Pineapple and lime curd with apricots

Warm weather magically disappeared with a 'puff', leaving behind rain and wind and bad mood.

Hey, khm, with no sun here the least I'm worth is a good long TROPICAL VACATION, right?

But with none coming around...I'm gonna have to do with some tropical curd instead, dreaming of ripe (preferrably peeled and sliced) pineapples falling right into my hands from up above while I myself am sunbathing in my new pretty blue bikinis. (Yes, that would totally fix my mood)

So...

Pineapple and lime curd with dried apricots

5 dl pineapple juice
10 dried apricots
3 eggs
100 g butter
2 1/2 dl sugar
vanilla
1/2 dl lime juice

1. In a saucepan, combine pineapple juice and dried apricots. Boil vigorously without lid until the apricots are soft and the juice is reduced to about 1/2 dl, 20-30 minutes.
2. Measure out 1/2 of reduced juice and dice the apricots into little pieces.
3. Melt butter in a saucepan, add sugar and slightly beaten eggs, whisk until combined. Then add reduced pineapple juice and lime juice. Whisk at moderate heat until the mixture thickens.
4. Flavour with vanilla and add apricot pieces, making sure they do not stick to each other.
5. Pour the curd into jars, close them and leave to cool to room temperature, then store in the fridge.

The curd has really got a nice pineapple flavour to it, with a huge hint to lime. The apricot pieces are soft and full of taste when stumbled upon with your teeth! It's gorgeous like the classical lemon curd, only better;)
Good with cookies, ice cream, between cakes, pancakes, good to dunk a spoon into to enjoy the sensation of a whole mouthful. Just good.

And this good curd will also take part in the brand new event Putting up hosted by Rosie of Rosie bakes a peace of cake and Pixie of You say tomato...I say tomato that is all about preserves!

Lime marmalade

A friend gave me four limes that she had but knew she wouldn't use, making me responsible of preparing something mouthwatering out of them that she'd love too. It's not easy to find recipes JUST for limes, but when I found a recipe for lime marmalade, I was Yes yes yes yes I'm going to make it.


To reduce bitterness, I planned to leave the white rim out of the marmalade. Doing this took more time, but was worth the effort. I didn't reboil the jars in a water bath, but if you want to preserve the marmalade for a longer period (let's say you already want to make Christmas gifts), do it. As it has a heap of sugar in it, I believe well-sealed jars should keep well without doing it too.

Lime marmalade
(adjusted from Food down under)

4 limes
3/4 l water water
about 8 1/2 dl sugar

1. Wash limes very carefully. Remove the green zest (make sure you only remove the green part) and cut into thin strips.
2. Remove the white layer and slice pulp into thin slices, discarding seeds.
3. Place the slices and zest in a bowl, cover with the water and let the mixture soak overnight.
4. Next day pour the mixture into a large pot and cook, covered, for 20 minutes.
5. Measure the cooked mixture and add the same amount of sugar. I had 8 1/2 dl of the mixture, so I added 8 1/2 dl sugar to it.
6. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves.
7. Boil rapidly, stirring frequently, until the mixture reaches the jell point. (I think that took me up to 40 minutes)
8. Remove from heat and skim off foam.
9. Pour into clean jars (I had enough for 3 little ones) and seal. (If you want to boil them in a water bath, leave a 2 cm space between the marmalade and the lid)
10. Process in a water bath: place the jars into a big pot so that water covers them and boil for 10 minutes.

Although I left out the white layer under the zest, the marmalade is still a bit bitter, but that's not a bad thing as it's got the bitter taste of the zest itself. Even on a slice of bread the marmalade creates the effect of a lime bursting in the mouth. In a clean and nice way, of course. It's filled with strips of zest and looks good.

How to use it? Some of my marmalade is for sure waiting for a decent cake to crawl between its layers. Glazing some meat with it could be a good idea, too.

And my friend? She began screaming when she received a jar. And today she spent almost 5 minutes telling me how good the marmalade is and how her parents wanted her to call me and say thank you.
Oh, thank you:)