Random-ish Friday Thoughts.

It's raining outside, which is not nice since I need to run errands - and that means cycling... so soon now, I will be venturing out into the rain.

The cat, meanwhile, is not venturing out into the Great Big Cat Shower - of course not:


Smart cat.

In other news, I've been successful in testing material for a box for my new market/fair stall display boards (which are incredibly nice to have, since they save me a gazillion of setup and takedown time), so I can do the final design now. Which is nice - and a project for this winter.

I also made candied orange peel - which is used for quite a few traditional German Xmas baked things, such as Stollen. Which I am contemplating. (The baking, that is.) Making the candied peel wasn't such a great act as I had thought. Basically, you cut the peel (from untreated oranges, preferably organic, obviously) into small bits, boil them in water for 3 minutes, repeat that again with fresh water (this removes most of the bitterness) and drain them. Now you weigh the boiled peel. Take that amount of sugar, add enough water to make a thick syrup, and simmer the peel in the syrup for one hour.

Once they are done simmering, drain them (you can use the leftover syrup for sweetening other things) and dry them in the fan oven at 60° C for about two hours, periodically stirring them. Store in a glass with some added sugar to prevent them from sticking together.

There you go. Candied orange peel. Tastes lovely!