DIY Easy Lemon Marmalade

Making your own marmalade is surprisingly easy and requires very few ingredients. Lemon marmalade is a refreshing and unique twist on the classic orange marmalade. You could even use a combination of orange and lemon together for a really unusual marmalade.

Homemade Lemon Refrigerator Marmalade Recipe

• 1 extra large or 2 regular lemons
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water

1. Wash the lemon(s) well, and cut off the top and bottom, but do not peel. This time this has nothing to do with my disdain for peeling things unnecessarily, you need the peel for the recipe to work right. The peel has natural pectin in it that will help the marmalade thicken. Without it you will have runny marmalade.
2. Cut the lemon(s) into eight or more pieces and place in the blender with the sugar and the water. Blend well.*
3. Transfer to a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
4. Boil for 15–20 minutes, until well thickened.
5. Remove from heat, and allow to cool. If you have any undesired chunks of lemon in the marmalade, you can scoop them out at this point.
6. Transfer to a glass jar, and refrigerate for storage. I have read that this type of marmalade can be kept in a cold refrigerator for up to 6 months, but I have never had it last long enough to test that myself.

*You may have noticed by now that I love my blender, as it makes so many things easier. You can make marmalade without a blender by cutting the unpeeled lemon(s) into very small pieces, boiling, and then mashing with a potato masher. This is a little more work and makes it a little chunkier, but it will still very good. I have made lots of marmalade successfully using this method, and some people even prefer chunkier marmalade.

DIY Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars

These are great for snacking at home or on the go. Just wrap them individually in plastic wrap. The boys love these chocolate granola bars as much as most types of cookies.

Homemade Chocolate Granola Bars Recipe

• ½ cup peanut butter
• ½ cup honey
• ½ cocoa powder
• 1½ cups oatmeal
• ½ additions (raisins, other dried fruit, seeds, chocolate chips, or just more oatmeal)

1. Melt peanut butter in a medium saucepan on the stove.
2. Stir in honey and cocoa powder.
3. Add oats, and stir until well coated. Add additions (unless using chocolate chips, and then wait until the mixture cools), and stir well.
4. Spread into a greased 9x9 pan, and bake at 350 F for 15–20 minutes.
5. Remove from oven, and allow to cool 10–15 minutes before cutting into bars.

DIY Easy Orange Marmalade

Making your own marmalade is surprisingly easy and requires very few ingredients. I used 1 large navel orange for this batch but look forward to making it again when the small sweet mandarin oranges comeback in season as well. Do you think it is funny that Walmart has Sunkist navel oranges here? I sure do.

Homemade Orange Refrigerator Marmalade

• 1 large or 2 small oranges
• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/4 cup water

1. Wash the orange(s) well, and cut off the top and bottom, but do not peel. This actually has nothing to do with my disdain for peeling things unnecessarily, you need the peel for the recipe to work right. The peel has natural pectin in it that will help the marmalade thicken. Without it you will have runny marmalade.
2. Cut orange into eight or more pieces, and place in the blender with the sugar and the water. Blend well.*
3. Transfer to a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
4. Boil for 15–20 minutes until well thickened.
5. Remove from heat, and allow to cool. If you have any undesired chunks of orange in the marmalade, you can scoop them out at this point.
6. Transfer to a glass jar, and refrigerate for storage. I have read that this type of marmalade can be kept in a cold refrigerator for up to 6 months, but I have never had it last long enough to test that myself.

*You may have noticed by now that I love my blender, as it makes so many things easier. You can make marmalade without a blender by cutting the unpeeled orange into very small pieces, boiling, and then mashing with a potato masher. This is a little more work and makes it a little chunkier, but it will still very good. I have made lots of marmalade successfully using this method, and some people even prefer chunkier marmalade.

DIY Peanut Butter Granola Bars

These are great for snacking at home or on the go. Just wrap individually in plastic wrap.

Homemade Peanut Butter Granola Bars Recipe

• ½ cup peanut butter
• ½ cup honey
• 1½ cups oatmeal
• ½ additions (raisins, other dried fruit, seeds, chocolate chips, or just more oatmeal)

1. Melt peanut butter in a medium saucepan on the stove.
2. Stir in honey.
3. Add oats, and stir until well coated. Add additions (unless using chocolate chips, then wait until the mixture cools), and stir well.
4. Spread into a greased 9x9 pan, and bake at 350 F for 15–20 minutes.
5. Remove from oven, and allow to cool 10–15 minutes before cutting into bars.
   

DIY Corn Syrup

I don't regularly buy corn syrup and don't really like to have it in our diets anyway. But I came across a couple of recipes for art supplies that I wanted to try now, and some special treat recipes to possibly make for the holidays that called for corn syrup. I also have no idea if I could actually buy it anywhere in Kunming. So, I learned how to make my own. I am not sure if this is much healthier than regular corn syrup (because the cream of tartar is supposed to breakdown the sugar to simple sugars that prevent crystal formation), but if you have corn allergies, can't get corn syrup, or just don't want to buy something you rarely use, this is a great alternative.

Homemade Corn Syrup Substitute Recipe

• 2 cups of sugar
• 3/4 cup of water
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Mix all ingredients in at least a 2 or 3 quart (or liter) saucepan. The syrup really bubbles up at first and you don't want burning hot syrup bubbling up onto you or your counter.
2. Slowly bring to a rolling boil, while stirring constantly.
3. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened to soft ball stage. To determine soft ball stage use a candy thermometer (soft ball stage is is 235-240 F at sea level*). At soft ball stage, the syrup will form a soft ball when a drop is dripped into cold water. This ball will flatten when taken out of the water.

*If you forget that you are cooking at a high altitude, and that this effects not only baking but boiling temperature, like I did, and you keep trying to cook the syrup to this temperature, the syrup will definitely smoke and burn. At that point you will need to throw that batch out, carefully because it is amazingly hot. then you will need to start over. And if you are running low on sugar you may decide to reduce all amounts and make a tiny test batch, which is why my jar of syrup is so small. I then made sure to test the stage of the sugar syrup by dripping a small amount in cold water. This worked much better. My small test batch turned out amazingly well though, thick and really sweet like regular corn syrup, so it was a resounding success. And the tiny batch made enough for the watercolors and glue that I wanted to make now anyway, and they turned out great. I'll just have to make more syrup when I need it next. At least now I know how to do so without smoking up the kitchen.

This regular recipe makes about 2 cups of syrup and is supposed to keep well for up to two months.

DIY Ice Cream Recipes

Here are some great recipes for delicious homemade ice cream. You don't even need an ice cream freezer. These are rich and delicious recipes. If you are looking for a decadent treat for a special dessert, these are great. These are great accompaniments to some of these other dessert recipes. If you are looking for a lighter dessert, you could try one of these frozen yogurt recipes.

• Caramel Ice cream
• Dark Chocolate Ice Cream
• Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
• Moose-tracks Ice Cream
• Pumpkin Ice Cream
• Turtle Ice cream
• Vanilla Ice Cream: Making Ice Cream Without a Machine

DIY Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola

Chocolatey Granola Chunks

The cocoa doesn't add nutrition to this otherwise completely healthy recipe, but it does add a lot of fun. If you are trying to transition from high sugar, store bought cereal or are having a hard time convincing kids to eat granola, this is a great this is a great way to start. I just make it once in a while for variety or an extra special breakfast.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Granola

• ½ cup honey (maple syrup, or pancake syrup can be substituted)
• 1 cup peanut butter (or regular butter)
• ¼ to ½ cup cocoa powder
• 6 cups oatmeal
• 1 cup or more of additions (such as raisins, dried fruit, nuts, or seeds) (optional)

In a large non-stick or cast iron pot, melt the peanut butter, stirring frequently. Turn off heat, and stir in honey. If you want the entire mixture to be chocolatey, add ½ cup cocoa powder now. If you want a half peanut buttery and half chocolatey mixture, mix half of the peanut butter mixture with 3 cups of oatmeal. Then add ¼ cup cocoa powder to the other half of the peanut butter mixture, and mix in remaining oatmeal. Spread on cookie sheets and bake at 350F for 10–15 minutes. Check granola at this point to see if it has browned lightly. Stir and bake for another 10–15 minutes if necessary.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Granola

Allow the granola to cool before mixing in other additions and transferring to an airtight container for storage. I usually  make the half peanut butter and half chocolate version and don't bother adding extra additions to this tasty recipe.

DIY Easy Peanut Butter Granola

This recipe is super easy to make. It saves a lot of money even in the States. Here, where cereal is so expensive that I have heard of cereal being requested as a Christmas gift, it really cuts breakfast costs. Especially, when I buy the ingredients in bulk.

Peanut Butter Honey Granola

½ cup honey (maple syrup, or pancake syrup can be substituted)
1 cup peanut butter (or regular butter)
6 cups oatmeal
1 cup or more of additions (such as raisins, dried fruit, nuts, or seeds) (optional)

Truth be told, I usually don't bother to measure this recipe anymore, but this is the basic ratio.

In a large non-stick or cast iron pot, melt the peanut butter, stirring frequently. Turn off heat, and stir in honey. Add oatmeal, and stir to coat evenly with the peanut butter and honey mixture. If you wish to add unroasted nuts or seeds to the granola, do so now. Spread on cookie sheets and bake at 350F for 10–15 minutes. Check granola at this point to see if it has browned lightly. Stir and bake for another 10–15 minutes if necessary.

Allow the granola to cool before mixing in other additions and transferring to an airtight container for storage.

Family Friday: Dinner, Grocery, and Bus Adventures

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to visit the extremely nice Chinese-American gentleman who hosted us the night we first arrived. Sam is back in town a for a few weeks and kindly invited us out to dinner with his wife and son. They took us to a very nice Chinese restaurant near their home. I have never seen a fancy restaurant with a playplace, but I think that it is an idea that Olive Garden and even higher end American restaurants should pursue, because it made the evening so enjoyable. The boys were able to play while we visited, and everyone was happy. After we talked for a while, gave them a small gift, and attempted unsuccessfully to pay the bill (Sam really is to nice to us), we agreed to keep in touch and bid them good night.

We thought since we were already right next to Metro (a German version of Walmart), we would try to stock up on a few bulk purchases before heading home. We got pasta, tomato paste, oatmeal, peanut butter, real Hellman's mayonnaise, and a huge tub of chocolate ice cream. The ice cream is the only item that is not fabulous, but the boys love it (Aaron has nick-named it, "a big ol' kind of ice cream"), and it is cheap to buy it this way. Thankfully, we were able to find everything we were looking for and ended up purchasing about 24 kilos (50 pounds) of western food staples for about $60 US, which is quite a good price for rare and imported items. Besides making everything yourself, buying in bulk is the only really affordable way to have western food here. It is nice that we are able to have some of these convenience foods on hand for some easy meals. Yes, these are convenience foods to us, and no I didn't always view these as convenience foods either. Hopefully, these items will last us about two months.

On a very crowded bus

Now for the inconvenient part of the story: the bus system. To get to this part of town, we needed to take two buses. We were late getting to Sam's house for dinner in the first place because we had to wait a long time to get the connecting bus, and boy was it packed. It was so packed in fact that for several stops, they couldn't accept any more passengers. This very rarely happens on a double decker bus. There were even people standing on the stairs.

A not so crowded bus

We were really hoping that it wouldn't be quite so crowded on the way home, as we had 4 bags of food, 2 small boys, and 1 awesome but still bulky double stroller to get on and off of two buses to go home. We were really blessed and got seats on both buses on the way home. We were very glad to be home. We had some big ol' kind of ice cream and went straight to bed.

Nate is very glad that he won't have to ride the buses so often for a while as he finished his first semester of classes and has a short break before classes resume in the fall.

DIY Powdered Sugar

Recently, I learned that you could make powdered sugar at home in your blender using plain old granulated sugar. I was really excited because powdered sugar is quite expensive here, so it is one of the first things I tried to make in my new blender. But even if it just saved you a trip to the store when you ran out, it would totally be worth it to make it yourself because it is so simple.

Powdered Sugar Recipe

Granulated sugar

Pour a small amount of granulated sugar into your blender, and blender until all the sugar is finely ground like powdered sugar. That's it, wasn't that simple?

I did notice that the amount of sugar pretty consistently increased by 25% when I ground it into powdered sugar. When I ground 1 cup of granulated sugar, I would end up with 1¼ cups of powdered sugar. Something to keep in mind, if you only want to make enough for a specific recipe.

One other thing that I noticed was that the powdered sugar I made wasn't quite as fine as American powdered sugar, but the granulated sugar and powdered sugar here are grittier in general. So the powdered sugar I can make here, is about the same as the powdered sugar I can buy here. Homemade powdered sugar seems to work well in everything I have tried it in so far, but if you are trying to make super sweet powdered sugar and shortening frosting, there might be a difference in the final texture.

DIY Fresh Lemonade an Easier Way

I came across this method for making fresh lemonade a little while ago and could wait to try it out. Thanks to my sweet honey, we now have a new blender. This method is simple and fast, and you can actually use less lemons than if you squeeze them by hand. Here is how I use this method.

Easy Blender Fresh Lemonade or Concentrate Recipe

(makes 2 quarts)
2 lemons
½ to 1 cup sugar
water

First wash the outside of the lemons thoroughly. Then lemons cut into fourths or eighths. Place lemons in the blender and cover lemons with water. Blend for a few seconds. There should still be chunks of lemon. Strain this mixture over a pitcher. I usually have about 2 cups of lemon liquid at the point. Now you can either add sugar and water to equal two quarts, or freeze as concentrate for later use.

DIY Pasta

Drying Pasta on a hanger

Fresh homemade pasta tastes so much, well, fresher than dry store bought pasta. I often make it for special occasions or when we can't cheaply buy wheat pasta.

Basic Pasta Recipe

(about 2–3 adult servings of pasta, recipe can easily be multiplied by however many servings you need)

1 egg
1 cup flour (white, whole wheat, or a mixture)
2 or more Tbsp water

Measure flour into a bowl or on a clean counter, make a well in the center, add eggs, and mix until well incorporated. Add water a couple of tablespoons at a time and knead well until dough reaches a nice elastic consistency. You can add extra herbs or a little olive oil for a different flavor at this time. Let the dough rest at least a half an hour, and then roll and cut into desired shape.

Flat rectangles for lasagna are the easiest, and you don't even have to dry or boil them. Just layer, bake, or freeze for later. You can also cut smaller rectangles, fill, and roll into manicotti. Or you can cut squares or hearts for ravioli, fill, and use a little egg white or water to seal the edges. Or you can simply cut long strips for fettuccine, dry for at least 15 minutes so that the noodles don't stick together, and boil like regular pasta.

After cutting, you can either bake a pasta dish right away or freeze it for later. Pasta can also be dried and stored in an airtight container for later use. Homemade pasta does not keep well in the fridge (not even overnight), but does freeze beautifully, so you can make multiple batches at a time.

DIY Pancake Syrup

This recipe is definitely not as healthy for you as real maple syrup, but is much cheaper. I think is tastes much more like real maple syrup than the maple flavored pancake syrup from the store. I think that this could even make a unique homemade food gift for a breakfast lover.

Simple Pancake Syrup

3 cups granulated sugar
1½ cups water
1 tsp maple extract of maple flavoring

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil stirring frequently. Pour over pancakes, and enjoy immediately, or cool and store for later use.

Some people prefer a little vanilla extract, butter flavoring, and/or molasses added to the recipe to make a more complex flavor of syrup. If you don't like maple flavor in the first place, you can use another flavor instead: vanilla, almond, and raspberry all work well.

Someday I am going to try this tip about saving water from boiling potatoes to make the syrup thicker and richer. I hate throwing anything remotely useful away too, I think I inherited that from my dad.

DIY Mayonnaise

Homemade mayonnaise is a little time consuming but tastes awesome. I hadn't made it for quite a while, but we ran out of store bought mayo, and it is over an hour each way by bus to get inexpensive Hellman's mayonnaise here. So I decided to try it again. This time, making my own mayonnaise would actually save me time. I also pasteurized the egg this time since I wanted to keep the mayonnaise for more than a couple of days in the fridge. I'll be honest, I don't usually pasteurize raw eggs in things we are going to eat right away (and I do like to eat cookie dough too). However, if you are in a high risk group (very young, very old, immunocompromised, etc.), want to save the mayonnaise a little longer, or the thought of eating raw eggs just freaks you out, go ahead and pasteurize the egg so that you don't have to worry about getting food poisoning from salmonella.

Basic Mayonaise

1 egg yolk
1 cup of oil (vegetable, canola, sunflower, and oil all work well, avoid strongly flavored oil like the weird fish flavored vegetable oil here)

Separate the egg yolk and whisk in a mixing bowl. Begin to add oil literally drop by drop at first whisking to incorporate each drop really well. Don't rush this step. This is not difficult but does require a little patience. If you add too much oil in the beginning the fat emulsion will not hold and your mayonnaise will separate back into egg and oil. After you have incorporated about a third of the oil, you can begin to add the oil a little quicker, until all of the oil is incorporated. If you get tired of whisking by hand, call for someone with endless energy to help. Or you can make this recipe with a hand mixer, stand mixer, or blender to speed up the process slightly and save your arm a little workout.

At this time you can mix in a few tablespoon of whey from draining yogurt (thereby making yogurt "cream" cheese) to better preserve the mayonnaise. Or you can your own healthy lowfat mayo by mixing half mayonnaise and half yogurt. This reduces the fat content with something that is actually good for you and helps preserve the mayo at the same time.

If you want a more flavorful mayonnaise, you can add a teaspoon or two of lemon juice, vineger, or mustard to the egg yolk at the beginning. Some people like a pinch of salt and/or pepper too.

DIY Convenience Foods

Whole Strawberry Sauce

Many store bought convenience foods can easily be made at home. Making them yourself means you know exactly what is in it, and it is usually much cheaper. I still buy some convenience foods, but what I do buy, and what I consider a convenience food has changed considerably over the years. And sometimes it is really more convenient for me to be able to make something myself when we run out, than to have to make a special trip to a store.

• 2 Ingredient Crock Pot Strawberry Jam 
• Caramel Chips
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars
• Cinnamon Brown Sugar Granola 
• Cinnamon or Pumpkin Spice Syrup  
• Corn Syrup Substitute
• Easy Orange Marmalade
• Easy Lemon Marmalade 
• Fresh Lemonade the Easier Way
• Frozen Yogurt 
• 1-2-3 Ingredient "Vegan Ice Cream"
• Banana Frozen Yogurt
• Berry Frozen Yogurt 
• Caramelized Pear Frozen Yogurt
• Dreamsicle Frozen Yogurt 
• Grape Frozen Yogurt
• Kiwi frozen Yogurt
• Lemon Ice
• Mango Frozen Yogurt
• Milk Chocolate Frozen Yogurt
• Peach Frozen Yogurt
• Plum Frozen Yogurt
• Vanilla Frozen Yogurt
• Granola 
• Hearty Pancakes
• Ice Cream 
• Dark Chocolate Ice Cream
• Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
• Moose-tracks Ice Cream
• Vanilla Ice Cream: Making Ice Cream Without a Machine
• Lemonade
• Light and Fluffy Pancakes 
• Mayonnaise
• Pancake Syrup
• Pasta 
• Pasteurized Eggs 
• Peanut Butter Granola Bars
• Powdered Sugar 
• Pudding Recipes 
• Butterscotch Pudding
• Cappuccino Pudding
• Caramel Pudding
• Chocolate Pudding
• Peanut Butter Pudding
• Pudding Pops
• Vanilla Pudding
• Pumpkin Butter
• Processed Pumpkin
• Saltines
• Strawberry Sauce 
• Ranch Dressing Mix, Dressing, and Dip
• Wheat Thins
• Whole Strawberry Sauce
• Yogurt Pops