Tigress’ Can Jam | The Ballad of The Blood Orange Marmalade

consider me your cautionary tale.

It all started with massive performance anxiety.  I was feeling a bit intimidated.  Before I’d even begun, I was feeling like whatever I was going to do wouldn’t to be good enough or interesting enough.  Uggghhhhh!!!!! Where did the giddy go?  These self-inflicted wounds are BOOOORRiNnnnggg.

Wallflowers at the Organic Blood Orange Dance
Someone else's trash is my What? Really? Thx!

I took the Just Go approach.  Every single cookbook owned and borrowed was perused for tips, tricks and ideas.  Why not just go trad with my ’53 edition of The Joy of Cooking?  From there it was pretty easy to decide to do plain ol’ Blood Orange Marmalade.  Simple.  Simple.  Wait.  Irma and I are going to make this crazy complicated, aren’t we?

I adapted the recipe, scroll all the way down...

Follow directions?  I pretty much followed Irma S. Rombaur’s recipe for Orange, Lemon And Grapefruit Marmalade up until the point it said cook the fruit mix in batches.  Really, I did the whole soaking fruit thing.  Overnight.  For Real.

Remember up there I said up til the point… Well, I cooked it.  And kept cooking it because there was so much of it and it wouldn’t spoon or saucer test well.  At some point, I know it was hours later, I said to heck with it and thought it might set up if I went ahead and processed it.

I’m a bit of a Weck person.  I’m a Weck person and this was my first time with the water bath.  Oh, bubbles, how you scared me.  I did lose a jar midway through.  I was kinda wild to see pulp just appear in the water.

Instead of getting weepy,  I took out the offending jar and stuck in a spoon and almost cried.  It was good.  Loose and syrupy, but good.

I finished processing the other jars.  Let them cool.  I just waited to see what the next day would bring.  The next day brought just as much movement in the jar.

I looked around for ways to save my marmalade.  There it was on p.85 of Anne V. Nelson’s The New Preserves.  For every 2 cups of fruit goo add 1 tablespoon of commercial lemon juice.

I pulled the seal on all the jars. Measured and dumped back in the pot.  Added the lemon juice.  Cooked until the spoon test looked right.  Processed and waited.

Oh, what a good morning can bring.  Blood Orange Marmalade and plain yogurt.  Bliss. That simple.

It was sweet and tart.  Smooth, with hints of texture.  The bits of rind really were a candied surprise.  I enjoyed the Blood Orange Marmalade with yogurt a bit more than the pita.  The fresh, cool tang of the yogurt lifted the marmalade and tempered the sweetness.  Twas quite good.

ahhh, exclamation point eating!

So where’s the adapted recipe?  I could just say since I didn’t do it right, why would you want it?  Well, the truth is… I forgot to write it down.  Next month, I promise?

where are my manners? | i thought you should meet

i brought home the wallflowers from the blood orange dance and they just make my heart sing.

Look what I got from my first Farmers’ Market visit of 2010.  Spinach, Swiss Chard, Tomatoes, Lemongrass, Onions and the reason for a weekend full of joy, Blood Oranges.

I got them from two different organic stalls.  One had pretty, pretty citrus.  The other, ummm, not so much.  But, there was something about my sweet wallflowers.  They were recently picked and dirty.  There was still part of the stem attached.  I was smitten.  I don’t know if i would have brought them home from a store like that.

Isn’t it sad how we are taught to judge produce?  It has to pass the shiny new car test.  Have you smelled some of that beautiful fruit at the store?  What do you mean you can’t smell anything?  Really? Each and every piece has to be spectacular.  How real or natural is that?

It’s got to look like what we think its supposed to look like, but what does it taste like?  And really does everything have to taste exactly the way it tasted before? I’m okay with it not.  As long as it’s full of personality.  A good one.

well, she's the only "pretty" one

Man, I am still feeling up my ugly blood oranges.  I can’t stop smelling them.  I know I’m supposed to be using them for the Can Jam, but I had to have my first taste of the season.  Okay, tastes, plural.  Yes, I ate a few.  Couldn’t stop myself.  Two were the deepest burgandy.  The other was flecked with different shades of orange and red.  It’s like each bit of pulp was given the choice of what flag to fly.

So, what am I going to do with them?  I think I’m going to go unbelievably lo-fi with it.  The ones I ate had most amazing flavor.   I think I just want to showcase that.  We’ll see.

I’m so glad I started playing around this early in the season.  I’m going to find as many ways as I can to preserve what really has become my favorite fruit.  I want the rest of the year filled with its brilliance.

Can you tell I dig blood oranges?  Don’t get me started talking about cheese.  I can’t even keep it in the house.

So, tell me, what cha got in the pot?

Nikki♥

giggly and screechy | the can jam

this is going to be fun!

I’m about to head out to the farmers’ market in my neighborhood for the first time in over a month.  I’m so excited to see what they’ve got. I can’t wait to pile all that goodness on the table.

I’m a bit giggly because I’m participating in Tigress’ Can Jam.  Each month this year, we’re going to focus on preserving.  We’re turning our attention to good food and to traditions that are truly local and global.

In P & K's Yard

I feel lucky to not only making connections to long gone relatives and ancestors, but to the family members that are here and getting older.  I get to make new memories, too.  And share them with you.

So, here’s the jumpy part.  I’m eight days in and I haven’t the slightest idea what I’m going to do.  This month the spotlight is on citrus.  This should be easy, right.  I live in California.  Well, I want blood oranges.  I need blood oranges.  Don’t you see I’m blinded by my blood orange lust.

I haven’t come across any yet.  That could change today.  Or I could just get on with it.  Which is what I’m going to do.  I’ve got today and Hollywood on Sunday.  This weekend will be the start of the citrus days.  Or the continuation of the citrus days.  Tigress must have been reading my mind.  I’ve been super citrused for the last couple of weeks.

Time to get the tote bag and camera.  I’m coming back with something fun.  I promise.

Nikki♥