Honeydew & Lemons

March.

MAAAAAAARRRRRRCCCCCHHHH.

Last year, spring came early here. Really early. Like, 26C in the third week of March early. Flowers blooming! Birds singing!

We had a proper spring, and it was lovely. It was so lovely that we all managed to forget that we live in Canada, and that winter does not end because of Daylight Savings Time.

Today is the first official day of spring. It is a snow day. By 7:30 I had already shoveled a ridiculous amount of drifted snow off the steps and gotten windburn from the ice pellets scudding into my cheeks. Winter is back. And I am despondent.

And I'm sick to death of lunches.

The kids are, too.

This is the time of year when I want to throw all my principles about fresh food and healthy eating out the window, and just give them pizza pockets every day. EVERY DAY PIZZA POCKETS, LUCKY CHILDREN!! (I just asked my kids. They've never tasted a pizza pocket. Now they know of the existence of pizza pockets and I've probably bought a world of trouble for the sake of truth in reporting.)

But I don't! I forge ahead. This week I bought a giant honeydew melon, because why not. Turned out to be an excellent choice as the children actually whooped when they spotted it in the fridge.

(Aside: does anyone else wish the kids would tell you ahead of time when they have a preference like that, instead of leaving you in the store guessing week after week? Guessing right is vastly satisfying and makes you feel like a Super Genius Perfect Mom. Guessing wrong makes you feel like a stressed-out mess. End of aside.)

I spent some time on Sunday night cleaning and cutting my honeydew into bite-sized chunks. I store the chunks in a large plastic container, and then when I'm packing the lunches I just scoop out smaller portions. It tastes sweet and fresh. I checked and it is high in Vitamins C and A, as well as being an excellent source of potassium and a modest source of calcium. It's easy to chew for babies and toddlers, is delicious on its own or mixed with other fruit like strawberries or blueberries, and adds a great flavour to smoothies.

All this for only $3.99! BARGAIN.

This week I also made these lemon muffins, which go nicely with fruit or a cup of tea.

Dorothy's Lemon Muffins

Sift together in large bowl:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Combine in small bowl:

1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 eggs
grated rind of 1 or 2 lemons

Pour wet into dry and stir to combine. Sprinkle tops of muffins with white sugar.

Bake at 400F for 15 minutes. Makes 12 smallish muffins.

All in all, not a bad week when I consider that what I really feel like doing today is lurking in the garret writing sad poetry.