Lemon season: we’re in the thick of it, and thanks to a gloriously wet winter, it’s been a bumper crop this year. For those of us who live in California’s temperate zones, there are plenty of backyard lemons to be had. Oh happy, happy day! Perhaps you’ve been blessed with an abundance of lemons or have noticed them at your local farmers market? If so, why not preserve some of that bounty for the lemon slow season?
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Tag Archives: backyard fruit
Orange you glad I said hearts?
I made marmalade last week, my pets! I am VERY pleased with the way it turned out – sweet and bitter, just like marmalade ought to taste. I used fruit from our backyard trees, as well as a few oranges that a neighbor left at our door (which I suspect came from a tree in their backyard), plus two farmers market lemons. Making was easy enough, but took a little time (one day to soak the fruit, the time it took to carefully slice the soaked fruit, and then total cooking time). I used a recipe from one of the Mister’s French confectioner cookbooks*, but had to cook my batch for hours longer than the recipe suggested, as will happen when you combine four markedly different citrus fruits together in one pan. Hmm, yes: the next time I make another mixed citrus marmalade, I shall cook the citrus slices in order of skin thickness, and thusly produce a marmalade that both tastes and looks divine. Still and all, my regular afternoon snack of a toasted tortilla and a dollop nut butter has been much improved by the addition of a small spoonful of homemade marmalade, lemme tell you… Continue reading