Ginger citrus marmalade!

I am really enjoying my journey on my ginger quest.  I get all excited whenever I come across a recipe with ginger in it.  So guess how I felt when I came across a recipe for a marmalade with ginger and lime in it!  (that's right.... EXCITED!!)

This recipe came from a book called "Jams and Preserves", by Gina Steer.  It is a lovely book (the tomato chutney I made a while ago came from this book too) and is one my sister gave me for my birthday.  So off I went to the local market on a Saturday morning and came back with fresh limes, ginger and lemons.

Ginger Citrus Marmalade
makes about 1.3kg / 3lb

4 limes (preferably unwaxed), scrubbed
2 large lemons (preferably unwaxed), scrubbed
small piece fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped.
1.2 litres / 2 pints water
2 tsp ground ginger
about 900g / 2lb preserving sugar (see method)  (I couldn't find preserving sugar, so used jam sugar instead.  The type of sugar is quite important, I will explain at the end)
115g / 4oz stem ginger, chopped.  (I presumed this was crystallised ginger, which was all I could find).

Cut off and discard both ends from the limes and lemons and wash thoroughly.  Place in a large saucepan together with the chopped root ginger and the water.  Bring to boil then reduce heat, cover with a tight-fitting lid  and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or until the fruits are very soft.

Cool slightly, then drain off liquid and reserve.  Chop the fruits as finely as possible, discarding the pips.

Return the chopped fruits to the rinsed out saucepan, together with the reserved liquid and ground ginger.  Add the sugar, allowing 450g/1 lb sugar for every 600ml / 1 pint of liquid.  Heat gently, stirring frequently, until the sugar has completely dissolved.

Bring to the boil and boil rapidly for about 15 minutes or until setting point is reached.

Leave to cool for 5 minutes then stir in the stem ginger.

Pour into warm sterilized jars and cover with waxed discs.  When completely cold, cover with cellophane or lids, label and store in a cool place.

(note:  I haven't been able to find waxed discs, so I just pour the marmalade into jars and put the lid on.)   

Sugar: the type of sugar you use is important.  Preserving sugar should be used with fruits that have a high pectin content - the large sugar crystals allow the water to move freely between the crystals on the base of the pan, reducing burning and creating less froth and scum during boiling.  Jam sugar has a balanced amount of natural pectin and citric acid, which helps fruits with a low pectin content to set.

"Scrapbooking" recipes

I have accumulated quite a few photocopied recipes over the years (thanks to the bookman that drops off recipe books at work for us to buy), I have printed off recipes that I have found online, and I have saved magazines with recipes in them that I would like to try.  Problem is, I forget about the recipes because they are tucked away in magazines or I can't remember where I saw that recipe and don't know where to find it without going through a stack of magazines.

So, after being inspired by an arty recipe swap I took part in recently, I decided to scrapbook my recipes.

My recipes folder

                                       

You will need:
A ringbinder
A selection of paper:
Scrapbooking paper
plain A4 paper (coloured)
Scraps of paper, plain or printed
Paper napkins and doilies are also useful.
Plain white photocopy paper
Glue
Craft knife
Ruler                                                                                                    
 Guillotine (very helpful but not essential)
A cuttlebug (or any die-cut machine) is great for embossing and die-cutting shapes, letters, tags, etc, but again, not essential.
A variety of stamps and hole punches (eg hearts, dragonfly, butterfly, or whatever you have).
Paints / inks / watercolour pencils / colouring pencils / crayons etc.

 

Choose a selection of paper to cover your ringbinder with.
Measure the spine, allowing for a 1 inch allowance around all sides.  Measure your paper, and use a ruler and craft knife (or guillotine) to cut to fit.  Before gluing, line it up along the spine and make pencil marks so you know where to put it and fold the paper over the edges.
Glue onto spine, turning over and glueing down the top and bottom onto the inside of the ringbinder.

Measure the front of the ringbinder, giving yourself a 1 inch/4cm allowance around the 3 edges of the ringbinder (top, bottom, and side).  Cut your paper to fit, lining it up along the edge of the spine.  Make pencil marks on the wrong side of your paper, so you know where it fits.  Fold paper over the edges to crease.

For the corners, open your paper back up again (after folding and creasing).  Bring the corner of your paper over the corner of the ringbinder to make a triangle.  Press down to make a sharp crease.  Then fold one side of the paper up and over, and repeat with the other side.  When all your creases have been made, apply glue to your paper and carefully glue onto the front of your ringbinder first, smoothing out as you go to avoid any air bubbles or creases.  Turn over and glue your corners down first, then glue the sides.  Repeat with the back of the ringbinder.

Cut paper to fit the inside of your ringbinder.  You may like to use small squares and piece them together to fit (like patchwork) or use a large piece of paper to cover.  

 

Get out the plain A4 photocopy paper, and paint / stipple / smear / sponge / draw / use crayons.  This is your background.  It doesn't have to be perfect.  You may like to use a touch of gold or iridescent paints over your base colour.  You may like to use watercolour paints (or watered down acrylics) then draw into the wet paint using watercolour pencils.  Lay them out to dry then paint the other side.

Sort out your recipes.  Cut them out and trim them up.  I have pasted mine onto plain paper to give them a border.  You can use fancy scissors to trim the edges of the borders.

Once this is done, sort them out into how you want to group them: desserts together; icecreams; chutneys and sauces together; pasta dishes; entrees; dips and snacks; etc.

I lay out my painted backgrounds over the floor and then place the recipes on them.

Start experimenting with layouts.  If the recipes come with pictures, you may like to put them next to the recipe.
Gather up your pretty papers, napkins, doilies and lay them out on your backgrounds alongside your recipes and work out placement.  Cut out strips of decorative paper to use as borders along the edges of your pages. I like using doilies in the corners as a pretty decorative touch.  Split the napkins so you just have the top part, tear out the images and lay out on your page.

Once you are happy with the layout, start pasting!

Once the pasting has been done, then you can start embellishing your recipe pages with stamps, punches, motifs, pictures, tags.
Go through magazines to look for pictures you like; draw simple shapes (if you can't draw) such as chillies and strawberries,  colour them in and cut and paste.

This is a work in progress!  I have chosen not to laminate my pages, but to keep them in plastic pockets, so I can write on them or add things to them over time as I wish.