Lol. I saw this at World Market, and I was so tempted.
Temptation resisted, but I will look forward to living vicariously through all who procured one.
2 Likes
I don’t have a WM near me anywhere but one thing I would buy instantly if I did was the “mid-century modern gingerbread house.” I could have it shipped, but the reviews say it often arrives broken…
2 Likes
It technically starts 4 Sundays before Xmas Day.
Old school Christians (my Grandparents would have done this, Catholics and Greek Orthodox) would have been fasting for the 4 weeks preceding Xmas and avoiding sweets, so this idea of daily treats leading up to Xmas is sort of a commercial twist.
I remember Advent Calendars that just had little pictures behind each door that opened, when I was a kid, then a chocolate one from Germany , bought at a German deli, by the time I was 7.
My cousin sent us a fancy olive oil Advent Calendar from Williams & Sonoma this year.
5 Likes
Our old time Advent calendar (just one, reused each year) was the one with the cute little picture behing each day and by the time I was in junior high, I had them all memorized. With kids one year I bought the the Lego Advent Calendar. Oh boy, I should have bought two; they fought so much over the pieces for the resulting object at the end.
3 Likes
I am going to try a cranberry chutney recipe I just heard about on the radio (NPR). Susan Stamberg was talking to Madhur Jaffrey about cranberries and Ms. Jaffrey mentioned her chutney. Now, Ms. Stamberg has a piece on NPR each year about making Mama Stamberg’s Cranberry Relish before Thanksgiving. It looks like Pepto Bismol. Not for me, it may be an aquired taste for others.
If I like this cranberry chutney, I might make batches and give it away as gifts.
2 Likes
I used to make a lot of different jams but in the last few years I’ve only made apricot. I never use pectin and I believe the method I use came from Helen Witty.
1 cut up apricots and mix with sugar and lemon juict. Let sit overnight and then bring to a boil for one minute. Let sit overnight, strain out the fruit and boil again for one minute. Then add the fruit and boil for one minute, and fill and seal the clean jars. Turn upside down for 5 minutes and then right side up. You are done.
In Italy cherries are ciliegie, but sour cherries are amarena. TJs recently had canned amarena for about 5 minutes. Amarena do not have the natural pectin that cherries have. I used the Martha Stewart recipe for sour cherry jam and it worked. I have used it for a tart filling.
3 Likes
I love letting things sit overnight!
Candied kumquats, recipe from Leite’s Culinaria. This has a half vanilla bean scraped into the sugar, honey mixture. First time making this recipe, will give it a week to see how it tastes.
8 Likes
Hey, i made a jar of clementine jam yesterday. 640 grms of peeled clemintine being careful to remove the membranes and chopped in blender, 240 grms of sugar, 2 cinnamon sticks, juice of a lemon. Let it sit for about an hour. Bring to boil for 5 minutes, let is cool repeat two more times. Then boil to reach temp. 210f. I just jarred it and put it the fridge. Honestly, its not much different from apricot jam.
7 Likes
Cherries in Pastis, David Lebovitz newsletter.
When I first saw this recipe last June, my immediate reaction was hmmm…unusual combination. Given that I like both cherries and pastis, I made a batch and then had to dole them out very carefully as we really enjoyed them. These are really delicious ( assuming you care for Pastis) and when I saw a 2 lb. box at Costco, I decided to ignore the fact that they had traveled from Chile. I can now be a little more generous in my servings, the remaining ones from June are still delicious. The syrup is a lovely deep red.
Pictures were impossible to capture the color of the cherries, David’s pics are wonderful!
ETA That Weck jar held the whole pound of pitted cherries, save one for quality control.
8 Likes
Raspberry jam , 40% sugar, pinch citric acid, a few drops of vanilla. Need more for Victoria sponge cakes!
9 Likes
Beautiful.
Cherry pairs very well with all things Anise/Licorice/Fennely
1 Like
So I found our😂!
1 Like
The yearly batch of Seville orange marmalade. Lots of chopping and simmering, but the flavour is outstanding. The bitter hits of finely shredded orange peel are a delicious counterpoint to the sweet jelly.
4 1/2 pounds of oranges:
Just the outer peel without the pith remains in the marmalade.
Pith and seeds bundled in cheesecloth, simmered for 2 hours in a mixture of juice, water and outer peel.
Cloth bag removed after being squeezed out. A great amount of slippery pectin is contained in the pith, so that gets added back into the mixture. Sugar and lemon juice are added, then boiled until setting point, around 221 F.
Water bath canned for 10 minutes. Left to sit overnight, and it’s ready to enjoy. 24 one cup (250 ml) jars.
8 Likes
Beautiful!
That looks 
!
I need to do that. Or something.
Wow I wish I had access to Sevilles!
Thanks for the kind comments. Sevilles can be tricky to source. Only one store in my small city carried them this year, and they were $4 per pound, which seems the going rate. The season, also, is so short I have to scramble to find them before they’re gone. I used to make a whole raft of jams and marmalades, but over the years, this is the only one that I have to make because I cannot find a commercial or even small batch equivalent. If I make it to old age, I’ll be one of those craggy dinosaurs still waddling up to the stove to make marmalade. LOL I wonder if I’ll make it to some Netflix feature, maybe Foods of the Ancients or Artisinal Mummies: Are They Still Jammin? I’ll be buried with my wooden spoon.
6 Likes
Do you not find the Robertson’s Seville orange marmalade near you? The McKay brand doesn’t contain enough fruit.
