lotusinthemud

lemon and pink grapefruit marmalade recipe

Lemon and Pink Grapefruit Marmalade
from 'Book of Preserves', by the Women's Institute

2 large pink or red grapefruit
2 large lemons
2 kg (4lb 8 oz) granulated sugar

1: Measure 2.25 litres (4 pints) water into a large stainless steel pan or preserving pan.

2: To prepare the grapefruit and lemons, cut the fruit into 1/4s. Squeeze the juice into the pan along with the water. Reserve the membranes and any pips and set aside on a large square of muslin.

3: Cut the peel from the grapefruit and lemons into thin shreds. Add them to the pan as you go. Tie up the membranes and pips in the muslin - tie this bag to the handle of the pan (which makes it easier to remove later) so that the bag is suspended in the water.

4: Bring the liquid up to boiling point and simmer, gently, uncovered, for 2 hours or until the peel is completely soft - it should squash easily between your fingers.

guardian blogs launch: behind the scenes

Here's the lowdown and the team, including my smashing son, Simon (centre, standing)

simon is notable

From my son's blog:

My PyCon UK talk has been accepted. It's even considered notable!. ;-)

::link

it's a bank holiday and my children and grandchildren are going camping

Rain and delays set for weekend

Busy roads, disruption on the railways and wet and cold weather for some are predicted for the Bank Holiday weekend.

children acting older at "young age"

Children's author Jacqueline Wilson says she thinks young people are growing up too quickly, an opinion backed up by a survey showing over half of parents think childhood is over by the age of 11.

making a home for minibeasts

I talked with my sister on her mobile as she was accompanying her husband on his walk - he added this photo at my request so I could see what the log home looked like:

This strange looking "log-sculpture" is one of the wildlife features at the park, where these logs are being allowed to rot down and decay. This newly installed beetle-pyramid will hopefully provide a home for all sorts of creepy-crawlies.

a gorgeous picture of simon and jack from our visit on saturday

::from Simon's blog

marsedit and apple leopard timemachine - transforming my computer usage

....thanks to the amazing Apple Leopard's Time Machine, but, also thanks to my lovely son Simon (who spent Saturday backing up the contents of my PowerBook onto an external hard drive and installing Leopard - and gave me the below as part of my Christmas present along with the wonderful IT Crowd), I'm now uploading to the blogging universe using MarsEdit. I love Apple!

not only am i a timelord...

....thanks to the amazing Leopard's Time Machine, but, also thanks to lovely Simon (who gave me the below as part of my Christmas present along with the wonderful IT Crowd), I'm now uploading to the blogging universe using MarsEdit. So I have plenty to smile about.

leopard on the prowl

All thanks to my son for setting up Leopard on my Powerbook