I've really gotten into marmalade once I tasted the Murcotts from my brother's trees and thought it was a good time to learn to make marmalade. So last year I tried several recipes and did some research on what the prevailing wisdom was for marmalade. I had some successes and some failures; I took a canning class two months ago and the instructor quickly determined the reason for the failures. Here are some websites, recipes, and some notes from my experience. Recipe with pectin: http://www.pickyourown.org/marmalade.php http://canningusa.com/IfICanYouCan/TechniqueMakingMarmalade.htm Anna's Orange Marmalade Recipe source: Ina Garten This is SO easy, but it's time consuming. I love it because it candies the rind and it's not bitter at all. Also, you can change up this recipe with different kinds of citrus. 4 large oranges 2 lemons 8 cups water 8 cups sugar Wash citrus and cut in half from "pole to pole". Cut citrus in very thin slices, being sure to remove the seeds. Place citrus slices and any juice in a heavy-bottomed sauce pot. Add 8 cups of water and bring citrus & water to a boil. Remove from heat and add sugar; stir till dissolved. Place lid on sauce pot and leave citrus mixture to sit over night. The next day, bring citrus mixture back to a boil; reduce temperature and simmer uncovered for 2 hours, stirring regularly. After 2 hours, bring back up to a steady boil, stirring continually, for *30 minutes or until reaching gel stage. Ladle mixture into prepared jars and process in a BWB for 10 minutes. * Sometimes it doesn't take the exact 30 minutes at the end to come to gel stage. I guess it just depends on the water content of the fruit, moisture in the air, etc. I've had mine gel at 20 minutes or less, so just use good judgment. Orange Marmalade 2 cups thinly sliced orange rind 1 quart chopped orange pulp 1 cup thinly sliced lemons about 1 1/2 lemons 1 1/2 quarts water or orange juice Collect seeds as they contain pectin and cook with pulp 5 cups sugar 1. Add water to fruit (oranges, lemons, rinds) and simmer 5 minutes. 2. Cover and let stand 12-18 hours in a cool place. 3. Cook rapidly until peel is tender, about 1 hour. 4. Measure fruit and liquid. 5. Alternate sugar with each cup of fruit mixture. 6. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. 7. Cook rapidly, about 25 minutes. 8. When mixture begins to thicken, stir occasionally to prevent sticking. 9. Pour hot into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. 10. Adjust caps. 11. Process 10 minutes in boiling water bath. 12. Yield: about 7 half pints. Also notice that you have to leave the fruit sit 12-18 hours so be sure to time this so it'll be ready to start cooking when you are. I started mine on Saturday night and made marmalade on Sunday afternoon after I came home from the farm. Instructions: Water Sugar Makes about 18 jelly glasses. Scrub cut in halves remove seeds and slice into very small pieces. Measure the fruit and juice and add 3 times the amount of water. Soak for 12 hours. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Let stand again for 12 hours. For every cup of fruit and juice add 3/4 cup sugar. Cook ingredients in small quantities about 4-6 cups at a time until they form a jelly. Check by the sheet test with a spoon or use a thermometer 8 degrees F above the boiling point of water for your altitude. Pour into prepared jars seal and process.

Check the link below (scroll down - almost to the bottom of the page) for Reduced-Sugar spreads and jelly. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: National Center for Home Food Preservation/making jams & jellies

This dessert is wonderful and I always make a double recipe. It is from Mark Bittman (NYT) with a few tweaks to make it more carb friendly for diabetics. He used a graham cracker crust which I've substituted with a pecan one. Almost No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake Bars (Mark Bittman tweaked) Crust: 2 cups ground pecans (8oz of pecan halves yields ~2 cups ground) 4 tablespoons melted butter 1 1/2 packets Splenda (equivalent to 1 Tbs sugar) Combine the ground nuts, butter and Splenda. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish (glass is better than metal). Bake at 350°F for 10-15 minutes. Cool before filling. Filling: 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature 1 cup ricotta cheese 2 tablespoons honey or 3 packets Splenda Rind of a lemon, freshly grated Squeeze of lemon juice Pinch of salt 1 1/2 cups blueberries Using a standing or hand mixer, or a whisk, combine cream cheese, ricotta, honey, Splenda, lemon rind, lemon juice and salt, and blend until smooth. Spread cheese mixture carefully and evenly over crust, using a spatula or butter knife to smooth top. Cover with fresh blueberries and lightly press into filling. Chill for at least an hour, or until set. Cut into squares or bars and serve. Double the recipe if using a 9x13 dish. Using the zest of one lemon and one lime gives this a subtle key lime flavor. The longer the cheesecake is refrigerated, the better it tastes. Leftovers are great. Here is a link that might be useful: nyt article no-bake blueberry cheesecake

Carrot Cake 6 egg whites or 1 cup egg substitute 1 cup apple juice concentrate 2/3 cup canola or safflower oil 1/4 cup water 3 cups unbleached white flour 1 Tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon lite (or regular) salt 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 2 cups raisins 2 cups carrots (4-6 medium) Cream Cheese Icing 1 1/2 cups light cream cheese 1 1/2 Tablespoons margarine, softened 16 packets Equal® (16 grams NutraSweet®; each packet equaling sweetness of 2 teaspoons sugar) 2 teaspoons vanilla 0-2 Tablespoons 1% milk to thin frosting Full recipes at http://www.teleport.com/~jbdubois/carrot_cake.shtml Here is a link that might be useful: Sugar-free wedding cake