UPDATE: Manon has shared a link to a detailed and useful recipe (in French) for calamondin marmelade. I don't have time to translate it right now. Can anyone help?

FURTHER UPDATE: Great news! Camilla of www.preservationsociety.ca has very generously translated the recipe for calamondin marmalade. Thank you, Camilla! Now a final question: where can *I* get some calamondins?

See the full recipe by clicking through below:

This morning at the Hollywood Farmers Market, I got a nice surprise from farmer James Birch of Flora Bella Farms: cardoons, a thistle that's related to artichokes and tastes somewhat like them. Cardoon stems make a good pickle. James should have more at the Santa Monica Farmers Market on Wednesday. Don't miss this tasty rarity.

II just got back from the Owens Valley, where I was helping to plan next summer's local gardens. My favorite idea is to focus on chileño peppers, an heirloom variety that's well adapted to the area and pickle well. But whatever gets planted, there will be canning to do at harvest time.

The picture above was taken on the Owens dry lakebed. A hundred years ago, there was enough water there to float steamships. Now there is an akali desert dotted with rank puddles. You know what happened? Los Angeles got thirsty and helped itself to all the water. (Cf. Chinatown.) LA still takes the lion's share of Owens Valley water.

The gardens I'm helping plan are a way to recuperate the local water for local good.

I've been down South—Greer, SC, to Asheville, NC, to Sharp's Chapel, TN. In Asheville, my mom and Don and I ate wonderful food, from the down-home fried green tomato BLT at Twelve Bones to the brilliant tapas as Curate.  In Tennessee, my dad and I gathered wild upland cress, dandelions and watercress, fried wild rabbit, dug turnips from the garden. I'm always sorry to leave, but I brought some food back with me, shipping home a box of: Suber's Mill stone-ground grits and cornmeal, Benton's bacon, sorghum, black walnuts and my mom's muscadine jelly, which is as good as any grape jelly I've ever tasted.

Above is a picture of Ada Mae's pantry. She passed away recently, and I wanted to get a picture of the room in her house I remember best. Those are her tomatoes, green beans, pork bones and sausage. I miss her. 

Which photo do you prefer for my book, A or B?

A:

B:

I'm remiss for not having posted this earlier, but this Sunday from 4 - 8, Nicola Atkinson and I will be serving marmalade and wee scones (she's Scottish you know) at the Urban: Sanctuary Gallery.

It's the closing party for Nicola's installation called "wee," and I'm tickled to be collaborating with her.

Nicola and the wee band will peform songs (including songs she wrote with Stevie Jackson of Belle & Sebastian). And a 6:00 pm a mariachi band will play.

Come join us! Here are the details of time and place.

I love this: the Institute of Domestic Technology is selling gift certificates for its 2012 classes. (Including preserving classes taught my moi.) Check it out here.

SCOTCH MARMALADE, 8 ounces, $12.

SCOTCH MARMALADE, 34 ounces, $50. (It will last a long time.)

If you'd like to order something, email me using the Contact link at the top of this page. Or if you live in LA, you can buy SCOTCH MARMALADE at Shelter Half on La Brea. You can find a very special, very limited supply of CLASSIC APRICOT JAM at Standard Goods on Beverly Boulevard, right next door to Lulu's Cafe. I'll also make an appearance, live and in person, at the UCLA Hammer Museum artisan's fair on December 15 from 6 to 9 pm. Come by and say hi.

I bought one of these bowls from Pope Valley Pottery. Notice the spout and the clever, useful handle on the side. Three sizes from biggish to huge. Perfect for the jam kitchen. I also love the ceramic pears.

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