Category Archives: citrus

Honeyed Grapefruit Jamalade

30 January 2012 by local kitchen

Jamalade, you say? Yes. Jamalade. Not quite a jam: toothsome slivers of citrus zest and a touch of pithy bitterness from the addition of citrus pectin make this flavorful preserve reminiscent of marmalade. Yet not quite a marmalade either: the majority of the white pith is left out of this recipe, and the fruit is strained from the syrup and added only at the end of the cooking process, yielding visible chunks of ruby red grapefruit in the final product, […]

Categories: canning, citrus, jams, preserves, preserving, winter • Tags: canning, citrus, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes

What To Do With Citrus Peel

23 January 2012 by local kitchen

As I mentioned last week, I’ve been building up quite a supply of grapefruit peels of late. Though I will buy lemons and limes throughout the year, for use in jams & preserves, savory dishes and cocktails, I wait for citrus season to roll around each winter to buy citrus for eating and preserving: grapefruits, oranges, exotic varieties. Typically, if I am using a lemon or a lime in a recipe, I’ll use both the zest and flesh or juice; […]

Categories: canning, citrus, drying, freezing, preserving, winter • Tags: canning, citrus, cooking, food, preserving, recipes, winter

Vin de Pamplemousse

20 January 2012 by local kitchen

Pamplemousse: on my list of the top 10 best words in any language (along with codswallop, yoboseyo and schnell!). Pamplemousse is “grapefruit” in French; sounds so much more exotic doesn’t it? (And incidentally, how did we ever end up with “grapefruit” in English? I mean, it is pomelo in Spanish, pompelmo in Italian, citrus paradisi in Latin. It doesn’t look or taste anything like a grape. But I guess it is better than “shattuck.”) But, enough etymology for today: let’s […]

Categories: citrus, wine, beer & liquor, winter • Tags: citrus, cooking, food, preserving, recipes, wine

Grapefruit Guajillo Marmalade

17 January 2012 by local kitchen

Once again, citrus season is upon us, and once again, I ordered a box of delicious Rio Red grapefruit from G & S Groves in McAllen, Texas. While I’ve been happily munching through some of my 12 pounds of pink-yellow-and-red glory, I had to save some for a batch (or two) of marmalade, lest my marm-lovin’ hubs revolt. Although the flavor of last year’s vanilla bean version was lovely, the set left much to be desired, and this year, I just […]

Categories: canning, citrus, hot chile peppers, preserving, winter • Tags: canning, cooking, food, grapefruit, local, marmalade, preserving, recipes

Mom’s Lemon Pound Cake

23 December 2011 by local kitchen

As I’ve mentioned before, I didn’t learn to cook at my mother’s knee: my Mom, in fact, doesn’t really like to cook. It’s just not her thing; raising three children that were extremely picky eaters might have had something to do with that (there’s only so much excitement to be garnered from Shake ‘n Bake chicken legs and frozen corn niblets, after all). But what she may have lacked in the exciting-dinner department, she more than made up for in […]

Categories: baking, cake, citrus, dessert, holiday • Tags: baking, cake, cooking, dessert, food, holidays, local, quick & easy, recipes

Irene’s Jam

2 September 2011 by local kitchen

Hands up who lost power during Irene? Yep, me too. In a way, we are lucky: given that the combination of NYSEG and Westchester County = power outages at least once a week during winter, we are well-prepared to lose our electricity. We have a gas stovetop, that just requires lighting with a match during a power outage; a propane fireplace to heat the house in cold weather; candles and flashlights a-plenty; and generally a few gallons of water in […]

Categories: berries, canning, citrus, cranberries, jams, preserving, rhubarb, year round • Tags: berries, canning, cooking, food, hurricane, irene, local, preserving, recipes

Blackberry Lemon Preserves

18 August 2011 by local kitchen

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve headed north to meet Julia, with munchkin in tow, at Greig Farm in Red Hook, NY to pick blackberries. It’s a large farm, spread out across rolling hills, and a beautiful one: acres and acres of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and apples, as far as the eye can see. We’ve been lucky enough to pick bright & sunny days, yet there is always a breeze on the blackberry hill: it’s really a pleasant place to […]

Categories: 100% local, canning, citrus, preserves, preserving, summer • Tags: berries, canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes

Crock-Pot Roasted Chicken

20 July 2011 by local kitchen

It’s hot. Really hot. Maybe you’ve noticed? The 90+ degree days, the sticky, oppressive humidity, the languid, heavy-as-a-blanket air? While our friends in the Pacific Northwest shiver in the fog and rain, wondering if summer will ever come, here in the Northeast we are suffocating under a heatwave that is only the beginning: weather forecasts call for increasing heat & humidity until Sunday. I’m a Northern girl, of Northern peoples: my Scottish, Irish and Finnish grandparents did not provide me […]

Categories: chicken, citrus, crock-pot, main course, rosemary, summer, thyme, year round • Tags: chicken, cooking, crock-pot, food, local, recipes

Cranberry Orange Rhubarb Popsicles

7 June 2011 by local kitchen

The weather forecast is calling for back-to-back 95+ degree days here in New York: a perfect time to use up my leftover rhubarb pulp to make a frosty treat. With some frozen Cape Cod cranberries, a bit of orange juice and sugar for sweetener and a touch of tequila (because, why not?) to keep everything toothsomely delicious, I have to say that these are pretty darn good. I don’t have popsicle molds, nor Dixie cups, nor a craft-cabinet stocked with […]

Categories: citrus, cranberries, rhubarb, snack, wine, beer & liquor • Tags: cooking, food, local, preserving, quick & easy, recipes, snacks, summer

Use It or Lose It! Meyer Lemon Pork Rolls

10 May 2011 by local kitchen

Earlier this year, when I was busily turning winter’s citrus into marmalades and jams, I lamented to Shae that I was a bit disappointed with my first foray into Meyer lemons. “I mean, they are nice enough,” I said, “but I don’t really see what all the fuss is about. I keep thinking I would like them better if they were more, well, lemony.” Shae responded that Meyers are quite soft-skinned and not as hardy as other citrus fruits, so they lose […]

Categories: citrus, main course, pork, spring, Use it or Lose it!, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, dinner, food, local, main course, pork, recipes

Creamy Goat’s Milk Spaghetti with Wild Garlic Chives

28 April 2011 by local kitchen

Pasta is one of those things: quick & easy “fast food” for a weeknight dinner, a great base for showcasing your summer preserving efforts, but, unless it’s homemade, I rarely consider it spectacular. Tasty, filling, comforting, yes; but impressive enough to convince dinner guests of my kitchen prowess (she says, oh-so modestly)? Not so much. Until now. Add to my list of picky-eaterisms cream sauces, or heavy cream in general, unless it is whipped, baked or frozen. I’m not a fan of cream-based […]

Categories: chives, citrus, garlic, grains & legumes, herbs, main course, milk, pasta, quick & easy, side dish, spinach, spring, vegetarian, wine, beer & liquor • Tags: cooking, food, garlic chives, local, pasta, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian, wild foods

Chinese Orange Chicken

27 March 2011 by local kitchen

The interconnectedness of the Web never fails to delight me; in fact, “world wide web” was a prescient name back in the days when few people could foresee how it would change our world. The way that people end up here at Local Kitchen is always fascinating: the search terms, the links from other sites, the random surfing that led someone to a particular recipe (whether they were looking for it or not), but I’m also delighted by how I end […]

Categories: chicken, citrus, main course, rice, scallions, year round • Tags: chicken, chinese, cooking, food, local, main course, orange, recipes

1-2-3-4 Citrus Jam

14 March 2011 by local kitchen

I’ve been sick since Wednesday’s epic 9-hour air travel adventure coming home from Toronto. (Yes, Toronto to New York. Nine hours. Did I mention there was curling and bad airport beer involved? Sigh.) Nothing major, just a cold I’m sure, but since I’m almost never sick, I’m completely impatient with the whole process. Like I figure a 2-hour nap and a tall glass of OJ ought to fix me right up. And when it doesn’t, I’m totally cranky: What? You’re […]

Categories: breakfast, canning, citrus, jams, preserves, preserving, winter • Tags: canning, citrus, cooking, food, local, marmalade, preserving, recipes

Texas Grapefruit & Tahitian Vanilla Bean Marmalade

21 February 2011 by local kitchen

I had such high hopes for this marmalade: the flavor of the Rio Red grapefruit from G & S Groves was nothing short of amazing; the aroma of the fruit, simmering on the stovetop with Tahitian vanilla bean, was glorious; I was determined to add enough water this time, and enough sugar, to achieve the perfect trifecta of taste, appearance and texture. Well, as they say: 2 outta 3 ain’t bad. Marmalade set is notoriously tricky: even experienced jammers have difficulties. The […]

Categories: canning, citrus, preserves, preserving, winter • Tags: breakfast, canning, condiments, cooking, food, grapefruit, local, marmalade, preserving, recipes

Use It or Lose It! Glazed Blueberry Tart with Lime Curd

17 February 2011 by local kitchen

We had a dinner guest last night, a former colleague and my former boss, in fact. We’ve both moved on in our careers since then, but I’m not above trying to impress the old boss, nor above trying to impress anyone who tastes my cooking for the first time, if truth be told. I wanted an impressive dessert, but I’ve been absolutely swamped with work this week, so it needed to be fairly easy to throw together. I had made […]

Categories: berries, citrus, dessert, Use it or Lose it!, winter, year round • Tags: baking, berries, blueberries, cooking, dessert, food, local, recipes, tart