Friday Files - Marvelous marmalade and things that will be magical

Friday was, as usual, a long day in the kitchen. It was day 2 because I had started with the koeksisters and soup on Thursday.

That was a deliberate strategy because we had a very special engagement that evening.

I was derailed, though. Trish, who stands next to me at the market, announced in our WhatsApp group that she's not well and won't be there. I had, based on the presumption that she'd be there, decided to omit one item from my usual repertoire. That had to change. Something also said to me, on Thursday, that perhaps I didn't have sufficient stock of another product. Suddenly, my relatively quiet day had two more agenda items.

These were my main focus for the day, though: ruby grapefruit. They were delivered by village friends last Sunday. I hadn't expected that many and they stared at me, nestled in their bag for most of the week. until I cleaned them up. Perfect, they were. For a new marmalade.

Of course, with all new things, I'd under estimated the time. Unlike lemon and orange marmalade, grapefruit need different attention. They must be addressed. Thrice.

Once to remove the skin.

Second to remove the remaining pith which must go in the muslin bag with the pips for the pectin essential to the perfect set.

And, finally, to get the chop

Different from other marmalades, this is a low sugar version, which surprised me. It also took less water.

This did enable me to catch up - a bit. It was, however, a little late because as happens with things of this ilk - like with bread - they take as long as they take and I ended up in a time crunch just as I should have been seeing to the lunch.

The final result is a darker, somewhat more rosy coloured marmalade. It's tart with a bitter aftertaste. A little like me, some would say...

Then it was hell for leather and into the shower for to celebrate our former neighbour's 80th birthday.

It was a wonderful intimate gathering of villagers. The menu - for those interested, I've shared photos on my Instagram - was fabulous. The venue, a local and iconic establishment that's nearing the end of a long overdue revamp. We were the first private party in that almost new space - it's going to be magical. Again, I shared some photos - this time on my Destination McGregor Instagram.

A marvelous Friday.

Until next time, be well
Fiona
The Sandbag House
McGregor, South Africa

Photo: Selma
Post script

If this post might seem familiar, it's because I'm doing two things:

• re-vamping old recipes. As I do this, I am adding them in a file format that you can download and print. If you download recipes, buy me a coffee. Or better yet, a glass of wine....?
• and "re-capturing" nearly two years' worth of posts.

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