Saturday, Feb. 02, 2013 - 7:11 a.m.

Got the sangria marmalade in process now. I used the sour oranges from the park. They weren't very juicy, but they had a ton of seeds, which is good in terms of pectin. I'm betting they'll be perfect for this batch because I need to add extra liquid in the form of wine and brandy and grand marnier, and the pectin from all those seeds should make it not a problem. I have half a mind to collect and freeze a bunch of the seeds just to use in low-pectin fruit jams later in the year, like strawberry and peach. But that's a low-priority item this year.

2 cups pulp, 2 cups minced peel, 1/3 c. seeds in cheesecloth bag. soak in 4 c. water and 2 c. red wine (I used a mix of pinot and cabernet that were already open. Maybe that was a bad idea but I think it won't make much difference as much as they're going to be cooked. I don't know. Hope I don't regret it.) Then tomorrow I'll boil it all and add sugar in 1:1 ratio, and a little brandy, grand marnier, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean. Maybe more wine and some lemon juice if necessary to get the flavor right. What else goes in sangria?

If this works out, in peach season I'm totally going to do a white sangria one.

Also got these mandarinquats last week that need to be used.

Got an email from MIL about her preparations for our upcoming visit. She bought U a duck baby towel, so "we need not pack a towel for him". Right, because everyone knows that babies' skin will rub off if you dare dry them with *gasp* an adult towel. Or they'll die of hypothermia if their little heads are not immediately covered in something absorbent and cute? I forget which. Ah, cultural differences.

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