Well here we are in the deeeeeeeeeep, daaaaaaaaaark, depths of winter. The rain is thundering down on the roof, the creek is up and threatening to swallow the driveway and the paddocks are turning into rivers and dams.

And my girls are living on oranges and mandarines.

There are a few big bowls full on our kitchen table.

And mostly they're getting to the bottom of the bowls before we replenish them but sometimes there are a couple of soft, squishy ones left behind.

No one here really likes citrus cakes all that much so usually the dregs just get composted. But yesterday in the midst of my cooking frenzy, it occurred to me that I could make marmalade.

And so I did.

And all the recipes I looked at were super fiddly, so I made up my own.

It's simple pimple. Really.



Mandarinalade.

You will need.
8 mandarines.
water.
juice of one lemon.
sugar.
jars. (mine made 4 and a bit of the 350ml jars above).

Get ready.
Start off by sterilising your jars with warm soapy water or in the dishwasher and then placing them in a warm oven to heat and dry.

Place a couple of small plates in the freezer.

Get set.
Place your mandarines, skin and all, in a small saucepan.
Add the juice of one lemon.
Add just enough water to cover the mandarines.
Place on the stove and bring to the boil and then bring down to a simmer.
Simmer the mandarines until they are soft and tender.

Remove from the heat and blend the water/mandarine/lemony mixture.
If you don't have a blender, you could chop the mandarines up.

Measure the mixture. (Mine was 4 cups).

Put the mixture back on the stove on a low heat.
Add the same amount (or a fraction less) of sugar. (I added 3.5 cups).
Stir until sugar dissolves.

Raise temperature to high and stir occasionally.
Watch for the pips that tend to float and remove.

Start testing for readiness after the mixture has been boiling for about 20 minutes.
Test for readiness by dropping a small spoonful of mixture onto a plate from the freezer and running your finger through it. When it wrinkles, the mandarinalaide is ready.

Turn the heat off.

Take a jar at a time from the oven and ladle in the mixture and then seal.

Allow to cool.

Go.
Spread thickly on scones, or fresh bread, or muffins.
Or of you are meat eater, Ro says he's going to try it on duck tonight.
Whatever you do, enjoy.
I know my guys are, they're onto the second jar already.

What are you up to?
What are your fruit bowls full of?
Are you preserving?
Does marmalade make you think of motel breakfasts?
Are you going to make some mandarinalade?

Bye!