Gingered Orange Marmalade

Making Gingered Orange Marmalade

I am an annual marmalade maker. We are lucky to have two Calamondin orange trees that continue to give me fruit. Without them I am not sure if I would make the time to make our marmalade. Those trees give us a great gift each year. From the home grown and home made marmalade we can enjoy many meals, snacks and appetizers. The greatest part of making the marmalade, however, is sharing it with others. There is nothing more original or unique than home made gifts. Our marmalade is shared as hostess gifts and holiday gifts with friends and family every year. We now have friends who remind us that they would love to have some as the holidays approach. It makes gift organizing a breeze since all the hard work has happened months in advance.

This year I thought it would be fun to "spice up" the marmalade a bit by adding some fresh ginger, lemon juice and lemon zest. It turned out to be a great new addition. See how visually attractive it is in jars.

Why ginger? Besides its engaging flavor, it has many health benefits. Historically, ginger has a long tradition of being very effective in alleviating stomach upset and gas. In herbal medicine, ginger is regarded as an excellent carminative (a substance which promotes the elimination of intestinal gas) and intestinal spasmolytic (a substance which relaxes and soothes the intestinal tract). Modern scientific research has revealed that ginger possesses numerous therapeutic properties including antioxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds, as well as boosting our immune system and fighting cancers such as colon and ovarian. Below is my updated recipe incorporating this health-promoting food.

Gingered Orange Marmalade

This canning method and recipe is a two day process. Instead of adding store-bought pectin, the process I use brings out the pectin that exists naturally in the skin of the orange. I think it tastes better this way. Breaking up the making of the marmelade this way also makes the work load more manageable and not too taxing.

Ingredients~
12 cups prepared oranges
12 cups water
16 cups sugar
6 inches fresh ginger, grated
2 lemons, zested
2 lemons, juiced

Directions~
1. Wash oranges, cut in rounds or quarters and remove seeds. I recommend using gloves because of all the acid in the fruit. I use disposabe non-latex exam gloves.
2. Measure the fruit. Place in a thick bottomed pot. For each cup of fruit use ¾ cup water. Add water to pot.
3. Bring to a boil for 20 minutes.
4. Cool and then put in refrigerator overnight, or for at least 8 hours, to bring out the pectin in the fruit.
5. Measure the orange stock. Add  ¾ cup of granulated sugar for each cup of stock.
6. Add the ginger.
7. Bring to a boil. Slow boil for a minimum of 1½ hours. The stock should decrease in amount by about ¼ to ½.
 8. Add the zest and lemon juice in the last few minutes of boiling the stock.
7. Pour into hot sterilized jars immediately. I prefer 8 oz jars, which are a great size for gifts. Label with content and date.

Enjoy! And Live Vibrant!

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Healthy Recipes Made With Orange Marmalade

Orange Beef Sitr-Fry made with Marmalade and Served Up on Healthy Halsa Dinnerware

With all our jars of marmalade, it is nice to find a variety of recipes that use it as part of the ingredients. Honestly, there are only so many peanut butter & jelly sandwiches you can make or pieces of bread you can toast and put marmalade on top of...it just doesn't make that much of a dent in a yearly harvest. So I have tried out a number of healthy recipes that use marmalade. Below is a list of some of our favorites:

Broiled Salmon with Marmalade-Dijon Glaze
Herb-Orange Pork Tenderloin
Sesame Shrimp Salad
Orange Beef Stir-Fry
Orange-Glazed Carrots and Onions
Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprints (use marmalade as the "jelly")

Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprint Cookies Made with Orange Marmalade and Served Up on Halsa dishware

Enjoy!

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Making Healthier Home Made Marmalade

Once upon a time we lived in Kansas City where we had a greenhouse in the backyard and a nice sized terrace where we had potted citrus trees. When we moved we couldn't bear to leave our beloved trees behind. I have made marmalade from our Calamondin Orange Trees each year for decades. When we moved to a higher altitude the trees bore even more fruit...not what you would expect but they love it here. This year I harvested 2 huge bowls of little oranges and made over 40 jars of marmalade.

My recipe is very simple. Harvest the oranges. Wash them. Halve them and extract the seeds. Measure the oranges and add 3/4 cup water to every cup of oranges. Put it all in a large pot. Bring it to a boil and continue boiling until the mixture is reduced by almost a half (takes about 1/2 hour) to bring out the pectin. Leave it on the stove to cool. Then put the pot in the refrigerator overnight to allow the pectin to continue to release from the orange peel. The next day measure the orange melange. Again, for every one cup of the mixture, add 3/4 refined sugar to the pot. Bring it all to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer for about 1 ½ hours, or until your candy thermometer reaches 220 degrees. While you are boiling the marmalade place your cleaned glass jars and tops in another big pot. Make sure all items are covered by water. Bring the water to a boil and let it continue to boil for 20 minutes. When you fill your jars, you want to make sure the jam and the jars are still as hot as possible to keep everything clean and sanitized. The heat also helps to seal the tops to the jars...I love hearing the "pop" as the jars seal! Measuring the mixture helps you to estimate the number of jars you will need. Make sure to put a label on each jar that names the contents and the month and year you canned it...important for keeping track of your annual stash. There is an informative YouTube video that also shows a slightly different version of making marmalade that might be helpful to watch if you are new to canning.

This recipe is as organic and low carbon foot print as you can get. And by adding only 3/4 cup of sugar to each cup of orange melange, it is lower in sugar than most traditional marmalade recipes (next year I want to take it a step further and see what I can do successfully to further lessen the refined sugar in the recipe and still capture the same texture and taste). It is fresh and tart tasting. We love it! And it is a great gift for friends and family when you exchange gifts or go to a party. There is nothing better, or more meaningful than homemade.

We love using our marmalade in a variety of ways. A spoonful in a serving of Greek yogurt is divine. Covering a round of brie and then heating it up in the microwave to then serve on crackers is a delicious appetizer for you and your guests. Adding a tablespoon to steamed carrots makes a yummy side dish for dinner. And then there are all the entree recipes that use marmalade...more on that in another blog. Hope this inspires others to get into canning. If so, let me know!

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Dreaming of Spring– Home Grown Goodness in My Living Room

This time of year, especially this year with all the snowstorms across the country, we start dreaming of spring and growing plants and flowers in our gardens. Those gardens can be in the backyard, on a balcony or even in your living room. There are so many great reasons to grow food you can harvest. First off, it is fun and something visually beautiful to look at. Perhaps more importantly, if you grow something you can eat, it can taste better and be healthier for you. There are honestly many good reasons to want to grow something to eat.

The challenge with gardening is it does take some planning, some tending and when the food is ripe there is a window of when you need to harvest the food. The key is to not bite off more than you can chew. If you haven’t ever grown anything to harvest, start small. Containers can be a good way to grow a couple of vegetables. The most common “get started” plant to grow is tomato. There are all kinds of varieties, colors and sizes so you can pick what catches your fancy and works best where you live. Containers are also great for herbs. Most herbs are very easy to grow and like being crowded in containers. There is nothing better than fresh herbs in a recipe, adding flavor and health with out calories and salt. My favorite herbs are mint, basil, tarragon, thyme, dill and rosemary.

Something else to consider are fruit trees. We have had Calamondin orange trees, the same ones, for over 15 years. They live outside where they bloom and pollinate during the warmer months and then before the first freeze in the fall we move them inside to our living room. They have been incredibly low maintenance. We feed them organic, fruit tree specific, fertilizer a couple of times a year. We trim them back significantly after we harvest the fruit. And we make sure they get enough sun and water. Every once in a while they get bugs but if you catch it quickly enough there are easy ways to get them under control. Ladybugs, we have found, are particularly helpful.

What we love about the fruit trees is that the fruit matures during the winter months. Our harvest for our Calamondin oranges is in February. As it is a winter month and we are more in doors anyway, it is a fun time to harvest and can our bounty. It is an enjoyable activity over a weekend when we do other home bound activities as the fruit boils into marmalade. Once canned the marmalade can be used in so many ways beyond the usual jam and toast. It can add flavor to cooked vegetables, as a glaze for fish, as a topping for thumbprint cookies or on top of warmed brie for an appetizer. A spoonful in plain Greek yogurt is heavenly for a snack. Go to my blog for how to make homemade marmalade and for recipes that use marmalade. We also think our marmalade makes for a great gift that is unique and packed full of health.

So spring is in the air at our home as we imagine replanting our herb garden, deciding on this year’s variety of tomatoes and seeing our orange trees outdoors again in full bloom. It makes me feel healthier just thinking about it.

Re-posted from Sheila’s Blog on The Epoch Times.

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Great Recipe using Chinese Pea Pods—Orange Beef Stir Fry

Orange Beef Stir-Fry Served Up on Healthy Halsa Dinnerware

We have been preparing a variety of stir-frys the past few weeks. It is amazing the many choices there are and how they can be made of all sorts of diverse ingredients providing for delicious flavors. A simple stir fry recipe we found includes Chinese Pea Pods—Orange Beef Stir-Fry.

Orange Beef Stir-Fry made with Homemade Marmalade and Chinese Pea Pods

 You may have seen a previous blog entry of mine where I mention that pea pods are a help in curbing hunger and therefore a good choice for weight loss and/or management. This recipe also includes a bit of marmalade, of which I have many homemade jars to use. So it seemed a perfect recipe for us to try. It was delicious! Each serving is 456 calories which includes 1/2 cup rice, offering a complete meal of protein, vegetable, fruit and grain. A definite repeat.

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Finding Your Zen: 8 calming foods that will naturally help you feel better

Mint is a calming food to help you feel better

There are so many influences in our lives, not all of them good. Many of them can make us nervous, anxious, unhappy, or even depressed. What we eat can make a difference and allow us to feel calmer and more centered. The right foods can help us feel better and improve our overall health. Below is a list of 8 foods that have a naturally calming effect. We have included links to recipes that incorporate these foods that are available on our blog. Pamper yourself with nurturing foods that are naturally helpful to your mood and your health.

8 calming foods that will naturally help you feel better:
 

Mint—contains menthol, which is a natural muscle relaxer that can lead to a calming effect. Brew some fresh mint tea by growing your own in an herb garden. 

Turmeric—in addition to being the popular spice of the moment, is full of curcumin, which is being studied for its use in promoting brain health and treating anxiety disorders. Golden milk, a hot drink with turmeric and spices, is a calming beverage that many folks are using to start or end their long days or try this Carrot Hummus with Turmeric you can share with others.

Orange—vitamin C is one of the vitamins that can help ease anxiety and promote a sense of calm, and there is no better source than oranges. Eat them whole or try one of these recipes that use orange marmalade. 

Salmon is a calming food that will naturally help you feel better...ours was served up on the Halsa pattern!

Salmon—omega-3 fatty acids are helpful in naturally regulating dopamine and serotonin, the feel-good neurotransmitters in our brains. So, a diet rich in them can really help balance your mood! Salmon is a great source, and this recipe for Pan-Roasted Salmon with Tomatoes and Capers is sure to become a favorite go-to recipe.

Spinach—magnesium is one of those minerals that are thought to help with feeling calmer, and you can find it in abundance in dark leafy vegetables like spinach. Try this fun family favorite recipe of Pizza with a Cauliflower Crust and Spinach.  

Chocolate—dark chocolate, in addition to being most people’s comfort food, especially on the go, offers the added benefit of flavonoids, the antioxidant that can help lower blood pressure and anxiety levels. Note that we are talking about dark chocolate, at least 70% cacao content. Try making this guilty pleasure of Warmed Dark Chocolate with Popcorn…a perfect snack to munch on while curling up to watch a feel good movie.  
 

Berries are another calming food to help you feel better

Berries—are naturally packed with antioxidants, which have been shown to protect your cells from stress and can help ease some depression. Any fresh or frozen berries can be easily incorporated into your diet, but we love this recipe for a kid-friendly and diabetes friendly Berry Delicious Smoothie Bowl.

Walnuts—are a great source of alpha-linolenic acid, which research has shown to have a mood boosting effect. Try this recipe for Roasted Turkey Salad with Dried Cherries and Walnuts.
    

Enjoy! And Live Well!

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Emotional Barriers to Sustained Weight Loss Success

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