Hi. I’m Mateo the CoalBear.
Allright, I have a little bit of smutch on my forehead… I bet you wondered how that got there. I finally got to go outside again this week (!!) and of course I did some serious rolling around! I mean, it had been days and days since the Mother of Cats let me have some fun outside with the bunnies.
It is still too cold to spend a lot of time outside, so the Mother of Cats spent most of the week knitting and reading again. There was some excitement late in the week when a package arrived that had these Meyer lemons and a little stuffed zebra.
Who would send such a box? Well… the Mother of Cats has a knitworthy niece who lives in a place that almost never snows with this Meyer lemon tree, and it got a little out of control this year. The Mother of Cats has been secretly longing for some of these lemons, but she didn’t want to ask, and out of the blue they arrived this week. With a zebra! She was so happy. There was even crunchy brown paper in the box for us to play with.
Just ignore Hannah. She kind of has “center of the universe” syndrome and thinks that everything is about her. I’m almost 3 years old now and I’m grown up enough to understand that chasing bunnies is much more important than silly ol’ tuna. Let’s get back to the knitting and the reading.
It is a little ironic that those lemon things arrived at the same time that the Mother of Cats was reading a book with Orange Tree in the title, don’t you think? The three hats that were finished this week look nice with the lemons (that are really something else that has to do with mandarin oranges and citrons…), and the newest hat that she just started knitting really coordinates will with the book.
Well, that’s all for now. The Mother of Cats has been hunting around on the internet for recipes to make Meyer lemon marmalade and lemon bars, and I think that I should go make a commotion so she will let me outside again. I may even have to meow to get her attention.
This is Mateo, signing off.
Note from the Mother of Cats: I think that I need to order some jam jars, too. I found this recipe for Meyer lemon marmalade, and then there is this one for lemon bars…
You can read the story of those colorful mitts that were made for my niece in this post here. If you are wondering why my niece is so exceptionally knitworthy (the exact language I used was… “never, ever, was there a more knitworthy person than my niece”…) you can read about it in this even earlier post that explains the launch of the color explosion mitts in the picture and why my niece deserves the knitworthy designation for life.
Yarn, Books & Roses 
I am going to simply ASSUME that the stuffed toy is in truth a BLZ. It must be. 😀
So the meyer lemons are more like – what, grapefruit ? Ruby grapefruit mebbe ?
If you could eat everything, you’d probably have your own collection of used jam-jars: I’ve always found that all the Bonne Maman products provide one with super-duper jars that can be used for AVRATHANG !!
Dang, I just put one of the jars into the recycling bin and the lid is long gone. I think that I need actual canning jars because they have to be processed in a boiling water bath. The lemons are actually some kind of hybrid of mandarin orange mixed with a couple of other citrus fruits that was imported from China, and there wasn’t a lemon anywhere in the cross. They can be eaten fresh just like an orange, but they are a little too tart for me to do that. They make wicked good lemon bars. The toy is a BLZ for sure!!
You’re right: if they must be boiled .. and I would think you need to take that precaution every time, Marilyn. I look forward to seeing what a lemon bar is ! 🙂
I think you are right. I am so cautious with food… a lot gets thrown out… because I’m immunocompromised. I’m trying to decide how to can these jam jars without buying another canning set up because I’ve been using the one that I have now to dye yarn. This is me laughing so hard I’m crying…
Lemon bars are shortbread cookies with lemon curd on top. 🙂
This is what comes of being a multi-functional woman !
SEND ME SOME. A whole big lot, please ! [grin]
They are awfully yummy, and easy to make if you are a person who is careful about energy expenditure. Once baked, you just cut the pan into bars. I’ll show then off in my next blog post.
I’ll bet Meyer lemon marmalade is delicious! I’m glad Mateo and Hannah are getting some time outside.
I just ordered the jam jars and some cheesecloth online so I can make the marmalade next week. I think it will be yummy too!!
I once bought several Meyer lemons, just out of curiosity. I assumed they were some kind of lemon-orange hybrid. Interesting, but I couldn’t figure out what to do with them. They weren’t tart enough to replace lemons, nor sweet enough to eat like oranges.
Evidently my niece’s kids just chomp them down like oranges, but I don’t think I should try that. I ate some before in thin slices on top of Honey Smoked Salmon on toast. So yummy!!
Oh that sounds delicious!
It’s always enjoyable reading your updates. Your knits are stunning, but those cats steal the show. The smirks, the “smiles”, and the center of the universe perspective makes me giggle. I’m glad kitty got to dip a toe outdoors, but boy of boy it looks cold.
Now I’m dreaming of lemon bars.
I have to admit that the weekly report is highly dependent on whatever photos I am able to capture of the cats during the week. Hannah sure has a good smirk, huh! It is finally warmer here, but still cold enough to keep us mostly indoors.
Hannah and Mateo always make me smile. You capture some good ones. Tessa will be in a “posing posture” only to jump up when I turn the phone in her direction. I do get some good shots, but lots of duds, too. I’m glad its a bit warmer.
I have to take a lot of photos to get some good ones, and Hannah is really hard because she refuses to look at the camera. Mateo is so glad it is warmer because he loves to go outside every morning while I make breakfast.
Cats are smart, funny, fickle, and usually a joy to be around. I’m glad you have two sweet companions, even if one of them refuses to look at the camera.
The Meyer lemons sound delicious, especially the lemon bars.
I made the bars last night, and they were delicious!
Those recipes sound so good – thank you for sharing! And your niece really is super-knitworthy!
Mateo – so glad you got to spend some time outside! And that really is a good picture of you 🙂
I made the lemon bars last night with some modification (2/3 cup juice and one additional tablespoon of flour) and they turned out great! Mateo has really been rocking the great photos lately, which is something since it is hard to capture a black cat.
MMM – glad they are good! Such a treat with the lemons your niece sent you!
It really is difficult. One of my last two was a lovely black longhair – he was so hard to get a good photo of!
I you can’t get their eyes into the shot and the light just right they are basically black blobs…
Very true!
The story of the miraculous mitts was so enjoyable! They really are a labour of love, which is of course worth it when they’re going to such a good home.
I’m glad you read all of that! My heart just sank when she started showing me what she wanted, but in the end I had to do it because… she is so knitworthy!!
OOooo – lucky you! Whatever you decide to make will be DELICIOUS (that’s a great pic of your niece, BTW!) Stay warm and safe at your end – lots of weather happening in the US right now. (And hopefully that translates to time with Priory and your knitting. I enjoyed that one a lot but it’s LONG!)
Some of my knitting friends from my old S’n’B used to make limoncello with meyer lemons. I never did it myself, but they seemed to enjoy it! Enjoy making marmalade!
Now I need to research limoncello recipes online…
If you try any I hope they’re good! (I never sampled my friends homemade limoncello, unfortunately.)
I went recipe hunting and quickly found that there is alcohol involved, so not for me. 😦
Oh yeah, that would make a difference. Sorry. 😦
About those Meyer lemons: the kids and I can eat them out of hand because we all like acid (sour) tastes, and because the lemons matured on the tree. People with more delicate digestions should be cautious.
They make the best lemonade EVER! And yes, I got lemons, too.
Yeah, I like acid (sour) taste, but it doesn’t like me. Like other people with Sjogren’s my salivary glands start screaming the second I put something tart into my mouth. You and the kids have fun!
Oh course you got lemons!!! Hello… moms get lemons in the mail. It is a given!!