January has been a bumpy start for me.

My birthday, which is wedged between Nigella Lawson's and Elvis', was a day that started with a trip the the vet, the doctor and the mechanic.

Lucky it was in that order, because by the time that I pulled into the mechanic's, everyone was running outside the garage to see where the gigantic coffee grinder was coming from.

'Your water pump is bad. It's damaged your engine too. Lot of work; V6 engine...'

I stopped hearing at this point.

Walked home. The dog, curious about the unusual trek down Hollywood Boulevard, trailed behind like a freshly minted starlet.

Back home, I sat in my kitchen and felt the nerves in my neck and spine turn to steel cords. Happy Birthday Humbug!

Looked out the window at the lemon tree, boughs heaving with fruit.

Meyer Lemons.

My favourite.

'I'm going to have to do something with those lemons. They can't go to waste'

My cell phone went off. It was the mechanic. '...it'll take two weeks...bent engine valves...$4000...'

My breath went thin. The steel cords tensed.

I looked back out the window at the tree.

'Lemons'

Addressing Doctor Dang's advice, I left the butter in the fridge and went out to pick some lemons.

'I wonder if my flourless orange cake would work with these?'

I had plenty of time to experiment and find out. With no car for 2 weeks, I was pretty much house bound.

Luckily, this little cake came through on the first try. No flour. No butter. No oil. This beauty was going to fall well within the parameters of the already fading New Year's resolutions.

Here's the scoop:

Put 2 large meyer lemons (mine weighed nearly 1pound/ 500g combined) in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and let them simmer for 20 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 400f/ 200c

Place 2 earl grey tea bags in a mixing bowl and place a seive or colander over the bowl. Remove the lemons from the saucepan and place them in the seive.

Slice the lemons in half and let the hot juice drip down into the bowl to steep the tea bags. Fossick around the lemon halves with a knife to remove any seeds. Put the lemon pulp and skin into a food processor and pour the lemon juice in as well. Give the tea bags a squeeze and add this to the mix, discard the tea bags. Pulse the processor to shred the lemons to a chunky puree.

Add 2 cups of almond meal, 1 cup of castor / superfine sugar, 1 tspn baking powder, pinch salt and 1/4 cup honey to the processor and pulse to combine. add 6 eggs, one at a time, with a pulse in between.

Pour the batter into a greased, floured and lined 9 inch springform pan and place in the centre of the oven. The cake will take about 45 minutes to bake. If the sides are browning too fast, reduce the heat to 375f/ 190c.

About 10 minutes before the cake is ready, place 1/2 cup of honey and an equal measure of lemon juice (1 1/2-2 lemons) and 2 more tea bags into a small saucepan. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and let the tea steep for 5 mins.

Cake is done when it feels firm in the centre, though it will still have some give. This cake is very moist. Remove it from the oven and let it sit in the pan for 10 minutes.

Remove the tea bags from the syrup and increase the heat so that the honey boils rapidly. It will darken slightly. Turn the cake out onto a plate, remove the bottom and the paper and pour the hot syrup over the cake.

This cake is a bittersweet marvel. Have a slice still oven warm; maybe some fine vanilla ice-cream...a cup of tea...

Block out the world with each mouthful. What mechanic? Who needs a car anyway? I just want to sit here and look out at my lemon tree...

I remember being a wee lad, hearing the gelato van roaming around the streets, warbling 'Greensleeves' (the van, not me). Like Pavlov's puppy, that sound set my taste buds aflare for a cone with chocolate gelato on one side and lemon on the other.

With my tongue as a dance floor, these two flavours were performing a tango that would leave an indelible impression.

Lemon and chocolate.

Seems the rest of my family were similarly enraptured. My sister used to insist that my mother make her a chocolate cake with lemon icing for her birthday every year.

Simple chocolate cake, thin lemon icing. A rich-tart wedge to make a birthday wish upon.

In a wistful, slightly melancholy moment that recalled my family away in Melbourne, my past birthdays and brought to mind the transience of my present concerns, I whipped up a cake batter, popped it in the still hot oven and went out to pick a few more lemons.

The icing:

place 2 tablespoons of butter in a mixing bowl. Heat the juice from 1 lemon in the microwave and pour it over the butter to melt it slightly. Add 1 1/2 cups of icing sugar. Add more lemon juice or icing sugar to taste. I like a particularly tart, thin icing so I use more lemon juice. You could also add more butter, soften (not melt) it and whip it, then add lemon juice and icing sugar for a fluffy icing.

Mannix is my name.

My middle name.

When I first had the idea to launch this website, having one onion-skin of anonymity appealed to me.

On a flight from NY to LA, a fellow passenger was chatting with me. We swapped business cards and she pointed to my middle name:

'Great name! That's what you should use on your site!'

And so I did.

Then Andy Harris from Australian Gourmet Traveller contacted me asking to do a piece on me and my life here in LA.

I was chuffed. Gourmet Traveller is such an inspiration and benchmark for me. Always has been.

I hosted him all around LA and we had a devilish time ; swapping LA stories and taste sensations.

Sure enough, the piece came out in this month's (February) issue and my cover was blown; I am referred to by my first name.

click the pic for the rest of the story.

or click on the link below to see a snippet of the article (better still, go out and get your mitts on a copy!)

Meyer lemons originated in China.

They are a delicious combination of lemon and orange mandarin.

The tartness of the lemon is countered with the sweetness of the mandarin. The peel is thin, the pith almost invisible and entirely edible.

Yet, somehow the flavour and nature of this gem is much greater than the sum of its parts. There is a note in these lemons which is earth bound. Forget the flighty, light notes of other citruses.

It is the beautiful Andromache of the circus grove.

I love its zest and juice mixed with oregano and olive oil as a salad dressing. a little maldon salt. some peppery arugula. mmm!

Made another trek out into the yard to pick some lemons for a herbed marmalade.

cover 3 pounds / 1 1/2 kilos of meyer lemons, 3 sprigs of fresh oregano and 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary (each sprig about 3 inches long) with water in a large pot and bring to the boil. Skim the pan and simmer for an hour or so.

Place a sieve over a large bowl and pour the water and lemons into it. Squeeze the fruit pulp to get extra juice out.

Scoop out a fistful of the lemons and add to the water. Chill it overnight (discard the rest of the pulp and the herbs)

Next morning, strain the water into a large pot or saucepan.

For each cup of lemon water, add 1 cup of sugar. bring to a boil. Skim the foam, reduce the heat and let simmer gently for about 1 hour.

Pour into a bowl or preserving jars.

Try this on fresh baguette with creamy chevre!

Dinner with friends.

Birthday cake.

The anitcipation of burnt toast and marmalade for breakfast.

More heavy boughs out in the yard. More sweet than bitter. My, oh meyer!

Let the love flow!

Mannix

mannix@thelovebite.com