Meyer Lemon Marmalade

I brought some lemons back from CA (and bought more at Costco) with the intention of trying to make lemon marmalade again. Last time was good, but a little overcooked. This time I got lucky and it's pretty close to perfect.

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 pounds Meyer lemons
• 2.5 cups sugar
• water (3 cups needed for the actual jam recipe, but start with more for boiling)
• Pomona's Pectin (I bought this in CA.  Not sure if it's available locally, but it's really a unique product that allows me to successfully make jam with less sugar.  It's a 2 step process - definitely different than using SureJell, so read the directions carefully.)

PREPARE THE PECTIN 

• Prepare the Calcium Water.  To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well.  Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
• For this recipe, mix 4.5 teaspoons of pectin powder with 2.5 cups of sugar. 

SOFTEN THE LEMON PEELS

• 1.5 pounds of washed Meyer lemons (round the weight up if necessary, but don't cut a lemon to keep it at 1.5 pounds. I weighed 1 lb, 12 ounces for this batch.)
• Place in a single layer in a pot, cover with water, bring it to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes. (Cover with a lid to keep your water from evaporating.)
• Cool until you can work with them.
• Save the cooking water.

COMBINE INGREDIENTS 

• Cut each lemon in half and remove the seeds.  The lemon is pretty broken down after all that simmering, so use a cutting surface that will hold the juice that tries to escape.
• Peels and all, put them in the blender with 3 cups of the cooking water. (I divided the lemons and water in half to do this in 2 steps.  Not sure my blender would have held it all and I didn't want to overprocess it.)  
• I processed it on my slow pulse setting so it would roughly chop but not puree.
• Pour it into a pot and bring the water and chopped lemons to a boil.
• add 3 teaspoons of prepared Calcium Water (1 part of the Pomona's process)
• Add pectin-sugar mixture, stirring vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve the pectin while the marmalade comes back up to a boil.  Once the marmalade returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat.

PROCESS THE JARS

• Fill hot jars to ¼” of top. Wipe rims clean. Screw on 2-piece lids. Put filled jars in boiling water to cover. Boil 10 minutes (add 1 minute more for every 1,000 ft. above sea level). Remove from water. Let jars cool. Check seals; lids should be sucked down. Eat within 1 year. Lasts 3 weeks once opened.

NOTES (as if I needed more):

Food in Jars has a more traditional marmalade recipe but it's lemon ginger.  That sounds pretty great so I might use my extra lemons along with a tube of Aldi Ginger Paste to try this all over again.

I used bits and pieces of all these recipes.  Take a look if you want to refer to someone who knows what they're talking about.

• https://pomonapectin.com/orange-marmalade/
• https://foodinjars.com/recipe/meyer-lemon-ginger-marmalade/
• https://foodinjars.com/recipe/honey-sweetened-meyer-lemon-jam/

I'm pretty sure this is all firmly in the ranks of rambling, poorly written recipes, but since there are basically 5 readers, I'm not too concerned.  LMK if something is unclear and I'll update.

Pizza crust - Gerardi method

 5 stars!

I used the Sallys Baking Addiction recipe - https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/homemade-pizza-crust-recipe/#tasty-recipes-66436

• I mixed it at lunch time so it had lots of time for the yeasty taste to develop. (Probably not essential)
• To bake, I preheated the oven to 475 with a baking sheet inside to heat up.
• I rolled out the crust on a silicone mat.
• Brush it with olive oil where the sauce will be to keep it from getting soggy.
• Add sauce and toppings and slid it onto another inverted baking sheet to make it easier to transfer to the hot pan.
• When the oven was hot I pulled out the pan and butted up against my inverted baking sheet so I could easily slide it all onto the hot pan. An extra set of hands would probably make all that unnecessary.
• Bake 10 minutes on the bottom rack and maybe 4 more on the top.

It slid onto a cutting board easily.

NOTES: 

• Holly uses parchment paper at 450.
• Johnny uses a silpat and 500 degrees.
• They both use TJs crust
• Sallys recipe filled the baking sheet with a thicker crust than I usually make. Next time I’ll probably try 2 thinner crusts.
• Fwiw, I added Italian seasoning and garlic powder to the crust. It was good.

Mocha Madness Ice Cream

 

• 1 cup (227g) milk, cold, whole preferred
• 3/4 cup (149g) granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons (11g) espresso powder
• 2 tablespoons (11g) unsweetened cocoa, Dutch-process or natural
• 2 cups (454g) heavy cream or whipping cream, cold
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 8 (113g) chocolate sandwich cookies, broken into small pieces

1. Whisk or mix together the milk, sugar, espresso powder, and cocoa until the sugar has dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla.

2. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.

3. Stir the cookie bits into the soft ice cream and serve immediately. Or freeze for longer storage.

   NOTES:

   less espresso powder would also be good.

GF Angel Food Cake

This mix from Aldi gets two thumbs up, even from the pro-gluten crowd!
It does require a dozen egg whites, so the texture is right on.

Lemon Orzo Salad

• 1 lb. whole wheat orzo 
• 2/3 cup Panera® Mediterranean Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries 
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds 
• 1 tbsp. lemon zest 
• 3/4 cup feta, crumbled 
• 3 cups mixed greens (like arugula, baby kale and baby spinach) 
• to taste salt and black pepper
• Instructions:

1. Cook pasta to al dente, drain and rinse 
2. Mix everything together 

My Notes:

• Use half the pasta called for
• Instead of the fancy (and I'm sure delicious) dressing, I just juiced the lemon and mixed it with cheap-o Aldi Italian dressing. It's really good!
• My greens are all spinach
• Would be better thoroughly chilled with the greens added just before serving.

Source:

https://www.paneraathome.com/meal-ideas/types/salads/lemon-orzo-salad

Corn Salsa

(Found in my search for a Trader Joe's copycat recipe)

4 ears of sweet corn (kernels removed and reserved, husks discarded)
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 cup distilled white vinegar
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup water
1 and ½ tsp mustard seeds
¼ tsp. cumin seeds
1 red onion, minced
1 and ½ tsp. ground red pepper (add an extra tsp. ground red pepper if you like your salsa more spicy)

1. Toss the sweet corn kernels and chopped red pepper together in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar, water, mustard seeds, and cumin seeds. Pace the pan over medium-high heat until it begins to boil. Reduce the liquid to a simmer. Add the chopped onion and ground red pepper. Simmer until the onion becomes translucent, about 10 minutes. To the simmering liquid, add the sweet corn and chopped red pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the corn salsa to a non-reactive container, pressing down lightly to pack the corn. Gently pour the remaining cooking liquid from the saucepan over the packed salsa just until it is covered. Refrigerate for a day before serving (to allow the flavors to develop).
4. Serve with chips for dipping.

Tikka Masala

Excellent sauce at a great Aldi price!  Just combine with cooked chunks of chicken and sweet peppers and serve over rice.  (They sell jasmine rice at Aldi now too!)

TJ's Coconut strips

Very delicious.  They should sell them in a bigger package.
Yes, this is an empty package.

Alfredo Sauce

We've rejected most of the jarred Alfredo sauces we've tried but this one has passed the test and now this one makes the short list too.

We mixed it with steamed broccoli, 8 ounces of linguine and some rotisserie chicken for a very respectable and very quick dinner.

Dried Coconut

Thank you, Aldi, for hearing our cries!
Not a great price ($3.79 for 5 ounces), but as delicious as the oft-mourned version no longer available at Costco.

(Actually, I wonder if the price on amazon went down.  $16 something with Prime shipping seems pretty reasonable all of a sudden.)

Sangria

1 bottle red wine (Winking Owl Merlot was perfect for this)
4 oz brandy
3 oz triple sec
2 oranges
2 limes
1 apple
4-6 oz simple syrup, to taste
12 oz or more club soda

Juice one orange and one lime; combine with first three ingredients. Add simple syrup to taste. Slice the remaining fruit thinly and add to pitcher. Chill thoroughly and serve over ice mixed about 2:1 with club soda.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

First of all, Molly's version:

Ingredients
1 medium onion
2 Tbsp butter
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans tomato soup
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 8 oz package cream cheese, cubed
Directions:
Saute onions in butter. Stir in tomatoes, soup, milk, and spices. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer ten minutes. Stir in cheese until melted (or "melty").

I was making it for a group so I needed a bigger batch and I had some random, related things on hand so this is what I did:

• 2 (on the small side of) medium onions, chopped 
• Saute in some butter
• 1 carton of Aldi's Roasted Red Pepper Tomato soup
• a bunch of leaves from my basil plant
• 16 ounces of softened cream cheese

Puree it all with an immersion blender, heat, then add:

• 2 tsp. paprika
• 3/4 tsp garlic powder
• 2 28 ounce cans of petite diced tomatoes

Heat and serve with buttery croutons.

It was a hit with the Core Team!

Apologies for the terrible picture.  It tastes much better than this makes it look.

Teriyaki Stir Fry

I'm a little embarrassed to post this right after Holly's pasta masterpiece, but here goes.

Teriyaki stir fry mix from Aldi

• I bought this product at Aldi and we thought it was pretty good.
• It required the same basic skill level as boxed macaroni and cheese, but there were lots of actual vegetables involved and the sauce was not over salted or sweet.
• This version is vegetarian and 37 ounces.  It says 8 servings, but I'd guess closer to 5 or 6.
• I added shrimp, but it would also be good as is or with leftover pork or chicken.
• Anyway, not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination, but a perfectly acceptable meal when a quick one is needed.

Cherry Pie LaraBars

1 1/4 cups medjool dates, pitted
1 1/4 cups dried cherries
1 1/2 cups almonds, toasted (optional)

To toast the almonds, place them on a baking sheet and bake at 400°F for ten minutes. Remove from oven and transfer the almonds to a bowl or plate to cool.

Place dates and cherries in a food processor and pulse until a gooey semi-paste has formed (you want some bits of fruit, but not huge pieces). Empty the dried fruit into a large mixing bowl. Put the almonds in the food processor and pulse to coarse bits. You don’t want to make this a powder. Empty the almonds into the mixing bowl with the dried fruit. Knead the dried fruit and almonds together until combined and evenly distributed. Press the mixture into the bottom of an 8-inch or 9-inch square pan to about 1/2-inch thickness. Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes. Invert the pan’s contents onto a cutting board and slice to desired size. Makes about a dozen 1.5- x 3.5-inch bars with a few odd pieces leftover.

NOTES: 

• Source for this recipe.
• I had a bag of dried cherries from Aldi which was a little more than a cup, so I just added 1 1/2 cups of dates.
• The Aldi cherries list sugar as an ingredient, so I might search for a sugar-free option next time.  The sad part of this is that Aldi's dried cherries are a fantastic price.  :(
• I added a little salt.
• Not sure I had the variety of dates this recipe called for - I bought whatever it is they sell at Sam's.
• It says that toasting the almonds is "optional."  Ignore that.  Toasting the almonds is fantastic!  It was an easy step and added a wonderful flavor.
• I would never do this without a food processor, but it worked really well with it.

Aldi Reviews - Three Bean Salad

99 cents
Good flavor.
The texture is a little mushy, but they are cooked green beans for heaven's sake!  I'd buy it again.

Aldi Reviews - Thin Wheat Crackers

In the interest of saving money and boycotting Nabisco, we're trying to buy more stuff at Aldi.  These both get high marks in side-by-side tests with Wheat Thins and, as expected, they're about half the price.

$1.29 for either original or reduced fat.

Aldi Reviews - Sunflower Seed Bread

$1.49
I bought this because I was curious about the product and the possibility of using it for the Tea.  There are 7 thin slices in a package, each about 3"x 6".  It tastes really healthy (more like nuts held together with a little bread dough), and toasted really well.  It's pretty dry and firm and would probably make a good base for some kind of hors d'oeuvres, used in the same way as those little pumpernickel loaves I get in the deli section at the grocery store.  It would not be good in any kind of traditional sandwich with two slices of bread, imo.  It came in two other flavors: pumpernickel and (maybe whole wheat - can't remember for sure).

One thumbs up for super-healthy toast!

Aldi Reviews - Sweet Potato Chips

$1.99 for 7 ounces
Good flavor and very lightly salted.
The firm, crisp texture would be good with some kind of really healthy dip.  (If you have suggestions, let me know.)

Aldi Reviews: Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins

Good bacon flavor

Great texture

Pretty much all intact

.99 cents

(Yeah, I had you at "bacon.")

Two thumbs-up, btw.

Aldi Reviews: Pizzelle

• 40 cookies
• Crisper and thinner than the ones we made last year.
• Possibly a little less anise flavor, but it was still prominent.
• Nice size and shape, and great packaging to keep them intact and fresh. (Wrapped in 4 separate packages.)
• Only $2.79 (I'm pretty sure that's less than I paid for the bottle of anise extract last year.)
• Definite two thumbs-up!