.

There is no cheese that I enjoy more than high quality, handmade ricotta. For years I poo-poo’d it because all I had ever tasted was the shelf stable, strangely homogeneous, fairly tasteless, mass-produced grocery store variety. And then a few years ago…

Yesterday I inaugurated my new canning equipment — a huge 12 quart stockpot, a canning funnel, a magnetic lid lifter, and a bright red rubber coated jar lifter. Joy! Granted…

Homemade Limoncello
makes about 2.5 liters
Stage 1: Infusing
Zest of 15 medium-sized organic lemons, cut into long strips using a vegetable peeler or knife
1 liter grain alcohol (Everclear, etc.)
1 liter vodka (low end stuff is ok here — save the Grey Goose for your martinis)
Combine lemon peels and alcohol in a large glass jar (choose a jar [...]

 
Wild Elderberry Preserves with Honey and Almond
using Pomona’s Pectin (citrus-based)
makes ~ 4 1/2 – 5 cups
4 c. mashed elderberries (from about 4 1/2 c. berries)
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 t. calcium water (from Pomona’s Pectin package)
1 c. honey at room temperature
2 t. Pomona’s powdered pectin
1 t. pure almond extract
Sterilize 5 cups worth of canning jars and [...]

Strawberry and Blueberry Tart with Lemon Curd
Adapted from recipe at Epicurious.com

Curd
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
Crust
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (or a mixture of AP and whole wheat pastry flour)
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut [...]

Blood Orange Marmalade with Rosemary
Adapted from The Herbfarm Cookbook by Jerry Traunfeld
2.5 lbs blood oranges
2 large meyer lemons
6 cups cold water
8 cups sugar
6 6-in sprigs rosemary, wrapped in a single layer of cheesecloth and tied with twine
Special Equipment:
6 pints worth of canning jars (I used three pint jars plus 6 half-pint jars), and corresponding [...]

Update 3/28/08: This post has been submitted to the ‘Grow Your Own‘ blog event hosted by Andrea’s Recipes. Check it out!
Moroccan Salt Preserved Citrus: Blood Oranges and Meyer Lemons

The following preparation method can be used with regular (Eureka) lemons, meyer lemons, or blood oranges (slightly more sour than typical oranges). Quantities [...]