Almond Crumble

Dedicated readers and faithful family members may remember that a long time ago, I made almond milk.

Recently, I have started making it again, as Julian has decided to cut dairy out of his diet (he is fairly sure he is mildly lactose intolerant). 

I have simplified the recipe for almond milk even further:

1. SOAK: 1 cup of natural almonds overnight in plenty of water
2. BLEND: Drain, rinse, and blend in fresh water (a few cups)
3. STRAIN: Though a muslin cloth (a clean hankie works perfectly), add water to make volume anywhere between 1 to 2 litres

Easy peasy!

The only problem is that making almond milk at least once a week leaves me with lots of almond meal. As in, mountain of meal.

I know there are lots of recipes for using almond meal all over the internet, but my almond meal is quite coarse (a stick blender only gets so far). While I think it would still work for the various recipes, I have another issue: lots of these recipes call for ingredients that my budget frowns upon. Glares, even.

So, here is a quick, easy and versatile recipe:

ALMOND CRUMBLE!

Now, first things first: after making the almond milk, I usually toast the almond meal a little to dry it out. I try to get it fairly close to its original dry weight (1 cup of almonds is 150grams - after soaking though, it can be close to 300grams). I recommend NOT skipping this step. Also, it smells nice.

Now that you have your lightly toasted almond meal, we are ready to begin making our almond crumble!

Gather together these ingredients, bearing in mind that this is more a guideline rather than a strict recipe where things MUST be certain amounts:

• almond meal (approx 150g/1 cup)
• desiccated coconut (approx 70g/0.5 cup)
• brown sugar (approx 40-70g depending on sweetness desired - 0.3 t0 0.5 cup)
• butter (approx 70grams - I like a decent amount, as I "taste test")
• Other indredients such as finely chopped walnuts, or spices such a cinnamon

Stick all the ingredients in a bowl and use your fingers to rub in the butter. Have numerous samples! Yum! When the butter is all rubbed in, the consistency should resemble course breadcrumbs.

Now that you have made the basic crumble, there are various uses for it. So far I have used it as a topping for apple crumble and for apricot crumble...

... just bear in mind that in tends to burn rather easily, so keep an eye on it, and perhaps cover it with foil for part of the baking time.

I have also used it as the filling for butterscotch spirals - seriously good! Make a batch of scone dough*, roll it into a rectangle, spread with creamed brown sugar and butter, top with crumble mixture, roll up, slice, place in ring tin and back in hot oven.

*I use a basic scone dough recipe from the Central Cookery Book (a Tasmanian classic). This recipe looks similar, though add in a teaspoon of sugar for sweet scones (or just put in a pinch of salt). A lot of scone recipes use far too much sugar. 

Any other ideas how this crumble could be used or adapted? Leave a comment below so I can try it!

And follow me on pinterest - I repin lots of creative things :D

Snickerdoodles!

It's been, I think, about two weeks since I actually made these snickerdoodles. I took photos of them, however, and I don't want them to go to waste.

I've been wanting to make snickerdoodles for years and years, and so when I finally took the plunge the poor cookies had a lot to live up to.

Did they meet my expectations?

YES! In more than one way, too.

They are delish, but they are also so easy to make. Best of all, they don't need any special ingredients. Perfect.

I used this snickerdoodle recipe, but added a little cinnamon into the dough, too. I also cooked it as a slightly higher temperature (about 180C). This time, I cooked them perhaps a minute or two too long, because they should be moister and chewier than this, but they were still wonderful.  

This one is bleeding :(

The dough is like heaven, too! Ah! Couldn't stop eating it!

I made Almond Milk

Well, I can honestly say I never thought I'd make almond milk. Everything changed when I read this post about a sleeping potion late last night.

I followed links from that post to this post which has a basic recipe for almond milk.

I was inspired. I happened to have almonds (which is actually quite amazing). So I immersed a cup of almonds in water and left them to soak overnight.

I slept in, so they soaked for a very, very long time.

Early this afternoon, I drained and rinsed the almonds, added them to 4 cups of cold water (adding a dash of salt and a teaspoon of vanilla extract) and blended them up until it was as smooth as I could get it.

I lined my sifter with muslin (doubled over), and put it over a bowl. I poured the mixture into the strainer, and delighted as completely smooth almond milk filled the bowl, leaving all the pulp in the strainer. 

Then I took pictures and wrote this post.

Does anyone else make their almond milk? I didn't realise how easy it was!

ETA: I forgot to say what I thought of it! Oops!

My husband says it reminds him a lot of soy milk. It's strange because it's the mouth-feel is of water, but it looks like milk and it tastes like almonds. I'm wondering about other methods of making it and if they will make a creamier product.

I think I could learn to really love it.

Brownies: A Procedural Text

During my last teaching prac, I taught a unit on procedural texts. (What are they?) They're texts that give a procedure, such as instructions, recipes, directions and so on. 

One of the procedural texts the class worked with was a recipe for marshmallows. 

Brownies, however, are much more awesome than marshmallows, and I really wanted to make brownies right now. Also, I want to try to post everyday while on holidays, so all these things have combined to make a post containing a procedural text on how to make Brownies! (I thought about annotating the recipe to show elements of a procedural text, but I value my time too much.)

This is my favourite brownies recipe: it is easy, the ingredients are usually in the cupboard or fridge, it's chewy, not too rich and it works every time. It just tastes so good, especially with a cup of chai tea!

BROWNIES

What you need:

200grams butter

1/2 cup cocoa

2 cups brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 cup plain flour

2 eggs

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

What to do:

1. Turn the oven to 180C and line a 30x20cm tin with baking paper (or grease it).

2. In a medium sized saucepan, put the butter and cocoa. Melt it gently and make sure you don't boil it.

3. Add the sugar and the vanilla, and stir it in well.

4. Take the mixture off the heat and sift in the flour. Stir it in well.

5. Add the eggs, beating them in really well.

6. If using them, add the chopped walnuts and stir them in,

7. Spread the mixture in the tin. Bake for 20-25minutes.

This brownie does not need icing, but if you really want to, ice it with your favourite chocolate icing. Alternatively, dust it with icing sugar.

To be honest, I don't even dust it with icing sugar, as I eat it while it's still warm. It's that good!

Pasta with Tomato, Butter and Onion Sauce

This is such a delicious and simple recipe. It is really economical too. And it tastes like summer.

You need:

2x400g tins of whole peeled tomotoes

70g butter

1 onion, peeled and halved

Pasta (400 or 500grams) - I like spiral pasta for this sauce

Put the tomatoes, butter and onion halves in a medium saucepan. Simmer on low for 45 minutes, occassionally stirring and crushing the tomotoes against the sizes of the saucepan. Start cooking the pasta when the sauce has about 15 minutes left to cook. Once the sauce is cooked, remove the onion and mix the sauce into the drained pasta. Serve with cheese on top.

Picture: not really worth a picture... it tastes like summer, but it just looks boring.

Eggwhites Everywhere

The downside to making icecream all the time are the large quantities of eggwhites leftover (and getting fat). There are only so many times I can make meringues before I tire of them.

I will conquer this!

This post is just as much for my benefit as it is for all of you who make recipes that only call for eggyolks. I put out a call on Ravelry for recipes, and did a google search... and was surprised at what turned up.

EGGWHITE RECIPE RESOURCES

1. Chocolate macaroons, Financiers, Almond tuiles

2. This site has links to over a dozen eggwhite recipes, including cakes, icing, Souffléd Egg White Balls with Red Bean Paste (interesting!), pavlova and more macaroons. And a volcano!

3.  Egg-White Crepes. These sounds like a really yummy and simple dessert or snack to make.

4. Curried Eggwhites. 

I don't know why I didn't think of this before, having made curried eggs with whole eggs many, many times. Here's the recipe: Scramble your egg whites, put them into a bowl when cooked. Add in some curry powder (Keens in Australia) and mix it through with a fork. (I would probably also add some mayonaisse or margarine). Serve as a sandwich spread.

5. Here is a Swiss Coconut Macaroon recipe:
250 coconut (shredded or ground), 200g sugar, 3 egg whites - beat the egg whites until stiff, mix in coconut and sugar, put make little mounds with 2 teaspoons and put on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 150 deg. C for about 30 until golden
They stay nice and moist in the middle and taste great. If you want to use 4 egg whites, just increase coconut and suger by 1/3 

6. Forgotten cookies!
Preheat oven to 400F (200C)
Beat 4 egg whites, 1 1/3c sugar, splash lemon juice (or cream of tartar) till stiff peaks form. Fold in 1C chocolate chips (you can add nuts or use m&ms). Drop by spoonfulls on parchment lined cookie sheets. Put in oven, turn off oven, leave cookies in overnight (or at least 4 hours).
Delicate, light, delicious cookies. 

7. Conan's Top 10 Egg White Recipes (this is where number 4 comes from)

8. Freeze them! Ice-cube trays are great for this, as you can freeze them seperately.

To finish off, what do you think of this tasty tidbit, told by a person on Ravelry:

"When I was going through culinary school... we were told that some of the best and oldest bakeries in Paris still used egg whites from containers they’d kept in the fridge, or really cold storage, for years."

Is it just me, or does that sound kinda gross?

Chai Tea Ice Cream Recipe

Earlier this week, inspired by my sister-in-law, I made a chai concentrate. My husband is now slightly addicted to chai tea. Here's the recipe for it if you are interested. It's super easy! We think it would be perfect to take camping, as it doesn't need to be refridgerated and no milk needs to be added. We keep in a jar in the fridge, but I think next time I make it I'll see if I can find a squeezy bottle to keep it in.

Anyway, ice cream!

I have a favourite ice cream recipe, and to this I added the spices used in the chai concentrate and replaced 70ml of the milk with black tea.* The result is a rich (very rich!) ice cream that tastes just like Christmas. Served with cherries (from the freezer, allowed to thaw) it is perfect.

Chai Tea Icecream

(a recipe designed for an ice cream machine)

4 egg yolks

125g castor sugar

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

70ml black tea (cold)*

130ml milk

200ml thickened cream

Put the egg yolks, castor sugar and spices into a bowl and beat them until light and creamy. 

Add in the black tea, milk and cream, and use an electric mixer to whisk everything until smooth.

Get a spoon and eat all the bubbles that have formed on the surface of the mixture, because they are delicious.

Pour the mixture into the ice cream machine and leave it for ages and ages, until the paddle moves back and forth a couple of times. (The addition of the water may mean that the paddle will never move back and forth: mine didn't reach this stage before I put it in the freezer, but it was light and creamy and holding it's shape.)

Serve (with cherries if possible) and enjoy!

*Next time, I would heat a little of the milk and let the black tea brew in that, allowing it to cool before adding it to the mixture.

Choc Coated Anzac Slice

On the 25th of April it is Anzac Day. My dad fought in the Vietnam War and my grandfathers, great-grandfathers and other family members have fought in several other wars, including WW1 and WW2. War has had a big impact on my life, even though I come from a very sheltered country. I grew up hearing war stories and being so very thankful that my great-grandfather, my grandfathers and my father survived, not to mention great-uncles and so forth - I only know of one who died, a brother of my great-grandfather who died in WW1.

 

As a memorial of sorts, I would like to share this recipe with you. I first found this recipe on the Goddess's Kitchen about two years ago. Its original name is 'Afternoon Tea Slices' but I like to call it 'Chocolate Coated Anzac Slice'. Those of you who have made anzac biscuits will see from the list of ingredients why I call it this. I have made it quite a few times! It is the slice pictured in my current blog header.

Though the ingredients are the same, my method is slightly different and I use less chocolate. I hope you like it!

Chocolate Coated Anzac Slice

125g butter
2 tblsp golden syrup
1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
1 tblsp hot water

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup desiccated coconut

200g milk chocolate, melted (or dark chocolate)

1. Preheat oven to 160c. Line a 20cm x 30cm slice tin with baking paper. Grease if you want to (I never grease it and it does not stick).

2. In a medium or large microwave proof bowl, put the butter and golden syrup and microwave until completely melted.

3. In a small cup or jug, mix the bicard and water. Add to golden syrup mixture and mix together.

4. Add oats, flour, sugar and coconut to the golden syrup, butter and bicarb mixture and mix well.

5. Press the mixture into the slice tin. Bake for 20 mins or until golden. 

6. Cool in tin. Pour over the melted chocolate* and leave until set. Cut into squares.

*Melting chocolate in the microwave: do this very carefully, 30 seconds at a time and stirring often with a knife. Make sure there is no water in the bowl or on the knife, and chocolate and water are mutual enemies.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I have been making my own Laundry Detergent for some time now, over a year in fact. If you haven't done this, I really encourage you to give it a go! It is easy and cheap, and works really well. In addition, it only takes about 20 minutes to whiz up.

I am very happy with the results. When I first tried it, my reaction on pulling the clothes out of the machine was "whoa - soft!" My machine is a front-loader, but this powder mix dissolves without any problems. I use white vinegar mixed with a few drops of tree tree oil as a softener - about a tablespoon. The results are heavenly!

I found the recipe on Rhonda's blog, here is a direct link to the post - well worth a visit if you are interested in making your own cleaning products.

I was able to find all of the ingredients at Woolworths. I bought a container to store it in too.
Laundry Detergent (powder)

4 cups grated laundry or homemade soap or soap flakes (Lux)*
2 cups borax
2 cups washing soda

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and store in a plastic container with a lid. Use 2 tablespoons per wash. This powder will not make suds and this is perfectly okay.

This batch lasted me 7 months, at about 1-3 loads a week.

*I used Homebrand laundry soap, which I grated and the whizzed with my stick blender to make it tiny so it would dissolve really easily.

Also, I wrote the ingredients on a label and stuck it to the container - just incase the cat decides to eat it and we have to rush him to the vet... you know... the usual.

Blackberry Jam: A Story of Being Cooked.

The Day We were Put in a Jam (as opposed to a pickle)

Once upon a time, on an island known as Tasmania (famed the world over for apples, cheese and beer) we were growing happily on a thorny bush. One day, when we were big and black and round, a person - you know her as Kathy - came along with an old icecream container and started to pick us, one by one. Plop! Into the container we would go. Some of us were spared the container only to suffer the horror of being put into Kathys mouth and eaten. The indignity of it was almost unbearable. We are only grateful that her niece was absent, otherwise it is doubtful that any of us would have made it into the bucket at all.

Crammed together in the container, we were carried back to Kathys lair. We were tipped into a strange container with holes in it and water was poured all over us. Those of us who had been in the sun only moments earlier were shocked by the coldness that was now bringing our core temperature down to dangerous levels. This was nothing to the torture that was about to be thrust upon us.

We were scooped out of the strange, holey container and thrown into a solid metal one. A white, sand-like substance was tipped on top of us. Then it started to get hot. At first it was pleasant, but as the temperature rose, our comfort level dropped, and we started to sweat. The sand-like substance started to turn into a clear liquid, stained red with our juices. The temperature continued to rise. Some of us were beginning to loose our grasp on reality. A few of us broke down. Literally. 

The temperature was so hot now that we were bouncing and bubbling without control - a foaming, purple mass. Just when we thought we could stand it no longer, the heat subsided. Then, we were falling. We found ourselves in clear containers. We quickly realised that we were trapped, for discs of metal were used to cover over our only possible exit. What is our fate going to be? Is there any hope of rescue?

(A story of jam making, as told by a talkative and rather dramatic blackberry.) 


Three Minute Berry Jam
This recipe is suitable for all sorts of berries, including raspberries and boysenberries.


2 and a 1/2 cups of berries
2 and a 1/4 cups of sugar

Put the berries and the sugar in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Boil briskly three minutes. Pack and seal.
If the fruit is very ripe, a further minute of boiling is desirable.
The jam will appear lightly set at first, but it thickens after a few days of storage.
Due to the quick cooking time, the fruit does not breakdown a great deal. If you want less lumps, use a potato masher to squish and squash the fruit. Do this before bringing it to the boil.
Makes about 2 x 350 millilitre jars (that is, two medium sized jars).


For sterilizing jam jars, go here.

By the way, the blackberries are still imprisoned in the jars... I will rescue them one day. Too bad their visit to toast/scone/waffle heaven won't last long!

Grapefruit Marmalade

(I have made marmalade before, but that was orange and lemon stuff. This lot is grapefruit.)

I have never bought a grapefruit before. I have never tasted it by itself either--part of a mocktail doen't really count, in my opinion. The other day, though, I bought four (YES, FOUR) grapefruits in preperation for a marmalade making frenzy... I ate one at 4:30am the other morning because I couldn't sleep... that left three... that was okay, as I only needed two... for this Grapefruit Marmalade recipe.


The great thing about this recipe is that it is done over two days, which means you can do the first bit in the evening, and the second bit the next morning, rather that have your whole day taken up.

Here is my take on the recipe: I cut up my fruit differently, and I also used an extra cup of sugar. I also don't worry about the waterbath. Scroll down to see how I sterilize jars.

GRAPEFRUIT MARMALADE

2 large, thick-skinned grapefruits.
1 large, thick-skinned lemon.
2 cups of water.
5 cups of white sugar.

1. Peel the fruit. Remove the fleshy white stuff from the peel, so only the peel and pith remain. Slice into thin strips (as thin as you can easity cut), any length you like. Mine varied from 3/4 inch to 1.5 inches.

2. Cut the flesh of the fruit into chunks (or do what I did due to the bitterness of the grapefruit membranes: tear the fruit apart with your fingers, getting all the flesh away from the membranes). Into a large saucepan put the flesh, the sliced rind and the 2 cups of water. Simmer for 10minutes over medium heat.

3. Take of the heat, cover, and leave overnight.

4. The next day, add the 5 cups of sugar to the fruit mix, and put it over moderate heat. Bring to the boil, stirring until all the sugar is dissolved. Using a candy thermometer* continue to boil the mixture until it reaches between 218F and 220F (104C to 105C). Take off the heat, skim off the scum (say "skim off the scum" outloud ten times) and ladle into sterilized jars. Put the lids on.

5. Turn the jars upside down for at least 10 minutes, before turning the right way up again. Use a damp cloth to clean the jars. Lable the jars, remembering to put on the date. If it MUST be used within a few weeks (i.e. if a jar did not seal properly) make a note of that on the ladel too.

You will notice that the original recipe says to process it in a water bath, and advises that you eat the marmalade within 3 weeks if you do not do this. I reckon the marmalade should be fine to keep for months so long as it is in sterilized jars.


HOW TO STERILIZE JARS, KATHY STYLE:

1. Heat oven to 120C (250F).
2. Wash the jars and lids in hot soapy water.
3. Rinse the jars under hot water. Do not dry them.
4. Put a clean teatowel in an oven tray (one with sides, as might be used for a slice): make sure that the teatowel goes up the sides too.
5. Put the rinsed jars on the teatowel, and put the tray with the teatowel and jars in the oven. Leave it in there for at least 10 minutes, getting it out just before the jam/marmalade is ready.

I have used this method for all my jams and marmalades, and have not had any problems.

Here is my cat licking his nose... so cute!!!

*Candy thermometres aren't very expensive to buy. Mine is quite a nice one and it was only about $15 (AU).

Chocolate and Apricot Hot Cross Buns

These hot cross buns are very good, even after spending nearly an hour on this post due to blogger being uncooperative! I found the recipe here but changed it quite a bit. I added chocolate! And apricots! And lemon! And I took out some of their ingredients, such as candied orange peel, orange juice and sultanas. The chocolate bits melt through the dough as you are kneading, making it a lovely dark colour.Instead of making flour paste crosses, I used lemon icing and did the crosses as the final step. This tastes divine (which is appropriate for Easter) and uses the rest of the lemon that provided the rind. Nice and thrifty! (Btw, thrifty has a lovely meaning: careful and diligent. Much nicer than 'frugal'.) Here is the recipe, changed to how I did it (if you want the original recipe, click the link above).

Chocolate and Apricot Hot Cross Buns
Serves 16

Buns
5 cups plain flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tspn dried yeast
1 tspn allspice
1/2 tspn cinnamon
250g chocolate chips (I used an equal amount of milk and dark choc)
100g dried apricots, finely chopped
1 lemon, rind only (save the juice for the icing)
300ml milk
100g butter, chopped
1 egg

Glaze
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tspn allspice
1/4 cup water

Icing for Crosses
1 Tbspn lemon juice
1/4 cup icing sugar

Method
1. Combine flour, sugar, yeast, spices, chocolate, apricot and lemon rind in a large bow.
2. Gently warm milk and butter over a low heat until butter melts and mixture is tepid. Add the egg to the mixture and whick until smooth.
3. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture, add milk mixture and stir together.
4. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until smooth.
5. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.
6. Knock back dough and divide into 16 equal pieces. Knead each piece into a ball, place on a lightly greased tray, cover, and leave until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.
7. Heat oven to 220C. Bake buns for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 200C and bake a further 10 minutes or until golden. (They are ready when they sound hollow when tapped).

Glaze
Combine ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Brush glaze over hot buns.

Icing
Combine ingredients and mix with a knife until smooth. The icing should be of a runny consistency. Put icing in a piping bag (or a plastic sandwich bag with the corner cut off - cut off the corner after the icing is in the bag) and make crosses on the buns.

Transfer the buns to a wire rack to cook. Or just start eating them... Your choice!

Strawberry Jam - Drought Friendly!!!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Strawberry Jam with lots of lumps! My husband is in heaven!
I have made jam quite a few times, but I have never made it without adding water. Well, I am a convert to this method - so easy and so tasty! But what about the water? When you add the sugar to the strawberries and leave it to sit a little while the sugar draws out the water contained in the strawberries - it's an awsome little process called osmosis (this is one of the only things I remember from year 12 biology). You can find the recipe and many others that centre on strawberries here.

A shot of all the water that has been drawn out of the berries.

Just make sure that you use a 1:1 ratio of strawberries and sugar and add some lemon juice or fruit pectin (e.g. Jamsetta) and you are ready to go. The recipe below uses a kilo of sugar and a kilo of strawberries, but when I made it the other day I used 55og strawberries and 500g sugar. You can add less sugar, but sugar is needed for its preserving qualities. Using a 1:1 ratio will mean that this jam will store for at least a year (though I doubt it will last that long!).

STRAWBERRY JAM

1kg Strawberries, chopped into small pieces.
1kg Sugar
Juice of 2 lemons or a packet of fruit pectin

Put the strawberry pieces into a bowl together with sugar and fruit pectin/lemon juice.

Leave the bowl (covered with a towel) in a cool place til the next day (if you are strapped for time, 1 or 2 hours should be sufficient). Stir once in a while.

Boil mixture then simmer for 5 - 10 minutes. Stir frequently. When finished take off the foamy top layer of the mixture.

To test the jam to see if it will set, put a teaspoon of the hot mixture onto a cold plate, if it gels, the jam is ready.

Pour the hot strawberry jam in hot sterilized jars.* Make sure to fill it up to the top. Clean the jars with a damp towel. Close tightly. After 10 minutes turn around and place jars on the lid. Let cool down, turn around again and store.

This would probably make about 4 medium jars of jam. Sterilize 6 to be on the safe side!

*To sterilize jars: wash in hot soapy water; rinse, put in oven heated to 110C - 120C for at least 10min; after 10min turn the oven off but leave the jars in there to keep them hot until you are ready to fill them up.

Sorry about the reflection... but you get the idea: JAM!!!

Interested in making your own laundry detergent? Check out this post from my other blog, Purify.

Orange and Lemon Marmalade

My SIL and I are making hampers for Christmas, as presents for our parents and one or two others. We will be making somewhere between 6 and 10 hampers. The list of things to go in the hampers is long and impressive - jam, chutneys, shortbread, florentines, choc covered with crushed candy cane, knitted/crocheted dishclothes, crocheted market bag (possibly), sets of magnets... you get the idea. We will also be making green shopping bags, which will also act as the hampers. Today, with the hampers in mind, I made marmalade. It took about six hours from start to finish, but I did leave it alone while I made tea. It is really cool!!! Here is the recipe that I used. I ended up using about a cup less of the sugar, as my water, juice and peel mixture reduced to about a third, instead of just to about a half. Also, before slicing the peel, I turned each skin inside out and peeled off the membranes leftover from juicing (some of which went into the "muslin" (gold coloured gauzy stuff) to flavour the mixture). This huge jar is for my MIL, who apparently loves mamalade. I think the long strips of peel look absolutely gorgeous! You can tell I took the photo right after putting the plastic covers on. I have since straightened the rubberbands, but still need to wipe the outsides of the jars.

According to the recipe this will keep for a year unopened. Once opened it will keep in the fridge for a month. I think I will probably be doing another batch of marmalade as this only made 3 jars that I am happy to give as presents. One jar doesn't have enough peel in (the one right at the front), and Julian and I will be eating this ourselves!This was so cheap to make - I really encourage you to try it if you are on a tight budget. These four jars used: 5 oranges (or was it 6 - can't remember anymore!), 2 lemons, water and 1.75 kg sugar (though I used less). Really economical - and one batch could well last you an entire year.