Tangerine clouds and (pink grapefruit) marmalade skies

The veggie box doesn't just throw up challenges like beets, kohl rabi, or bag upon bag of spinach. This week's fruit/veggie box contained grapefruit and plums, neither of which we particularly like. Once again, it was time to get creative. Many of my favorite blogs have recently been extolling the joys of canning and preserves, it being that time of year. While I often watched my mother make jams when I was younger, it's nothing something I've tackled on my own; pots of boiling sugar make me nervous. However, I came across a simple recipe for pink grapefruit marmalade, I bought a kilo bag of sugar, and started boiling away like a latter-day Willy Wonka.





The result? Two jars of some lovely marmalade, the overly tart nature of the grapefruit beaten into submission by the refined white sugar. It's probably a little too stiff to be perfect, but we weren't sure how much the jam was meant to wrinkle on the plate, so boiled it for an additional 5 minutes. We'll know better next time.



Up next was a Delia recipe for plum crumble slices -- a simple oaty mix with sliced, spiced plums in the center. What a revelation! The plums become jam-like and intensely fruity, with an oaty, squidgy wrapping. I've devoured several slabs on this already today, and am resisting the temptation to buy some double cream to slather on top of some more.



The more traditional elements of the veggie box are also proving invaluable. We're eating lots of salads, a much wider variety of vegetables and dishes than ever before, and I'm reading through my vast collection of cookbooks to find interesting recipes in which to showcase their flavors. I can't recommend this scheme highly enough. We're off to the main farm in a couple of weeks time to do a farm tour and have an apparently excellent lunch (according to The Guardian). I can't wait!