“Do you feel like a Caesar Salad?” I asked my mom during a visit home to California.

“That would be nice,” Mom said. “Why don’t you go out to the yard and get some lemons?”

That visit was 17 years ago. I trotted out the back door, down the steps and over to the family lemon tree. As usual, it was laden with big, juicy fruit. I peered up through its branches, gauged its height to be at least 7 feet, and wondered when it had grown so big.

“Mom, how old is the lemon tree?” I asked, unleashing half a dozen fat lemons onto the counter.

“Well, it’s been there since 1958 when Grandma Skinner won it at the Coolidge School Halloween carnival,” she said.

The lemon tree is now nearly 60 years old. Our source for lemons through my entire youth and into adulthood had been that tree.

It seemed like we always had need for lemons: Fresh lemonade, lemon meringue pies, lemon curd, lemon juice for marinades, vinaigrettes and crab feeds. Indeed, the Roberts family has never lacked for lemons thanks to that prolific plant.

I said farewell to that childhood tree a year after that visit, in 2001. I was back in town to help my folks pack up the accumulation of 55 years in the family home for a new life here in Oregon. One thing that couldn’t be transplanted was that marvelous tree.

Ever since, I have had to resort to store-bought. Right away I noticed just how different they were. And not in a good way.

Our backyard lemons — with their golden-yellow outer glow, fragrant jasmine-like aroma and tempered acidity — were superior to the average lemon found at the marketplace.

Throughout my youth, I had led a privileged life. Our backyard lemons were produced by a Meyer lemon tree.

We have a saying in the Meyer lemon fan club: “There are two kinds of people in the world — those who believe that Meyer lemons are God’s gift to humanity, and those who’ve never tried them.”

The tree was introduced to the U.S. more than 100 years ago by the agricultural explorer Frank Nicholas Meyer, an employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture who collected a sample of the plant on a trip to China. It’s a cross between a true lemon and an orange.

The Meyer lemon is definitely a cut above.

Whether you know and love this coveted darling of the lemon world, or would like to discover what the fuss is all about — now would be a dandy time to bring some into your kitchen.

Supplies will start to wane by early spring.

Take advantage of Meyer lemons while they are available:

Make Meyer lemonade

Stuff sliced Meyer lemons into the cavity of a chicken before roasting

Add some grated Meyer lemon peel to a risotto made with Mascarpone and Parmesan

Rub a meyer lemon peel around the rim of a demitasse of espresso

Make Meyer lemon curd (recipe follows)

Infuse an extra-virgin olive oil with Meyer lemon peel (warm the oil with the peel of two or three lemons for 15 minutes; cool; strain and pour into a bottle to store)

Use Meyer lemon juice and a bit of the zest in your next batch of hollandaise sauce

Add the juice to a simple marinade with fresh herbs and olive oil while grilling fish for fish tacos.

Freeze the juice (just juice fresh Meyer lemons and store in freezer-safe containers).

Before juicing a Meyer lemon, zest the peel (just the yellow, not the white pith) and store in the freezer, wrapped up in a bit of waxed paper and sealed in a jar. Use it months down the road to flavor whipped cream or melted butter, infuse vodka, sprinkle onto hot cocoa or tea… you get the idea.

Meyer lemon curd

This scrumptious delight, also called lemon butter, is made with fresh lemon juice, sugar, butter, and eggs. Call it pudding with style. Custard with sass. This recipe will make enough filling for one 9-inch pie (see note below), or many small tarts, depending on the size of your tart shells.

It’s especially wonderful when nestled into little tart shells made from graham crackers or cookie crumbs. I also like to spread it on top of simple cookies, like shortbread. Of course, traditionally, it’s put out at High Tea to spread on crumpets and scones.

Oh, and if you can’t find Meyer lemons, just go ahead and use regular lemons. The flavor will be slightly different, of course, but still quite delightful.

1½ cups sugar

½ cup fresh Meyer lemon juice

2 teaspoons grated fresh lemon zest

4 large eggs, beaten

2 large egg yolks, beaten

½ cup butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

In a heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan, whisk together the sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Whisk in the egg yolks. Then whisk in the melted butter. (If you don’t have a heavy-bottomed saucepan, then use a double boiler to keep from scorching the lemon curd as it is being cooked.)

Cook, stirring constantly with a silicon spatula, over medium to medium-low heat. As the mixture thickens, keep stirring and scraping from the bottom, which is where the mixture thickens the most quickly. At first the mixture may seem a bit lumpy as it thickens in various spots, but after about 10 minutes, it will achieve an overall thickness that will coat a spoon. Remove from heat. The lemon curd will thicken more once refrigerated. Makes 2 1/2 cups.

Note on filling pies: This mixture is fairly soft, so works best as a bottom layer in a pie, topped with flavored and sweetened whipped cream. It’s heavenly!

Meyer lemon vodka martini

2 ounces vodka

1 ounce orange-flavored liqueur (such as Grand Marnier or Cointreau)

1 ounce freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice

½ ounce simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar dissolved in hot water; chilled)

1-inch strip of Meyer lemon zest

In a cocktail shaker, combine the vodka, orange-flavored liqueur, Meyer lemon juice, simple syrup and Meyer lemon zest. Before adding ice, adjust flavors to taste. Add ice. Cover and shake vigorously, then strain into the prepared martini glass.

To prepare the martini glass: Rub the rim of a martini glass with a slice of Meyer lemon. Let air dry for about 30 seconds, then dip the rim into granulated sugar. Chill the glass until ready to use.

Meyer lemon gimlet

A classic gimlet is gin and lime, but swap the lime out for Meyer lemon and you’ve got a delicious, lemony, fragrant cocktail.

2 ounces gin (such as Tanqueray or Bombay)

1 ounce freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice

1-inch strip of Meyer lemon zest

1 ounce simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar dissolved in hot water; chilled)

1 or 2 slender slices of Meyer lemon

In a cocktail shaker with ice, combine the gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and lemon zest. Cover and shake vigorously, then strain into a glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with 1 or 2 slender slices of Meyer lemon

One-pot chicken with noodles, ginger and lemon

This is a heavenly preparation that tastes especially good during these cold winter months. The key to its success is homemade chicken broth. But even canned broth can produce a delectable preparation. And since they are available, Meyer lemons should be your lemon of choice. You won’t be disappointed.

2 chicken breast halves, bones in, skin off (about 1½ pounds total weight)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 cups chicken broth

¾ cup chopped green onions (about 5 or 6 medium-sized onions, using all of the white and pale green portion and about 2 inches of the green)

3 slices from a whole, fresh lemon (about ¼-inch thick)

2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger root

2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce (sold in the Asian food section)

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Salt to taste

1 (7.7 ounce) package yakisoba noodles (also called “stir-fry noodles”)

Using kitchen shears or a very sharp knife, cut each chicken breast half into two portions. Cut through each breast at the meatiest portion, so you end up with four relatively equal-sized portions. In a deep-sided, heavy-bottomed pot, brown the chicken pieces in the oil over medium-high heat, turning once to brown on both sides.

Note: Skinless breast meat can be tricky to fry, tending to stick to the bottom of the pan if you flip it too soon. Be patient; once the meat has browned sufficiently, it practically releases from the pan bottom by itself.

Reduce the heat slightly, remove the chicken pieces to a plate, then pour in the broth, stirring and scraping with a flat-sided utensil to dissolve all of the caramelized chicken juices.

Return the browned chicken pieces to the pot, and add the onions, lemon slices, ginger root, chili-garlic sauce and black pepper. Cover, and cook just until the chicken is tender and cooked, about 40 minutes. Adjust the seasonings, adding salt if desired. The chicken may be prepared to this point up to 48 hours ahead and refrigerated.

Five or 10 minutes before serving, bring the mixture to a boil, then remove the chicken pieces with a slotted spoon. Add the yakisoba, breaking the soft block of noodles apart with a fork or spoon so they’ll cook evenly and quickly in the broth (about 3 minutes). When the noodles are cooked, return chicken pieces to the pot and heat through. Adjust seasonings. Fish out remaining pieces of lemon before serving.

Serve in large soup or pasta bowls. Makes 2 servings, but can easily be doubled.

Meyer lemon cardamom ice cream

Created by Chez Panise pastry chef Lindsey Shere, this ice cream is particularly rich and delightful and a great way to showcase the Meyer lemon.

5 Meyer lemons

1 tablespoon cardamom pods, crushed

1 cup half and half

1 cup granulated sugar

½ vanilla bean

6 large egg yolks

3 cups whipping cream

Peel 1 lemon with a vegetable peeler, taking care not to cut into the bitter white pith. Place the peel in a nonreactive medium saucepan with the crushed cardamom, half and half and sugar. Scrape the vanilla pod seeds into the pan and drop in the pod. Heat over high heat to just under a boil. Remove from the heat and allow to steep for about 15 minutes.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks, and then pour in some of the hot half and half mixture, stirring constantly. Pour the mixture back into the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it coats the back of a wooden spoon, 4 to 5 minutes.

Pour the mixture through a strainer into a bowl. Finely grate the zest of 2 Meyer lemons and add it to the mixture. Allow to stand for 10 minutes.

Add the cream to the mixture. Juice all 5 lemons and add the juice (about 3/4 cup) to the cream mixture. Chill thoroughly.

Freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturers directions. Makes 1 quart.

Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis food writer, artist and author of “Oregon Hazelnut Country, the Food, the Drink, the Spirit,” and four other cookbooks. Email her at janrd@proaxis.com or obtain additional recipes and food tips on her blog at www.janrd.com.