The last lemon. I picked the last lemon from our little tree a few days ago. Every Winter, the lemon tree gives up about a dozen fruit to concoct into something special.
Cultivating citrus in our growing zone is not unheard of, but special accommodations have to be made. Covering it outside at chances of frost. Dragging it in and out of the house before and after the Winter months. Remembering to fertilize it on a regular basis, and so-on. It’s basically a green-thumb venture beyond the usual garden veggies and herbs. For the last two and a half years, we’ve managed to not kill it. Doing so would be a travesty since this impulse buy survived a summer pick-up ride from Arizona to the MidSouth area.
The southern Arizona desert landscape where the lemon came from boasts iconic images, both natural and manmade. Towering Saguaro cactus forests. Precious metal mines tunneling miles underground. Historical structures from documentaries on Netflix. Mysterious top-secret Cold War era military installations. Seemingly endless, neat rows of military aircraft.
Ironically, we purchased the lemon from Moon Valley Nursery outside of Tucson. The cosmic name of the nursery was about as out-of-this-world as we thought we’d get on this particular trip, until Son A wanted to take us to Biosphere 2.
At first glance, Biosphere 2 sounded vaguely familiar. What was that goofy Pauly Shore movie from the 1990’s called? Bio-Dome! That’s it! Parts of this movie flop were filmed inside Biosphere 2, but not entirely thanks to then Space Biospheres Ventures manager Steve Bannon. (You know, that Steve. A senior advisor for President Trump who was sentenced for four months in federal prison on contempt charges. Hmmm…)
Biosphere 2 is named after Biosphere 1, which is what the Earth is called. The O.G. The property this research facility sits on was originally part of a larger 1800’s era ranching complex called the Samaniego CDO Ranch. In 1984, the University of Arizona sold its conference center facilities to Space Biospheres Ventures, which turned the property into an intended self-sustaining space exploration center. Construction of Biosphere 2 lasted seven years and was completed in 1991 prior to its first mission.
Specific biomes were built, planted with vegetation and sealed into separate operating systems–ocean with a coral reef, rainforest, desert, fog desert, and savannah. Below these facilities is a 500-ton stainless steel welded liner and surrounding it is 7.2 million cubic feet of sealed glass (or 6,500 windows), preventing Biosphere 1 from interacting with Biosphere 2.
In September 1991, eight “Biospherians” (four men and four women) were sealed in Biosphere 2 with great fanfare, wearing bright blue jumpsuits and matching black Reebok sneakers. For the next two years, they remained inside this great closed ecological experiment. Daily life included milking goats, growing all their food within the five biomes, enjoying recycled air and water, and figuring out how to compost all wastes, among other scientific research based efforts like maintaining proper temperatures and rainfalls in each biome. Dartmouth Alumni Magazine features a detailed article written by Mark Nelson, a 1968 Dartmouth alum and Biospherian, here.
Biosphere 2 was only supposed to open its air-tight seals in extreme emergencies. Two weeks into the mission, Biospherian Jane Poynter, from England, cut her fingertip off in a rice-hulling accident. Biosphere 2’s physician sewed it back on, but complications arose causing Jane to leave and return to the complex for hand surgery. In total, the supposedly air-tight system was opened 29 times to remove research samples and provide the crew with supplies. Oxygen was also pumped into the facility twice when life-sustaining levels dipped too low. For $150 million dollars, critics scrutinized “the big greenhouse” as a side show rather than a scientific exploration.
When it was time to vacate Biosphere 2 in September 1993, mission complete or not, the eight Biospherians each received a personalized gift basket containing their favorite foods they missed for 2 years. The average weight loss for a Biospherian was 15%, or around 25 pounds. After enduring a prolonged low-calorie, vegetarian-based diet, it’s no surprise indulgences like Toblerone dark chocolate, herring in sour cream, honey, blue cheese, cranberries, balsamic vinegar, salmon, and coffee were in high demand. Along with their gift baskets and ability to dress normally, the crew had other things to look forward to outside of the glass windows–constipation and catching the flu. Their immunity to the common cold and flu was gone. Good thing their health was monitored after exiting the facility. Despite the harsh criticism, Biosphere 2 proved the need for mini-biospheres to sustain life in space. The team also successfully composted human and animal wastes and reused it in the soil systems. Research continues to this day in each of the biomes, including redeveloping the ocean’s coral reef system.
Thanks to the University of Arizona, visitors are welcome to stop by any day of the year, except for Thanksgiving and Christmas. (Tickets can be bought here.). It’s truly a surreal place to check out. And, despite its over 3 acre size, I can only imagine how stir crazy one might get living in it for two years.
So, in honor of the last lemon and Son A (aka Monk) who took us BIosphere 2, Raspberry Lemon Monkey Bread is on the agenda for today. Monkey Bread is comfort food in shareable form. Yeasty dough balls are rolled in buttery goodness, usually with cinnamon-sugar, baked into a ring, and glazed to perfection. Lemon is the shining star in this recipe. Fresh lemon zest is in the bread dough and sugar coating, with lemon juice in the glaze. I used King Arthur Flour’s Raspberry Jammy Bits in the sugar coating as well. They’re little gelatin raspberry nuggets which give a sweet contrast to this citrus forward treat. Using the bits is not crucial to the recipe, but highly suggested. You can purchase them here.
Enjoy with your favorite out-of-this-world crew, or indulge by yourself!
PrintRaspberry Lemon Monkey Bread
There’s monkey bread and then there’s Raspberry Lemon Monkey Bread. Bright lemon and sweet raspberry jammy bits elevates this inviting, pull apart homemade treat to a new level. A simple lemon glaze ties all of the citrusy sunshine in this eater-friendly bread together.
- Prep Time: About 90 Minutes
- Cook Time: About 35 Minutes
- Total Time: About 2 Hours
- Yield: One-9 Inch Bundt Pan
Ingredients
For Lemon Bread Bites:
3/4 c. whole milk, at room temperature
1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg, slightly beaten and at room temperature
2–1/2 to 3 T. lemon zest (or zest from 2 whole lemons)
2 T. granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt (table, kosher or sea)
3 c. all-purpose flour
2–1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (or 1 package yeast)
For Lemon Raspberry Coating:
1–1/4 c. granulated sugar
10 T. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1–1/2 T. lemon zest (or zest from 1 lemon)
1/3 c. raspberry jammy bits (I purchased mine from King Arthur Flour’s website here.)*
For Lemon Glaze:
3/4 c. powdered sugar, sifted
1–1/2 to 2 T. lemon juice
Instructions
To Make Lemon Bread Bites:
Option 1 (Bread Machine): In the bowl of a bread machine, add ingredients in order from milk to yeast. Set machine on to dough cycle and let run until complete.
Option 2 (Mixer): In the bowl of.a standing mixer, using a dough hook, mix zest, sugar, salt, flour and yeast together. Add milk, butter and egg to flour mixture. Mix dough until a smooth ball forms, about 15 minutes or so. Remove dough to a large oiled bowl, turn once and cover with plastic wrap. Set in a warm place to rise until doubled, about an hour or so. (**You can also mix the dough by hand, and knead on a floured surface until dough is smooth and elastic. Let rise according to above.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees towards the end of the bread’s rise. Thoroughly spray a standard Bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
To Make Lemon Raspberry Coating:
In a large bowl, combine sugar, melted butter, lemon zest and jammy bits. Pinch bite-size pieces of dough out of rise dough and roll into balls. Place dough balls into sugar lemon mixture and fold to cover dough completely. Be careful not to over mix and deflate dough. Pour dough sugar mixture evenly into the Bundt pan. Spread any remaining sugar-jammy bit mixture over the dough.
Place into preheated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until dough has risen and is golden brown. Remove pan from the oven and let rest on a wire rack for about 5 minutes before turning bread out onto a rimmed serving plate. (If you let the dough sit longer, the sugar and butter mixture will stick to the inside of the pan making the dough hard to turn out. If this happens you can run hot water on to the bottom of the Bundt pan to loosen the dough.)
To Make Lemon Glaze:
In a small bowl, whisk powdered sugar and lemon juice together until smooth. Glaze should be thick enough to fall in thin ribbons from the whisk when ready. Drizzle glaze over slightly warm Monkey Bread. Serve immediately. Bread is best eaten warm, but will last for about 2 days at room temperature covered.
Notes
*Raspberry jammy bits aren’t a deal breaker for this recipe. You can omit them, and have a spectacular Lemon Monkey Bread! The bits add a burst of sweet contrast to the layers of lemon in the bread though.
IMNPB
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