Meyer Lemon Love Affair + Meyer Lemon Lavender Marmalade

Fragrant Meyer Lemons

I was torn. I had earmarked local kitchen's Lemon Lavender Marmalade recipe a while back, and was eager to put my swap lemons to good use, but I was too busy having a love affair with them. They were fragrant and vibrantly yellow and I moved them onto the coffee table like an art piece because I couldn't take my eyes off them. I let this go on for two days, and then decided to invoke my practical side and use them up before we left for Hawaii in case they weren't as lovely when I returned.

This is my first year preserving, thus my first foray into marmalade. I was excited and eagerly began scrubbing and slicing the lemons.

Yellow on yellow - yay!

Slicing begins

I'm always especially pleased when I have all the required ingredients for a recipe at hand. I had circumstantially bought a bunch of organic lavender from McEvoy Ranch one evening after getting off the ferry, just because it smelled so divine. It graced my bedside table as a bouquet for a few weeks before it dried out and was slotted for culinary use.

Organic lavender from McEvoy Ranch

Ingredient line-up

Cooking down

Mixing in the lavender

Ta-da!

The best part? I was almost equally satisfied with my new table art.