Saturday, July 7, 2012

Hit Back! Candy your limes...

So the heat is excessive again, as they say on the radio, well over 100F today. I went early to the library to get a movie or two,and a book or two. Have you read Maureen Jennings? great detective stories set in 19th century Toronto, with her policeman hero Murdoch. Tv series also starring Murdoch, but the books are very well written, worth a visit. So she will assist with the entertainment during the heatwave.

I admit I have renewed admiration for our founding fathers,who sweltered in exactly this weather all that time ago, without AC, behind tightly closed doors and windows to avoid spying, and in lovely woollen clothes. And hats. And they still turned out documents that made sense, as far as they went.

Meanwhile, back at the weather. We have to think cool. And like a flash it came to me: why, take the extra limes you got at a great price, and have been using for baking and cool drinks, and make candied lime slices.

This seems like a good idea, if you like messing about slicing stuff and boiling stuff,which I do, liking to make jams and pickles and that kind of thing.

So, scorning to look up a recipe for this, I just made a simple syrup, equal parts water and sugar, sliced up two limes with my newly sharpened Big Knife,



and boiled the slices in the syrup till it boiled down a bit and they softened up a bit.



Then I lifted them out of the syrup with tongs, look out, it's boiling, and put them on a sugared sheet of tinfoil, more sugar sprinkled on.



The syrup I saved to use as,well, syrup, like on pancakes.

These don't taste like the commercial fruit slices where you wonder if there's any fruit there, but are really quite strong tasting, very citrusy/ironish, not to everyone's taste, but fine by me. And you can also bury them in sugar to flavor the sugar for future baking purposes.

Stop me before I candy again...

4 comments:

  1. Yum they sound good. Hope you are coping with the heat, we could do with some hot and dry, before we grow webbed feet

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  2. I remember my grandfather sitting in the heat with his long underwear and a shirt buttoned up to his neck. Don't remember him complaining about being hot either.

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  3. I often wondered how they could do all the regular work on such hot days..cooking, laundry, garden..and wearing long skirts and 40 lbs of underwear! LOL We don't realize how well off we are! Oh and I love the Murdoch Mysteries too.
    Sue (aka Mrs Noofy)

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  4. I'm headed to the Sierras next month for a week of 90 degree temps. I don't like the heat and it doesn't like me; I try to take off as much as I can to endure it. As I will be at a music camp with 99 other happy folks, I'm glad I've taken off the most important bits - i.e. fifteen pounds - so that being clothed will be more bearable. When all else fails, I'll jump in the river!

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