February 1, 2010

Winter Nest

The rain has been pouring down here for a good portion of the last couple weeks. This year, for the first time in quite a while, I’ve been enjoying it tremendously. It’s good weather for nesting. We’ve done a bit of re-arranging the furniture, making a cozy office/studio space for me so my creative pursuits aren’t spread all over the house, but are instead corralled to one room. Makes the rest of the house feel more open and organized.
Of course, now that I have lots of space to be crafty, I’m finding I’d rather be in the kitchen. It’s citrus time and I’ve had an abundance of oranges and Meyer lemons, too many to eat or make lemonade (besides, it’s the wrong season for ice cold lemonade, brrr), so I’ve made orange-lemon marmalade and lemon bars. Let me tell you, they’re both so easy I don’t know why I haven’t made more before now.
Marmalade is nothing more than slices of citrus fruit, sugar, and water. It takes a while to cook to the gelling point, but oh, is it worth it. And lemon bars! I had no idea how easy these are to make. I’m not a baker by any means and if I can turn out a pan of something this yummy, well, anyone can. Really. You can find the recipe here.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cara,
I enjoy reading about your jam/marmalade making. I've only done it a couple of times. I made peach jam with a friend a few years ago. We drove up to the mountains to buy the peaches and then turned them into something delicious. Enjoy!
Bella

Christine said...

You live in a great area. Love every like of citrus.
Enjoy them for me, will you?

Amber said...

I can't wait for our little lemon tree to produce! I moved it into my bathroom when it got so cold out, because it looked sad. Now my bedroom and bathroom smells like blossoms. ;)

ox :)