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I received several cookbooks for Christmas – each unique, each serving a different need in our family’s quest to eat healthy and increase our sustainability. My brother and sister-in-law gave me Food to Live By by Myra Goodman, a cookbook with the subtitle “the Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook.” This book is full of advice and anecdotes that make the transition to organic easy and enjoyable. When I made these muffins, the recipe sent me to references on other pages to make orange zest (fun with my new zester file!) and to toast the pecans. A sidebar talked about whole wheat pastry flour. I didn’t have the special flour, so I used the alternative: unbleached all-purpose. The raspberries were in my freezer, purchased and frozen last summer when they were in season. It was the perfect dish for a snowy February morning – with coffee, of course.

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar plus 1 Tablespoon for topping
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon grated lemon or orange zest (I used orange)
2/3 cup fresh raspberries or frozen, unsweetened raspberries
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter 12 standard size muffin cups.
2. Place the flour, 3/4 cup of sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine well.
3. Place the egg, buttermilk, oil, and zest in a small bowl and whisk to combine well. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Gently fold in the raspberries and pecans. Do not overmix the batter or the muffins will be tough. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them two-thirds full. Sprinkle the remaining 1 Tablespoon of sugar evenly over the batter.
4. Bake the muffins until they are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.
5. Cool for about 10 minutes.

The muffins taste best the day they are made, but if necessary can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

This is not a compensated post in any way. I received the cookbook for Christmas and I’m enjoying exploring its recipes and stories! Look forward to more, readers.

>The original came in a cookbook I got for Christmas: Taste of Home’s Fast Fixes with Mixes. It’s aimed at using basic mixes in the pantry to create decent meals. I struggled with this at first; I’ve been moving toward cooking more from scratch, more whole ingredients and fewer pre-processed foods. But on further review, this quick-start philosophy can work for us. Here’s one, with the changes from my own experience.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken (adapted from Fast Fixes with Mixes)

1 pound boneless chicken breasts, cut in one inch cubes
1 package taco seasoning
1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chunky salsa
1/2 cup orange marmalade
hot cooked rice

Place chicken in a zipper plastic bag with taco seasoning and toss to coat. In a skillet, heat oil and brown chicken. Combine salsa and marmalade; stir into skillet. Bring to a boil; cover and simmer for 2-3 minutes or until meat juices run clear.

Serve over rice. Serves 4.

Now, the backstory.

The original recipe calls for peach preserves: I couldn’t find these in my regular grocery or in the neighborhood corner market. I settled for orange marmalade; it provided the fruity sweetness and the right consistency.
The original also called for an entire 11 oz. jar of salsa. Holy tomato, Batman, that’s a lot of salsa! I couldn’t believe the dish needed that much salsa, so I cut it approximately in half.

I wrecked the rice. Believe it or not, I wrecked the rice. I overcooked the long grain white rice into mush while trying to fully cook the wild rice. Oops. I’ve successfully combined long grain brown rice with wild rice, but I forgot that white cooks faster. Much faster. The taste was okay, but the texture? Well, we won’t discuss texture. (I salvaged the rice by making fried rice later in the week; it worked well with Tex-Mex scrambled eggs)

Meanwhile, remember the case of oranges in the basement (choir fundraiser, December)? I’m eating at least one a day, but there are still too many left. The marmalade hasn’t thickened, but I’ve decided not to remake it. It’ll make a good cooking sauce, and we usually buy it for that purpose rather than to spread on toast. Fresh orange juice for a few days might help use up the oranges. Chuck got creative with grapefruit tonight: mixed it with marascino cherries for a fruit salad style side dish.

This is not a sponsored post. The cookbook was a Christmas gift. Thanks, MIL!

>I had lots of oranges. I’ve committed to being more sustainable and self-sufficient in the kitchen. I bought a water-bath canning pot last August.

Put it all together and you get: Daisy’s Adventures in making Orange Marmalade!

The idea kind of grew on me. I searched for a recipe and found one in the classic Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook that we received as a wedding gift 25 years ago. Nervous about making something so new, so out of my comfort zone, I read and reread the recipe and instructions several times.

I searched the house for the supplies and ingredients. I had everything except (are you ready for this?) the right kind of pectin. It called for liquid pectin, so I went to (of course) Fleet Farm, the only store I know with an entire aisle devoted to supplies for canning and preserving. Yes, they had my liquid pectin. I almost bought extra, but said to myself, “Self, you’re going to do this right the first time. The next time you’re going to use this product it’ll be summer, so don’t stock up now. It is January, after all.” Please don’t laugh; that snort? It’s just not becoming.

So here I was with 4 medium oranges, 1 medium lemon, a little water, a little baking soda (why? it was in the recipe), a lot of sugar, and a pouch of liquid pectin.

Step 1:
Score orange and lemon peels into 4 lengthwise sections. Remove peels; scrape off white portion. Cut peels into very thin strips.
Oh, my goodness, this was tedious! There must be an easier way. Next time I might use my zester file, even though it’ll leave the marmalade with tiny pieces instead of strips.
Combine peels, water, and baking soda. I still don’t know what the baking soda did for this recipe, if anything. Marmalade doesn’t rise, so…. never mind. Bring to boiling. Cover; simmer for 10 minutes. Do not drain. (Italics in recipe)
Remove membrane from fruit. Section fruits, reserving juices; discard seeds. Oh, my goodness, tedious? This step was almost as bad. I can’t believe I complained so much, but I kept thinking, “there must be an easier way.”
Add sectioned fruits and juices to peel. Return to boiling. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Okay, I can do this. In the meantime, I was on Twitter and Plurk asking for advice.

Measure 3 cups. I had just shy of three cups; I did it anyway. In an 8- to 10- quart kettle combine the 3 cups fruit mixture and sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil; boil, uncovered, 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in pectin. Skim off foam.

Then the water-bath canning began. This part was less traumatic than I’d feared. I ladled the marmalade into the half-pint jars, leaving a 1/4 inch head space as directed. I wiped the jar rims clean and adjusted the lids. I processed in the boiling water bath for 15 minutes (actually 20 – is that okay?) and ended up with 6 lovely jars of marmalade. I followed advice on the pectin package and turned the jars upside down while cooling so the fruit wouldn’t “float” and then flipped them right side up.

The result: The marmalade is too thin. Two days later (after the magic 48 hours) it still hasn’t fully set. What now? One source suggests I can re-cook it. I’ll look into it – I’d hate for all that scraping and de-membraning and the works to go to waste.

Any advice, foodie friends? Anyone? Anyone?