Lemon LoveFest is finally here! What exactly is Lemon LoveFest? It’s Wine Imbiber’s tribute (and a contest) to the lemon (more specifically, the Meyer lemon). It should be no secret to loyal and frequent readers of our humble site that we have a Meyer lemon tree growing outside of our kitchen that we simply adore! There once was a time (long before the blogosphere existed), that I didn’t know what to do with all of the precious lovelies that hung so gloriously from our tree. Lemon bars and lemonade were my sole specialties. But, eventually my long–standing subscription to Sunset magazine came to the rescue with an article (in 1997) devoted to dishes made with Meyers. Thus began my love affair with these special tasting lemons.

From then on, I began collecting any recipes I came across that utilized lemons. Most of them didn’t require Meyers, but of course, that’s what I would use. We really became spoiled with their less acidic flavor and tangy aroma. My lemon recipe resources soon blossomed as foodie blogs came into being. I began to notice others profess their love of the Meyer (especially if they had a tree of their own) while others lamented how they couldn’t find any in the area where they lived.

Then I had one of those light bulb moments. What if Wine Imbiber created a place for lemon–lovers to post their lemon recipes? And just for good measure, how about a Meyer lemon give away (so big that both lemon–lovers and Meyer lemon–deprived people alike would be cheering from their snow–covered streets)? And, I could officially memorialize some of my very own favorite lemon recipes in my weekly posts. Sounded like a win–win idea to me!

So here we are now, smack dab in the middle of Meyer lemon season. The perfect time to run a lemon give away, don’t cha think? By the way, my lemon–loving heart goes out to all you unfortunate souls who live across pretty much the entire US who are putting up with such inclement winter weather this year! I saw on the national news that even Florida’s agriculture is suffering from the unusually cold weather. The citrus trees hadn’t been harvested and the fruit froze. Luckily, Southern California is experiencing some gorgeous weather right now (although some major rainstorms are expected this coming week) and will have no problems supplying lemons for our give away.

We have two California growers who have generously offered to supply the prizes for Lemon LoveFest. The first, Lemon Ladies Orchard from Emerald Hills (can’t you just picture Julie Andrews singing her way through the lemon groves there?) will be offering Meyer Gift Bags (value: $25 each). Karen Morss, the orchardess of Lemon Ladies Orchard, named each of the trees in her orchard for a woman who inspired her and helped her achieve her goals and dreams. She thinks it’s why her lemons are so sweet! Check out her site for all kinds of Meyer lemon info and links.

The other grower, GroveStand.net is located in Fallbrook, which can be found at the northern border of beautiful San Diego county. Fallbrook is actually known as the Avocado Capital of the World, so it’s no wonder that this grower also has avocados and exotic fruits like cherimoyas, guavas and passion fruit on their product list. They will be providing 5–pound boxes of Meyer lemons (about 20-25 lemons, value: $28 per box). Check out their site to see all of their products.

So, how do you participate in Lemon LoveFest? Simply post about a recipe that uses lemon as its primary flavor or ingredient. It doesn’t have to be a Meyer lemon recipe (as Meyers can usually be substituted for regular lemons, but some recipes will only work with Meyers, so please specify the appropriate type called for in your recipe).

Here is what else should be included in your post:

• Mention Lemon LoveFest and include a link to this page so that other lemon–lovers will be in–the–know
• Link to the Lemon LoveFest Library (the permanent page where we will be displaying your lemon recipe, name, photo and links—we’ll be posting at least daily)
• For an extra chance to win, knock yourself out and tweet about Lemon LoveFest (to get credit, be sure to leave a comment on this page stating that you did tweet)
• For yet another extra chance to win, include our lovely, lemony LoveFest logo (shown at the top of this post) in your blog’s recipe post

To use the logo, simply copy and paste the following html code into your recipe post:
 
<a href="http://www.wineimbiber.com/index.php/2010/01/lemon-lovefest-2010/" target="_blank"><img src="http://wineimbiber.com/images/lemon-lovefest-2010-logo-public.jpg" width="180" height="126" border="0" alt="Click Here!" title="Click Here!" /></a>
 
If you need any assistance, just email us.
 
Finally, when you’re just puckered out from all the lemon love you’ll be oozing, email your entry to us at lemonlovefest@wineimbiber.com (to ensure that we receive your email, please put Lemon LoveFest in the subject line).

Also, be sure to include these items in the body of your email:

• Your name (if you want it to appear next to your photo)
• Your blog’s name
• Your blog’s URL
• The title of your lemon recipe
• The URL where your recipe is found
• One photo of your recipe (sized to exactly 250 x 250 pixels in jpeg format)

Not a blogger? We haven’t forgotten about you non–blogger lemon–lovers! You can participate in Lemon LoveFest by emailing us your name and lemon recipe along with a brief story about it, and if you have one, a photo of it that meets the above requirements. We’ll add your recipe to the Library page and your photo (if you included one). You will still be eligible to win a prize with your entry and an extra chance by tweeting about Lemon LoveFest (to get credit, be sure to leave a comment on this page stating that you did tweet).

Sooo easy peasy lemon squeezy! Submit as many entries as you like. We will be randomly choosing two winners per week for up to four weeks. You can submit multiple entries per week or spread them out over the four week period…whatever pops your cork! Each week, one winner will receive a Meyer Gift Bag from Lemon Ladies Orchard and the other winner will receive a five–pound box of Meyer lemons from GroveStand.net. Yowsa!!

If you have any questions or comments regarding Lemon LoveFest, post them in the comment section below or email us at lemonlovefest@wineimbiber.com. Here’s to making more discoveries in my ongoing search for luscious lemon recipes! >>cue the clinking wine glasses<<

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Filed Under: Blogs, Lemon, Lemon LoveFest