Meyer Lemon and Mineola Orange Marmalade

I'm pretty excited about this marmalade for a couple reasons.  Why?

• It's an awesome combination of sweet and bitter
• We've got an abundance of Meyer lemons
• Sarah made this before, and this time, Kirsty and I did it on our own
• I learned how to extract the pectin from the fruit

 I looked at a bunch of recipes, and found some helpful tips on a few of them.  Most of the recipes were looking for a much lighter amount of fruit.  Somehow, it just didn't seem right, so I went above and beyond.  When Sarah made this recipe, she added a couple Clementine oranges, which added some complexity to the flavor, and I really like how it offsets the color of the lemon.  I just got some organic Mineola Oranges from our CSA.  They've got a thicker skin, a very dark orange rind, giving it a stronger bitter bite, and the deep color contrast.

What's good about this marmalade over others?

•  We used a lot of fruit.  About twice most other recipes.  It's rich.
• We combined lemon and orange, adding flavor and color.

I've been intrigued with the idea of canning, or making jams.  We've made a few berry jams, with berries from the farmer's market, so this was kinda cool, essentially the ingredients came from our harvest, and of course, the sugar.  We even extracted the pectin from the fruit, which is doubly cool.

You really don't need anything special to make this recipe, although a couple tools are handy.

• Cheescloth
• Candy or instant thermometer
• Jar funnel
• A couple large pots, 1 for sterilizing, 1 for cooking
• 7-8 canning jars with 2 part lids (8 oz jars)
• Tongs - there are special jar tongs.  I don't use them, but might be nice to have.

Ingredients

3 pounds Meyer lemons

2 each Mineola oranges

4 cups sugar

5 cups water
1 cup meyer lemon juice

Sterilize

Sterilize the jars and lids in a large pot full of water, enough to cover the jars.  I put both parts of the lid in the pot to boil.  I've noticed some say it's hard on the rubber seal.  I haven't had a problem, but I haven't made that many batches.  Boil about 10 minutes, then dry on a clean towel.  Use tongs so you don't get anything on the sterile jars and lids.

Chop the Lemons

While the jars are boiling, start cutting up the fruit.  For the marmalade, we cut 1/8-1/4 inch slices, then cut out the membrane from the center, and cut into wedges.  We also cut off both ends of the lemon, and removed all the seeds. Keep all the trimmings, especially the seeds in a pile on the cheesecloth.  

Lemons boiling on left.  Sterilized jars, lids and holders on towel.

Boil

Combine the fruit, juice and water in a big pot.  Tie up the seeds and membrane in the cheesecloth, like a teabag.  Add to the water.  Bring to a boil and cook until the rinds are soft, and not chewy.  About 20 minutes.  Keep stirring.  If it seems like it's sticking to the bottom, add another cup of water.  I had to.  In fact, I didn't stir enough and had some rinds burn or at least brown on the bottom of the pan.  Oops.  

Boiling the fruit and 'teabag'.  Keep stirring!

Remove the 'teabag' of seeds and so on.  Let it cool.  That's got your pectin you'll squeeze back into the pot, once it's cool enough to handle.

Wrip up the seeds and membranes to make the pectin "teabag".

Add sugar

Add the sugar and return to a boil.  Once the teabag is cool, squeeze the cheesecloth bag into the boil.  I got about 2-3 Tbsp of really thick white juice from the bag.  You want to keep boiling until the temperature increases by 8 degrees (F).  If you don't have a thermometer, there are other ways you can tell if you're done.  One cool method I read about and used, put a plate in the freezer.  Drip some sauce on it.  If it gels enough to see it hold up when you push your finger in it, it's done.  If it just drips, it's not done.  Keep stirring the whole time with a wooden spoon.

Pour into jars

Use a ladle, and fill jars wthin a 1/4 of the top.  I got 7 jars from my batch.  Make sure the rims are clean, as well as the jar threads.  Put the lid on, then screw the lid holder down.  If you still have the other pot full of hot water, put the filled jars in the hot water, and return to a boil for 10 minutes.  This kills any bacteria.  Let cool and store in the fridge or in a cool dark place.  It should store for a year, I've heard.

Enjoy, especially on toast.

Blogging

Part of the April harvest

Jib Jab styled click here
The picture is the latest harvest from the garden.  I am at the point where, Spring is here, but I've only got my trees in, and a couple summer squash and cucumbers in the ground.  The irrigation system is still not working, so I am hand watering.  It's a race to get some plants in the ground, and get those roots started.

Coming Soon!
I get so many lemons from this tiny tree.  These are the incredibly flavorful Meyer lemons.  I have a goose laying golden lemons.  They just keep coming and coming and coming!  So, I gave some out at work, and to my sister, and last weekend I put some to good use:  I made:

• Limoncello
• Preserved Lemons
• Lemonade
• Grilled chicken with dijon mustard, lemon, rosemary, pepper flakes marinade

The Limoncello and preserved lemons take like 80 days until they are ready.  Okay, at least a few weeks.  The point is, I will be posting, and the recipes are coming.  My goal is 1 recipe a day.

Jib Jab
I've been feeling a lack of JibJab. At the top of my mind are:

Mexico mission trip
Patrick is building houses on a Mexico mission trip.  I'm pretty excited for him.  It was a moving experience for his sister, and me when we went a couple years ago. 

Blogging
I've been thinking a lot about blogging, and writing, and photography and small businesses.  I'm not sure where it's all going, but I'm enjoying and thinking.

It's Spring!
I feel this tremendous energy developing as the days get longer, more sunny days, so much is in bloom.  It's time to plant! And plan. And yeah.

Swimming
I've been setting personal best times.  It's really kind of exciting.  I don't think I'm peaking yet either, from the new techniques I've been using.  I'm trying some new things, and it's paying off.  It's still raw, but it's working!!  I've hit some good (for me) times in 25 M, 50M, 100M, and 300M.  I do want to work on the longer distances.  Stay tuned.

Finally, the Giants!!
Wow, here we go with another season.  This isn't going to be a slam-dunk season for the Giants, even at this early stage of the season, they've shown some weakness.  Yes, these guys are World Series Champions.  Yet, they have struggles and challenges every day.  Every day!  It's been impressive to see them win more games lately, and come back from deficits to win.  They came so close to sweeping the Diamondbacks.  So so close.  It would have been incredible.  And, not the Giants.  They are earning their 'Torture' stripes again this year.  This is a big week.  Playing the Rockies, in Denver, and the Rocks are red red hot.  Already 4 games up, and have won 12 of their first 15 games.  WOW!

Try this link I keep popping in here and there.  It's a fun little feature of blogspot.  It takes my content and formats it in interesting ways.   Try the different options on the top right.  Let me know what you think!

Fruit Trees budding!

It's just a cherry tree, agreed.  Both my cherries were said to have died.  We did a lot of landscaping, and it was particularly close to the cherries.  It was a repeat of the original landscaping in the backyard.  We had a mature cherry, exactly where this one is, and it died.  My gardener said cherries have particularly sensitive roots.  So, he was our casualty.  We replanted 2 more last year, apparently they need each other to pollinate.   Anyways, we did a bunch more terracing work, and the cherries looked like they died.  All the leaves fell off prematurely.  I had the landscaper look at them, and my gardener.  They both said the top one was dead, and the lower one might make it, but could be dead too.  So, it's Spring, and everything started blooming.  Then, I noticed the lower one had some life, and started blooming.  A week or two later, and boom, the upper one starts showing life.  It's so exciting to see him bloom, his demise was greatly exaggerated, to coin a phrase.  :-)

Up front is the Bada Bing cherry, and below is the apricot.  This cherry was said to have a chance.  He bloomed first, and that in itself was great to see.  Below that, the apricot is growing exceptionally fast.  Last year, it's first season, it produced about a dozen apricots, incredibly delicious.  This year it's so much bigger already.  Almost like a vine in the way it grows.  I am doing a little espalier to it.

Here's the pear, on the other side of the yard.  His second year.  He didn't produce fruit last year, but sure looks like he might this time.  Notice the concrete bench.  Still, work to finish around the garden.

That's the Pink Lady apple, with the Meyer lemon in the background.  Yes, this is the one I added, even after having already purchased 3 other apples.  I didn't want to regret not having it.  I've been getting these from our CSA, and they are incredibly delicious.

This is the 'lower' garden.  I just added this terrace.  So far, there's lots of grass and weeds growing down there, but the soil is awesome, and easy to pull the weeds.  We planted closest is the fig, then peach, then nectarine, then plum and 2 apples.  :-)

Chana Masala

See the steam rising?  Chana Masala

This is last night's dinner I've been wanting to make for a couple days. Kirsty, Kathy and I made Chana Masala, Indian Rice Pudding, and you can see the chard, rice and avocados. We also had delicious huge artichokes too, that we ate with meyer lemon juice and mayonnaise dip, and a horseradish mayo dip.

The recipe is from Molly Wizenberg, A Homemade Life.  She's also the author of a food blog, Orangette.  I started looking at her blog, but still need to spend time on it to comment.  I like the book though, the recipes in general are simple and the ones I've tried are tasty.  I like her writing style too.  It's a bit more sophisticated than mine I would say, but gives that personal closeness feeling.

Let's get right to the recipe, and our little adaptations.

1/4 cup olive oil (I used less, but more than I would have used intuitively.)
1 medium onion, chopped (I had a huge onion, and used half, next time, I would use it all)
2 medium garlic cloves, minced (I was out, so skipped this, yes, add next time)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds (I used 1 tsp cumin powder, then added 1 tsp cumin seeds when I found we had some, and it was not too much)
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander (Didn't have, so didn't add.  I think more spices would be better, next time, add)
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (I think I used 1/2 tsp)
1 teaspoon garam masala, plus more for serving (really, this is what got me going on the whole recipe)
3 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed under the side of a knife (I used powder, which is a big compromise.  Cardamom is expensive, but I want to try it whole, next time.  My sister said they would just snack on it in Honduras.)
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
Water
One 28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
1 tablespoon cilantro, coarsely chopped, and more for serving (I used fresh Italian parsley, it's what I had in the garden, and it tasted great.  I think, use what you have)
Pinch of cayenne or red pepper flakes, or more to taste - I did a pinch of cayenne, which was too subtle.  I would add a big pinch next time
Two 15 ounce cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/3 to 1/2 cup plain yogurt (not low fat or no fat, and it's optional) 
A few lemon wedges (optional for serving, but I would say it was a great addition) 

Serves 4

Pour the olive oil into a pan or dutch oven and warm over medium heat.  Add onions.  Molly makes a big deal about cooking down the on onions, to get them to caramelize.  Mine seemed to brown, more than anything, but I got them pretty brown, and agree, it would add a really nice sweet flavor.

Reduce heat, add garlic, cumin seeds, coriander, ginger, garam masala, cardamom, and salt.  Stir constantly until fragrant and toasty, about 30 seconds.  Molly says add 1/4 cup of water to get all the brown bits from the bottom.  I had so much oil from the beginning, I added some water, but just for the process.  Cook until the water is evaporated completely.  Pour in the juice from the can of tomatoes.  She says, just break the tomatoes with your hands.  We blended in the mixer.  I think either are fine.

Raise the heat to medium, and bring to a gentle boil, then turn it down to a simmer.  Add the cilantro and cayenne, and cook down about 5 minutes.  Finally, add the chickpeas and cook another 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add 2 tablespoons of water, and cook for another 5 minutes more.  Molly mentions the process of adding water and cooking down, concentrates the flavor and makes the chickpeas more tender (and toothsome?!?)

Finally, serve with a dollop of yogurt, or add in.  You can also skip the yogurt and squeeze lemon on top.  I did both, add yogurt and then added lemon.  Sprinkle with the garam masala and chopped cilantro.

Jib Jab
My sister is allergic to onions and garlic, so we made two batches actually.  The one in the top of the picture is with onions, and the closer one below, is without.  Essentially, the lower one, we started by cooking the spices in the olive oil.  Pretty much everything else is the same.  You can also see the chard down in front, and we served with white rice, up top.

Sorry, sissy, with onions does taste better.  I think somehow we cooked it down more too, with the adding water, reduce cycles.  I think that actually somehow sweetened the tomatoes.  Regardless, the dish is so delicious, and as much as it sounds complicated, it isn't.  Pretty much start to finish is about 45 minutes.  Give or take.

I read Molly's book, A Homemade Life, da da da, and by the end, I really enjoyed it.  The recipes start from fairly mundane, potato salad, to the last one, a chocolate cake, specifically the recipe she made for her wedding cake, 27 times or something like that, for her wedding party.  She calls it Winning Hearts and Minds Cake and its kind of how I feel about food.  It really doesn't stand alone.  To me, it's all about sharing it, who you celebrated with, who you cooked with, who you ate with, the whole experience. Where you got the recipe, the ingredients, everything. Just hanging out.  Cooking.  Brewing.  Steeping.  Simmering.  It's food, but moreso, people, friends.  Family.

My sister, gave me the book to read, because of my blog.  The Chana Masala recipe stuck out in my mind, because of the garam masala spice.  I had never heard of it, so I was curious.  I think I mentioned it to Kath, and she had some, and brought it over, so we could make it. 

Back to the Masala.  This is a great recipe to make, and have in the fridge for the next few days.  Molly says it gets even better the second day.  I can imagine.

This was my plate, with onions.  Also, I squeezed lemon on everything.

Last bit of Jib Jab
You'll likely see more use of meyer lemons in the near future.  Our tree is full, and to be honest, there's not too much I use the lemons for today, but my daughter, mom and my sis especially love them and seem to use them all the time.  So, anyways, I am on the lookout for more meyer lemon recipes.  If you have a keeper, and want to share, send it along.

Cranberry Pecan Meyer Lemon Scones

Okay, this is something I made a long time ago, and I am getting
so many requests for the recipe, I am posting it here, so everyone
can get it. Okay, fine, I had one request, but I did want to post
it anyway. They were good, just probably not on my New Years diet plan...

Oven: 375 degrees F bake 15 minutes, use parchment paper

Glaze:
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp meyer lemon juice (if you have other lemons, you may have to cut down. These have a lighter, sweeter flavor than the std commercial ones.

Scones
3 c all purpose flour
1 c sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp meyer lemon zest, finely grated
3/4 c (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted chilled butter (or salted, but cut down salt)
2 c fresh cranberries (you can substitute dried at 1 cup)
1/2 c pecans, coarse chopped
1/2 c skim milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Mix together really well-flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, lemon zest in large bowl.
Chop up butter into small chunks, and mix in the flour mixture with your fingers (or pastry cutter). Work it until the dough turns to a corn-meal-type consistency. Then add cranberries and pecans, lightly blend until distributed. Add milk and 1 Tbsp lemon juice. Mix together with fork, until dough comes together in a large clump,
and add additional milk if needed. Roll into a ball, then flour the counter and roll
out. I cut with a round cookie cutter, around 3 inch diameter. Lay out on parchment paper, and bake for 15 minutes, until lightly brown. What I do is, half way through the baking, pull them out and glaze them. If you glaze too early, the glaze kind of burns on the cookie sheet and around the scone edges. Not a big deal, but you can avoid by glazing after 10 minutes or so. I also add more glaze once they come out of the oven.