Gardengrl did it!

annie1992

16 years ago

Yes, she did. She and I discussed marmalade more than once, I couldn't understand how she could live in the land of endless citrus and not make marmalade, LOL.

I came home from work today and found a box on my porch. On top of the box was a hand decorated sheet of paper, all glitter and googly eyes and paint. It said "I did it". Huh?

Under the sign were two jars of marmalade, one lemon/lime and one orange. A quick check of the return address showed that it came from Kathy (gardengrl)

It looks delicious, set up perfectly, and best of all, it's made with "local" fruit. Local to Kathy, anyway.

Hooray, Kathy, you did it. I knew you could.

Annie

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (19)

bunnyman
16 years ago
How very cool!

: )
lyra
doucanoe
16 years ago
Yay, Kathy! I love the "googly eyes and glitter" sign, too!

Enjoy it, Annie. If this weather doesn't change soon, it's gonna be a while before we see any fresh, local fruit!

Linda
Related Discussions
Rosemary and Port Fig Jam
Q
Comments (4)
Does sound good - if you like figs. ;) Since figs are one of the few low-acid fruits you do have to take care with recipes for them but with that much lemon juice and the wine this sure "sounds" like it has enough acid in it to make it safe. Let us know how it turns out! Dave
...See More
WANTED: Gardengrl is baaaaaad....
Q
Comments (33)
Great job Kathy!! I love putting together Florida themed packages, there is so much to choose from. As mentioned, RiverRat and I did go shopping at a nice Florida store last year for a package to send to Annie. We came across so great things. Although we passed on the coconut bra.
...See More
cooking with dried beans
Q
Comments (22)
I pick and sort for stuff in my dry beans. Much cleaner then they used to be I've noticed. Used to be a pebble in most every bag but I've not found a rock or dirt clod in years. Still a weed seed now and then. I rinse them to remove dust. Chop up an onion into a pot of water and add the beans. Bring to a boil and then simmer for a couple hours. Got beans! More gas then those that soak them but gas is good for your digestive system. After two hours you have cooked but firm beans. Six or eight hours and you have soft beans. Reheated the next day and you have bean mush... my favorite! When they break down they take on lots of liquid. Use low heat and stir often when reheating soft beans as they burn to the bottom of the pot. In a hurry? Nuke them with some water for about 20 minutes for a pound package with two cups of water. Check after ten minutes and add more water if needed. Use fresh beans! After a year beans take on a bitter flavor. My grandfather taught me to throw out last year's beans as they are not worth eating. Watch where you buy them... I grabbed a package without looking at Meijer's and they were over a buck a pound! Local grocer is about half that price... not that fifty cents kills my budget. I'm eaten several pounds of dry peas recently cooking them the same as the beans. I'm using up some ham but a couple drops of liquid smoke would do as well for flavor. I love a sliver of habenera pepper... not enough to make them hot but it gives a nice tangy note. I think dry lentils are my most common food of these types. Just lentils and an onion makes a good filling energy providing food. A side note I just past the 15lbs lost mark from about the start of last November. A couple holidays and many beers so I'm really happy with my diet. Beans, peas, lentils, and rice have been major "filler" foods that help me feel full with lots of energy for work. Wing your chili and never look back! I love kidney beans and cabbage with hot peppers... some cumin and you could call it chili. Garlic if you want it sweet. Good tomatoes really help but I've used a squirt of ketchup when in a hurry. Either I've got a magic touch or chili is really hard to make bad. I make everything from skillet chili which has almost no liquid to chili soup that is mostly liquid. If I made vegatarian chili for someone I'd probably go a half pot of tomatoes, quarter pot of beans, some onion, squash, couple mildly hot peppers, bit of garlic, few shakes of cumin, tablespoon of chopped cumin seed, and maybe a handful of corn. I salt and black pepper it to taste at serving time. Making for just myself I pour on the hot peppers but that is my taste. good luck! : ) lyra
...See More
Happy Birthday Gardengrl!
Q
Comments (25)
Donna, no homemade cake, but he splurged for some cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory! I had a small piece, but definitely CAN'T keep that thing in the house...gotta take the rest to work. Dangerous! He's a keeper! :-)
...See More
riverrat1
16 years ago
Yay Kathy! I knew that someone on this forum would figure out how to package sunshine and send it to our "cold" friends.

Enjoy Annie!
gardengrl
16 years ago
For the longest time I was "Marmalade Challenged". Not anymore!!!

I'm glad everything arrived intact Annie! Thanks for all your help and advice. It's the yummiest marmalade, I swear! :-)
wizardnm
16 years ago
WTG Kathy. I'm sure Annie will enjoy it.
I made marmalade yesterday, I call it sunshine in a jar.

Nancy
arabellamiller
16 years ago
Wow, good for you! I'm completely jealous. Despite Janet in CT's efforts of last summer, I've still not jammed. It's a time issue.

I'm so jealous! (did I say that already?)

AM
The Dinner Chronicles
lackboys3
16 years ago
Yum - I can smell that citrus from here! (I'd better, I have a tangerine on my kitchen counter right now:-) Geez, Kathy, now you're just showing off! From what I can see, Annie and Kathy can preserve, can or pickle just about everything. I love the sign, the googly eyes remind me of my husband......

That was a really nice thing to do Kathy (among all the other cool things you do), and Annie, you are so very deserving for all the help you're always ready to give.

Marmalade scares me, because it seems so much more involved than regular jams and preserves. Is it?
DONNA
sally2_gw
16 years ago
Wooohoooo, way to go, Kathy! How nice of you to think of Annie, too.

Sally
lpinkmountain
16 years ago
Sunshine in a jar is about right! Homeade marmelade is such a joy, when all goes well. What a nice way to share the sunshine Kathy!
I don't think marmelade is difficult. Like most home canning, it is just a time issue. But since I enjoy it, and enjoy countless hours of pleasure from the results, I don't mind doing it. Homeade preserves are so yummy, that's what makes it worthwhile.
sheshebop
16 years ago
Kathy, I swear you can do anything! You are an extremely intelligent and capable woman. And lucky you Annie, to get the spoils of her talent. Kewl!
Sherry
lyndaluu2
16 years ago
How sweet of her to send you samples :-)

Way to go Kathy!!!!!

Linda
annie1992
Original Author
16 years ago
Donna, marmalade isn't harder or more involved, really, it's just "pickier". Most times it sets up just fine, sometimes it sets up in a week or two, sometimes it just stays syrup. Any jam will do those things, of course, but marmalade is a bit more inconsistent.

Come on, tangerine marmalade would be wonderful, give it a try. I know you can!

I'm thinking that lemon/lime marmalade needs to be sampled really soon. Like tonight....

Annie
dgkritch
16 years ago
I'm thinking you need to send the Lemon/lime one to me for sampling, Annie. Really. I've never had anything but orange. If not, then promise you'll take a picture of YOU eating it!! I can taste vicariously!

Kathy, Great job, way to go!! Do you have a different recipe for the lemon/lime or just sub it for the oranges???
Inquiring minds NEED to know!!!!!

Deanna
gardengrl
16 years ago
I posted the Marmalade recipe I used on my blog. Click the link below and scroll down to my post "And the Skies Parted; Angels Sang". I used a recipe from one of Ina Garten's books.

For lemon/lime marmalade, I subbed equal amounts of lemon/lime for the oranges. Very yummy!

Here is a link that might be useful: Marmalade Recipe
mustangs81
16 years ago
Fantastic Kathy!! Nice that you shared. We are on a roll here in FLA, I made marmalade last week too. It was surprisingly easy...well more than likely I just got lucky. I'm going to my brother's lake house (surrounded by citrus trees) and he promised we would pick fruit so I can can.
dgkritch
16 years ago
Thanks Kathy!
Unfortunately, citrus is one of the few things we don't grow here. I'll be buying mine. But the Lemon/lime combo fascinates me!

Deanna
annie1992
Original Author
16 years ago
Mustangs, I expect pictures. (grin) You're just turning into a canning addict, aren't you?

Heh, heh, heh. We got another one, Katie.

Annie
mustangs81
16 years ago
Annie, Shhhhh, my marmalade went off to a CF member too so perhaps the recipient can take on the receiving end. And thanks for responding to my panic moment while I was making it. I wouldn't have the courage to send my results to you, it would be like painting a picture and sending it to Picasso.

Cathy
annie1992
Original Author
16 years ago
Well, thank you, Cathy, but I always like to see what other canners have made. Each batch is a bit different depending on the cooking methods, the ingredients, the weather, a bunch of things. Plus, your local fruit has GOT to be so much better than the citrus in Michigan, your marmalade HAS to be delicious.

Annie

Gardengrl did it!

Comments (19)

bunnyman

doucanoe

Related Discussions

riverrat1

gardengrl

wizardnm

arabellamiller

lackboys3

sally2_gw

lpinkmountain

sheshebop

lyndaluu2

annie1992
Original Author

dgkritch

gardengrl

mustangs81

dgkritch

annie1992
Original Author

mustangs81

annie1992
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Gardengrl did it!

Comments (19)

Related Discussions

annie1992Original Author

annie1992Original Author

annie1992Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

annie1992
Original Author

annie1992
Original Author

annie1992
Original Author