When Life Gives You Lemons

This weekend, my lovely neighbor Joan gave me some lemons from her tree. These lemons were gorgeous. Please see Exhibit A:hands holding lemons

(Let the record show that my above statement refers only to the gorgeousness of the lemons with no stipulation as to the quality of the fingernails.) The lemons were so lovely, I thought long and hard about what would do them justice. Then it hit me – I would make lemon bars to take to the superbowl party we were attending that afternoon. Excellent! It would be a no brainer – I’ve made lemon bars, oh, at least 18 times before and they were always perfect.

Well, it pays to brace yourself for the worst. I grew up right outside of Boston, so this comes as second nature to me, although it never seems to sting less just because you knew better. I thought they were a little wiggly looking when I finished baking them, so I gave them an extra five minutes. Plus I let them cool completely in the pan – just took the whole thing over to the party and cut them there. Well, the word ‘cut’ is a little bit of a stretch in this case. I scooped a couple out and left the rest in the pan in dismay. Here’s the thing, though – lemon pudding is pretty tasty!

lemon bars.jpg

(If this bar doesn’t look soupy to you, it’s just because it has had two days to try and get its act together.)