFC” Coleslaw, Happy 6th Birthday Maisie Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies, Thin Mint Irish Coffee, Caramel Apples, “Rotisserie” Chicken, Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich, Mummy Hotdogs, Mango Upside Down Cake, Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens, Aloo Tikki, Pink Strawberry Cake Balls, Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake, Apple Dumplings, Rum Cured Salmon, Apple, Cranberry & Rhubarb Crisp, Hasselback Potatoes with Garlic Sour Cream, Crunchy Oat, Almond, Cashew & Pebbles Granola Bars, Texas Chicken with Lime Butter, Biscoff Fudge, Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter, Creamed Corn with Cheese and Cilantro, Potato Crusted Pork Chops, Oatmeal, Cashew & Chocolate Granola Bars, Texas Chicken Sandwich, Seared Scallops with Creamy Pesto & Lemon Pepper Pasta and Thai Chicken Noodle Soup.

Enjoy!