I treated myself to a few new lenses a few weeks ago, one of which was a macro lens that I’d been wanting for ages. In the winter, of course, all the bugs are dead, the spiders have gone away and there are no flowers to speak of. What’s a guy to do with his new toy?

Why capture his wife making delicious treats, of course!

We had a few lemons left on my scraggly looking tree so Marla decided to put them to good use in the form of scrumptious lemon bars. The tree is an “Improved Meyer” and is much sweeter and less acidic than the Lisbon lemons you get in the store. Yummy, yummy stuff!

Marla was, as always, very patient with me as I circled around her with the camera lens just inches from the ingredients.

“Wait, wait… let me pre-focus.”

“Darn. I missed it. Do you need more eggs? You can add one more, right?”

“Oh, wait! Don’t pour that in yet!”

Focusing…

“OK, now you can pour the batter in.”

Marla later remarked that the hardest and most time consuming part of the process was putting up with me.

The recipie, adapted from Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa):

Crust

• 1/2 lb. unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp. salt

Filling

• 6 extra-large eggs, room temperature
• 2 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 Tbs. grated lemon zest (4-6 lemons)
• 1 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Combine the flour and salt, and with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9x13x2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Wrap and chill dough for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack while you prepare the filling. Leave the oven on.

In a medium size bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature. Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.