Just FYI, preserved lemons are usually made from Meyers. A friend of ours has a Ponderosa tree, though, and I've noticed those lemons are milder than the Eureka/Lisbon grocery-store variety. Also, it's usually spelled Avgolemono for the name of the Greek lemon/chicken soup, not Ovgolemono. We have friends who are allergic to rice, so we use orzo pasta instead, which works just as well. Here's one recipe for Chicken with lemon and fennel. One Ponderosa would probably equal three Meyers! Chicken Braised with Meyer Lemon & Fennel A lidded cazuela, cocote or other terra-cotta casserole is ideal for this dish, but any casserole with a lid or Dutch oven will do. The flavors blend together during the slow cooking, as the fennel and chicken absorb the flavor of the lemon. From cookbook author Georgeanne Brennan. 1 large or 2 medium fennel bulbs 3 Meyer lemons 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt 6 chicken thighs, with or without skin 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 1 teaspoon dried oregano 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1/4 cup green olives (optional) 1/2 cup dry white wine 1/2 cup water 2 tablespoons grated Meyer lemon zest Trim the stalks from the fennel, reserving the lacy greens (chop them for last-minute garnish). Slice the fennel bulb lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Slice these lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Set aside. Cut the lemons in half, then cut each half into 3 pieces. Discard the seeds. You should have about 1 1/2 cups of lemon cubes. Put the lemons in a bowl and sprinkle them with the salt. Add the chicken, pepper, oregano and garlic and turn to coat. Set aside for about 30 minutes. Heat half of the olive oil in a casserole or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When it is hot, add the chicken, and lightly brown, turning several times. This should take about 10 minutes. Remove the chicken and set aside. Add the remaining olive oil and the fennel to the casserole. Cook, stirring, until the fennel is nearly translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the lemons and optional olives, turning them a few times, then add the wine and water. Scrape up any bits clinging to the pan, then return the chicken to the pan. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the chicken is tender and the fennel can be cut with a spoon, about 45 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, mince enough of the fennel fronds to make 2 tablespoons. Combine this with the lemon zest and set aside. To serve, transfer the contents of the casserole to a serving bowl or platter and sprinkle with the fennel fronds and lemon zest. Serves 4 Per serving: 265 calories, 23 g protein, 19 g carbohydrate, 12 g fat (2 g saturated), 86 mg cholesterol, 730 mg sodium, 8 g fiber. ++++++++++ There's also this one, from a long-ago GW member. It's very good. This is exactly how he published it: Sol's Lemon Garlic Chicken 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons olive oil ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, such as thyme, rosemary, parsley, basil and/or oregano S & P to taste 1 3½ pound fryer chicken, cut up 25 garlic cloves ¾ cup chicken broth In a small bowl, stir to combine, the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, ¼ cup of the herbs, and salt and pepper (you can marinate the chicken for 15 minutes ONLY; otherwise the lemon juice will “cook” the chicken). Preheat oven to 425ºF. Arrange the chicken pieces in a roasting pan, and pour the lemon-herb mixture over. Arrange the garlic cloves all around the chicken, stirring them to coat with the mixture. Roast for about 45 minutes, or until the chicken pieces are golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pan. Add the broth to the pan and place on top of the stove over medium-high heat. Stir to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, while smooshing the roasted garlic to thicken the sauce slightly. I like to transfer the chicken to a platter, pour the sauce over the chicken and then, garnish with the remaining 2 tablespoons herbs and lemon wedges. +++++++++++ Note this Ina Garten recipe requires extra-large eggs: Lemon Cakes Copyright 2001, Barefoot Contessa Parties!, All rights reserved Show: Barefoot Contessa 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature 1/3 cup grated lemon zest lightly packed (6 to 8 large lemons - Use only fresh lemon juice and zest) 3 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon kosher salt 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 (8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch) loaf pans. Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, the key to great cakes is beating the butter and sugar until the mixture's until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on medium speed add the eggs, (break the eggs into a dish before adding to the batter to avoid a bad egg or shells in the batter) 1 at a time, and the lemon zest. Sift together the flour, to make sure there are no lumps, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Separately, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cook 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cakes are done, cool for 10 minutes, invert them onto a rack set over a tray and spoon the lemon syrup over the cakes. Allow the cakes to cool completely. Note: These cakes were glazed with a lemon glaze but the contributor thought the cakes were sweet enough without adding a confectioner’s sugar/lemon juice glaze.

While I've never made a powder of lemons, I have made lemon/pepper salt. Actually, I think it could safely be referred to as lemon pepper, because I'm sure the commercial brands must have some in them. Although I've never checked for sure. Anyway, to make lemon/pepper/salt I use a zester to strip the lemons (limes too sometimes) then add this to some salt of choice to make a paste and spread in my oven to dry. It becomes a hardened cake. When thoroughly dry, I add some fresh ground pepper corns and grind in my food processor until it is fine enough to go through the salt shaker holes. Tastes even better than the store kind - and a heck of a lot fresher. On the other hand, I've never made just powder, mainly because I felt with the anti-caking ingredients in most salts, that this would serve my purpose for my home made lemon pepper salt as well. You will probably hear from others in the forum on the best way to make the powder form. Bejay

Linda Lou, For what its worth, I asked the local wine hobby supplier to find out if their acid blend has a comparable acidity to citric alone, and she told me that the two other acids are granulated just like the citric. The drying and granulation process is the same. The tarteric acid she sells is not a powder like cream of tarter. She also used a pH test meter and made a solution of water (distilled) and mixed an exact amount of citric acid, and compared that with the same amount of acid blend and water. She saw no difference in acidity, and when each was diluted, they both appeared to be the same equal levels even after several dilutions and mixings of more water. Her granulated acid source is a major manufacturer of the granulated acids, and even though one is a tarteric and the other is malic, they all have the same acidity when mixed with the same water. The local supplier actually buys the granulated products seperatly and blends one third by weight with the other two. The actual amount of each acid might vary slightly, but this has little to no effect on the final acidity, only a slight flavor difference. I have used a few cider vinegars at 7%. Also, I still have 20% distilled vinegar here as well, and use that in canning mixtures where adding more water is not acceptable.

I'll definitely call Minute Maid. I think their frozen juice products are great although I haven't bought them recently so didn't realize the lime juice had been discontinued. It seems like whenever I find a product I really, really like - it gets discontinued. I think Snapple may be discontinuing their Diet Raspberry Tea and DH and I are not happy about it. If we stick together as consumers and let manufacturers know what we like, maybe they will think twice before discontinuing items.