I found this wonderful recipe for Marmalade in a woman's magazine or is it Jam? I thought I'd give it a try. It said "Quick" and I'm all for that! The recipe called for Tangelo's but I thought I'd try to use Clementines instead since I so love those juicy little oranges. (FYI, no I did not add wine.)
The ingredients were simple enough
8 to 10 small fruits
1 granny smith apple
1 vanilla bean (I used 1tsp vanilla)
4 cups Sugar
3/4 c water
Put all ingredients in a dutch oven or large cooking pot and bring to a boil. While this is working cut the rind of the fruit in skinny strips and add to the pot. Cook on low for an hour or so. Your waiting for the mixture to thicken and cook off most of the water. Then remove the vanilla bean and the apple pieces. Let cool for an hour and put in jars.
The nice thing is this recipe does not make a huge batch and the jars will store in the fridge for up to three weeks. I was so happy with the flavor of the Jam/ Marmalade. Sweet and very tasty.
While I was making my Jam/Marmalade the UPS guy came to my door with a package from my sister. She lives out of the country and has been visiting with me for the winter and will not be here for my birthday. Well my birthday is not until April and since we have not been together for my birthday in many years she wanted to get me something special.. I was so surprised to see a beautiful Angel come out of the box. I just love it and it's proudly displayed on my mantel. She said it was for out back on the deck, but no this sweet thing will stay in the house where it's safe from the elements.
I hope everyone is getting their lives back to normal now that the Holidays are over. You will have to admit we all get into a tail spin rushing around to get it all done. Well this past week I've been taking it easy and doing a bit of crochet. This afghan is for my daughter #1. She is the one who bought her first house this past year and I know she will appreciate it. The pattern is called "A Mile a minute" and it sure was.. did not take me much time to whip it together.
The afghan was done in strips and simply sewn together.
For some odd reason we went up to the middle 80's here in Florida. Our weather is odd to say the least but it was a good day for me to get out in the sunshine and blow all the fall leaves that have been covering my grass. The heat felt wonderful really.
Our area has a epidemic of the flu bug going around and I do hope the Flu shot that I had last month works?
I'll be making a drink tomorrow to help ward it off. This drink may sound ucky but the flu will run from your body screaming, fast! Give it a try if you start to feel the fever and shivers coming on.
Get equal amounts of these items. Weigh them on the grocery store scale ~ it doesn’t have to be exact, but balanced. I also recommend getting organic veggies if you have a source. You simply have a few shots of this drink each day. Give it to the whole family.
1 part Garlic
1 part White Onion (white ones are usually the hottest)
1 part Ginger
1
part Horse Radish Root (I got mine at Whole Foods. Most grocery stores
will carry horse radish root, it is usually near the ginger and looks
like a branch off of a tree)
1 part Hot Peppers (Cayenne, Jalapeno, Habanero ~ I used jalapeno because I had them in the garden)
1
Jar of Raw, Unbleached, Non-distilled Apple Cider Vinegar with the label (Braggs, Eden, Spectrum ~ available at most grocery stores and
health food markets)
Don't let the sound of this drink scare you, beats getting sick in the bed for 14 days don't you think?
This past week I've been a bit concerned about my Coast Guard Son, Tom.
As most of you know by my past posts he lives up in Juneau, Ak. He is career Coast Guard and he and his family live in the cold and snow, loving it. Well his car had a malfunction of sorts and being there is no dealer for his car, an Audi S4 he had to send it to Seattle for repair. The car is only two years old so it was shipped by the dealer. Tom had to fly to Seattle and drive the car home in the middle of Alaska winter. He said this morning it was a frozen tundra for the entire drive. He did have to take a three day ferry ride also.
I was worried about Tom and told his wife he needed to get a Land Rover or Jeep for the area. "Ha ha", she said and sent me this video advertisement of his car.
Ok, I gave in and now know this is the car for him to be diving up there!
Tom was thrilled with the drive because that's the kind of guy he is, adventure is his game. He sent a photo of his dirty car from the slush and snow and ice while he stayed the night in some small town. Another 500 miles and he would be back home in Juneau.
Over the past 20 years he has had my poor head spinning with his adventures but I'll tell you, "I'm so proud of him". As a mom all I can do is grin and bear it.
Tom now has started another adventure into the world of photography. See his site below.
