Henny Penny Farmette

Following the historic long seasonal deluge of rain, our fruit trees are loaded with peaches, apricots, plums (the cherries are gone now). While there is plenty of stone fruit, it’s all ripening late this year.

Apricots are plentiful this time of year and easy to dry or make into jam

Our Blenheim apricots were ready to pick, dry, and make into jam in late May of 2018. On this last day in June,  I plucked an apricot that was ripe on the side facing the sun but the opposite side was green and hard.

The cherries, too, ripened late this year. We picked about 8 gallons of cherries from our two Bing and Stella trees. I dried some and we gave away a lot.

The Black Tartarian cherries didn’t produce as heavily this year as last. By the time we discovered the ripe cherries, the birds had already beaten us to the super-sweet fruit. I don’t mind sharing with the local wildlife, but would have loved a bowl of these for snacking.

Wild plums make a delicious sweet-tart jam

The yellow and red plums are finally ripe now. Today, I’m making plum jam. Nothing beats hot toast with spreadable summer jams and marmalade for breakfast on a winter’s day. In a normal year, most of my jam-making of stone fruits would be finished by now.

The early Desert Gold peaches are gone now, a tasty memory, from a month ago. However, we still have summer peaches clinging to the tree. I check them daily. Fresh peach pie for the fourth of July is a favorite at my house.

Desert Gold early peaches

While the fruits and berries seem to ripen more slowly this year, my vegetable garden is blowing my mind. I have several raised beds in a fenced-off area so wild animals won’t bother it. Most of the raised beds were used for composting (think, tons of chicken manure, yard clippings, and cardboard). Still, I added other organic amendments. Boy, is that soil paying off.

It’s a banner year for vegetables on the farmette. Most will be eaten fresh but the sugar pumpkins won’t ripen until autumn. Love them in pie.

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I’ve been told I’m living a “charmed life” on my Henny Penny Farmette. And so it is. But this chapter of my life didn’t happen by accident. I once lived in Silicon Valley and was part of life in the fast lane, which I enjoyed. But I grew up on a farm. I missed time in nature, eating foods that I knew were healthy and wholesome and pesticide-free, and the slower pace of life. I set an intention to manifest the life I have now. You can, too.

FIND ME ALSO at Meera-lester.com (don’t forget that hyphen…very important.)

Packed full of ideas for creating the life you want

If you enjoy reading about gardening, keeping chicken and bees, and other farm topics, pick up copies of my Henny Penny Farmette series of cozy mysteries. The books are chocked full of farm and craft trivia as well as delicious recipes and, of course, intriguing mysteries.

Novel #3

Novel #2

Novel #1

Eating a fresh kumquat–the small relative to the sweet orange–is like getting a dose of Vitamin C in a single bite. Or, if you don’t like the tart fruit (the edible rind is sweet), then make your kumquats into a marmalade.

Kumquats make a lovely, sweet marmalade when coupled with juicy oranges, rinds included

My neighbor recently brought over several boxes of freshly-picked kumquats. We ate some fresh but I turned the rest into a sweet, spread that tastes quite like orange marmalade.

Kumquats and oranges are the perfect combo for marmalade

When fruit is available during the year, you can turn that fruit into a delicious conserve, jelly jam, marmalade, or fruit butter. When citrus is in season, oranges, kumquats, grapefruits, and lemons can be coverted to sweet spreads.

There are distinct differences between conserve, jam, jelly, marmalade, and fruit butter. Conserve is a jam made from fruit with other ingredients added, including raisins, coconut, and nuts. Jelly is made from the juice of the fruit while jam is made from the fruit pulp. Marmalade includes fruit, juice, and rind. A fruit butter utilizes the fruit pulp and sugar to make a thick, smooth spread.

Marmalade includes fruit pulp, rind, water, and sugar

KUMQUAT MARMALADE RECIPE

Ingredients:

2 cups thinly sliced kumquats

1.5 cups chopped orange pulp (2 medium oranges)

1.5 cups sliced orange peel (2 medium oranges)

1/3 cup lemon juice

1.5 quarts water

Sugar (the amount will depend on the amount of fruit/water mixture after 12 hours)

Directions:

Mix together all ingredients, except the sugar, in a deep large pot. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cover. In a cool place, allow the mixture to stand for 12 hours or overnight to soften the rind. Remove any large seeds. Cook rapidly until peel has softened. Measure out fruit and liquid mixture and then add 1 cup of sugar for each cup of the fruit mixture. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Rapidly bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Stir as needed to prevent sticking, especially as the mixture thickens and reaches the gelling point. (Hint: You can check to see if the marmalade is gelling by dropping a spoonful of the hot marmalade onto a chilled or frozen saucer. If the marmalade is sheeting instead of running off the plate, it’s ready to can. Also, you can add Classic Pectin according to directions on container to ensure the marmalade properly thickens). Stir in carefully to avoid splattering on your skin. Remove from heat. If the mixture has foam, skim to remove it. And also remove any large seeds that may have been missed.

Ladle the hot fruit mixture into hot jars (run the jars through a hot rinse cycle as the jam is cooking). Leave 1/4-inch headspace. Tighten the ring around the flat, rubber-seal cap. Place the jars into a boiling-water canner. Bring to a boil and process 10 minutes.  Remove jars from canner and let stand until cool. The caps will make a popping sound as they cool and seal.

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Jars of freshly made blood-orange marmalade are a festive red currant color and perfect for holiday gift-giving

On Christmas Eve this year, I made marmalade from our blood oranges to tuck into our holiday gift baskets.

Our citrus trees are still young and the crop, though ripe, was not yet bountiful. I used almost our entire crop of 20 oranges to make 8 jars (4 ounces each) of the blood orange marmalade.

My recipe is straightforward and the steps are simple. The finished marmalade is a lovely currant color, has a sweet/tangy taste, and possesses an interesting texture made so by the inclusion of rind.

Lemons and blood oranges combined with sugar render a sweet yet tangy marmalade

Ingredients:

2 cups orange peel (washed and thinly sliced); roughly 10 medium oranges

1 quart of chopped orange pulp; about 10-15 medium oranges

1 cup lemon (cut into thin slices and seeded); roughly 2 medium lemons

7 cups granulated sugar (the amount of sugar depends on how many cups of citrus mixture you have)

5 Tablespoons of classic pectin

Water to cover the jars by 2 inches for hot water bath processing

A large pot and a wooden spoon work well for cooking the marmalade

Directions:

Place oranges and lemon into a large pot and simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat, cover, and let rest for 12 to 18 hours (I place my citrus mixture in the refrigerator overnight).

Measure by cupfuls the amount of fruit mixture. Add one cup of sugar per cup of fruit mixture.

Over high heat, boil fruit and sugar for approximately 20 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent sticking.

Turn down heat and stir in 5 Tablespoons of classic pectin. Return to boil and stir until mixture thickens and gels when a small amount in placed on a frozen plate.

Remove freshly washed heated jars from the dishwasher.

Simmer lids and rings in shallow pan until ready to use.

Remove from heat and skim off any foam from the jam and then fill the jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space in each jar.

Attach the lids and rings to the jars with a finger tight seal before submerging in the hot water canner of boiling water.

Process jars for 15 minutes before removing them to a place where they can sit undisturbed to cool.

Have freshly washed, heated jars ready for filling with the sweetened fruit

Jars of orange marmalade make lovely holiday gifts

Who can resist the flavors of homemade jams? Whether it embellishes an appetizer of grilled fig and melted goat cheese or is spread upon a fat slice of fresh-baked bread, jam has power to elevate any meal to another level.

Using the seedless oranges growing on our farmette trees, I’m making marmalade. Marmalade made with the oranges ripening this time of year make great additions to holiday gift baskets. I like to add jars of honey, fresh tangerines, nuts, summer jams, and homemade treats.

RECIPE FOR ORANGE MARMALADE

Ingredients:

4 large oranges (preferably a seedless variety)

2 medium lemons

1/2 teaspoon butter (to reduce foaming)

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

6 Tablespoons dry classic pectin

5 1/2 cups sugar

Directions for Preparing the Jars and Canner:

Wash pint jars in the dishwasher or wash the jars and screw rings in hot soapy water, rinse, and drain upside down on paper towels.

Remove the wire rack from the canner and set aside; then, fill the canner half full of water and bring to a simmer.

Directions for Making the Fruit Mixture:

Wash the oranges and lemons.

Peel the fruit, using a vegetable peeler or a sharp paring knife. Discard any seeds and the pithiest parts of the inner peeling as the pith tastes bitter.

Cut the peeled skins into narrow strips.

Pour water into a saucepan.

Add baking soda and strips of peel.

Bring to boil and then reduce the heat, simmering for 20 minutes and stirring as needed.

Cut the fruit into thin quarters.

Add the fruit and juice to the saucepan of simmering peelings, cover, and allow everything to simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove 4 cups of the fruit/peeling/juice mixture  and pour into a large saucepan (6 or 8 quart) or stock pot.

Stir in the pectin and add the butter and sugar, mixing well.

Bring to a roiling boil, stirring constantly, for a full minute and then remove from heat, skimming off any foam.

These jars are filled with hot fruit mixture, ready for lids and canning

How to Can the Marmalade:

Ladle the fruit mixture into the warm, clean jars, leaving between 1/4 and 1/8 inch space from the top.

Wipe the jar rims before placing the jars on the wire rack of the canner.

Lower the wire rack of jars into the simmering water in the canner.

Make sure the jars are covered by 2 inches of water (add boiling water if necessary).

Cover with lid and boil for 15 to 20 minutes.

Turn off flame, remove the jars of marmalade, and set them onto a towel to cool.

Listen for the popping sound that signals the lids have sealed. Check lids for seal once the jars have cooled by pushing against the center of the lid. If it springs, the jar has not sealed and must be refrigerated. The marmalade will still be good to eat.