sigh a bunch didn't seal

i love listening to the lovely little pops as the jars seals. it is seriously so satisfying ... ok i profess my geekdom there but then i guess that is already out there with all this canning

but .. sigh 7 jars of the grapefruit didn't take - that is pretty much half of the batch! I think my jars were not hot enough - so have looked up other ways to heat up the jars. the simplest is filling the jars with water and tossing them in the microwave worked like a charm for the kiwi marmalade i made tonight

easy organic grapefruit marmalade

so the first marmalade i made was blood orange based on this recipe from design sponge. it came out a lovely deep red .... it was a lot of work and i think i over cooked it. so much prep work! ... segmenting the oranges, making sure none of the white pith remained in ....

but then i read about boiling the fruit - it removes the bitterness - and the beauty is once they have been boiled - toss the orange etc in the food processor - yep the whole (mushy) thing!

OK on to the recipe!

easy grapefruit marmalade

5-6 Medium grapefruit (i used organic ruby red)
1 Medium lemon
10 Cups sugar, approximately

1. Slice the grapefruit and lemon in half (along equator) and remove any seeds - you won't get them all but no worries you can scoop out any stray seeds later. place in a deep pot and bring to boil, simmer, covered, for about 45 min. or until rind is soft. many suggest leaving them overnight - i have done this as well using them right away - i can't tell the difference

2. Toss the boiled citrus in the food processor until its a nice even pulp

3. Measure fruit mixture; allow 1-cup sugar to each cup of fruit mixture.

4. Return fruit mixture to your pot - i use my le creuset (dutch oven), add sugar, stir over heat, without boiling, until sugar is dissolved. Bring to boil, boil, uncovered for about 15 min. or until marmalade jells when tested.

5. Pour into hot sterilized jars; seal.

Yields: About 10 cups

101 jars of jam on the wall

well not 100 jars yet ... but that is the plan
i've challenged myself to make 10 dozen (umm yes i can do math that is 120 jars but gosh that seems like a big number that i'll never finish) so as i go i figured i'd share the recipes
since its winter i'm starting with marmalades - i don't know about you but citrus seem like the only fruit in the supermarket at the moment but maybe that is because i live in the yukon

more fall colours outside my door

as promised here are more photos

sunday morning in the fall

sunday mornings are often often filled with pancakes for brunch. patrick whips them up for us around lunch time. this morning i made an apple breakfast cake. quite simple and tasty - it is based roughly on this recipe from d*sponge - theirs is still about summer fruit while i used fall-friendly apples and pears. i used more fruit 3 or 3 1/2 cups (theirs called for 2 cups of berries) and added pumpkin pie spice. it took a little more time to bake. oh and i would suggest sour cream or some yogurt with this - yum!

we are solidly into autumn here - the sweaters (rather than light summer cardigans ... they don't really count as sweaters) are out - these are the lighter pullovers and cozy cardigans ... not the massive ones .... hmm seems i have many classes of sweaters, but in my defense i do live north of 60: Fall arrives at the end of August; i scrape frost off the windshield most mornings now but thats OK - i don't need a coat yet!

here are a couple shots from my apartment patio. i'm going for a little hike this afternoon so may bring my camera as there are some lovely reds out right now too.

new project ...old project

so yes ... i hate to admit it but i do have a closet of wool. here is a very old project .... from the last winter olympics in fact! this was my olympic knitting project when i lived in dawson .... but i never finished ... as it was coming together, it umm was a bit blah. but when i saw new free pattern downloads yesterday from interweave i found inspiration to dig up that project, pull it apart and start on a cozy fall cardigan.

so i have it all balled now and you know it is really quite a lovely colour deep greens with some teal and clay hints. the pattern: Side-Way Ribs Cardigan by Norah Gaughan is quite simple and normally too boring to knit but it is going to be quick and has an interesting construction!

instant shawl

so i'm still working on that edging ..... 2.5 sections out of seven .... sigh
on my trip to dawson last weekend i cast on for a simple shawllette (placing beads on lace yarn in the car .... not that do-able) .... very satisfying to finish a project in the car there and back!

this is textured shawl recipe available on ravelry. i subbed in a bunch of other stitches and rows of stockinette between the lace

it is fairly small but it is perfect for this rustic pretty handspun wool that i bought in inuvik. hard to see but there are beads randomly glittering too