So I am not the most domestic of people, but one thing I do enjoy is cooking. And one of the few "homemade" things I can make is marmalade, thanks to Catherine, who years ago taught me a relatively simple way to make citrus marmalade. So behold: one of my last domestic projects before having Cooper, way back in February. (Yes it's taken me this long to post pix.)
First of all, what the heck is a
Buddha's hand? It's a type of yellow citrus that is all rind, with no juice or real fruit (imagine a lemon that is all peel.) The distinctive thing is the shape: like a cluster of fingers. Hangar One makes vodka
flavored with it. We inherited a little tree in our backyard, and I couldn't figure out anything else to do with the fruit except make marmalade. Here's the big one I picked off our little tree - I had another medium-sized one, and they made 7 jars of marmalade.
Step 1: I cut the fruit into separate "fingers" - they look a little disturbing like this.
Step 2: Feed the fingers (!) through the Cuisinart. (I used the slicing blade, which is what I usually do with other citrus like oranges or lemons, but since the buddha fruit rind is so thick, a lot of the pieces were too big and I had to chop some by hand. In retrospect, I should have used the shredding blade for this.) Add enough citrus juice to cover (I used orange juice and lemonade.) 
Step 3: Use a measuring cup to measure how much fruit and juice you have, and add approximately the equivalent amount of sugar. I tend to cut the amount of sugar a bit, e.g. with about 9 cups of fruit+juice I only added about 6-7 cups sugar, BUT you have to be careful here because messing with the fruit/sugar/pectin ratios can screw up either the setting (gelling) or the sterility of your marmalade. (Oh, I didn't mention pectin: most jams/marmalades require you to add store-bought pectin, but not citrus marmalades made this way because there is so much naturally occurring pectin in citrus.) Put it all into a pot and cook until it thickens and starts to set - at least 30 minutes (for details on checking marmalade readiness, google "spoon test".)
Step 4: Ladle the hot marmalade into clean jars, then wipe the rims, screw on the tops, and invert immediately (the heat from the marmalade will seal the jars.) Let them cool. After cooling, the lids should have sealed tight to the jars and if you were listening you'd even hear each one "pop" as it sealed. To check, press down on the center of each lid and make sure it stays down - if so, you have an airtight seal. If not, you have the option to either: process it in a boiling pot of water (google traditional marmalade-making methods), or else eat it right away!
Voila! The finished product. Since making these in February, we have eaten one jar and given most of the rest away. But there are at least 3 little buddha hands growing on my tree now for next year's crop....
Maybe we'll try soccer again when he's a little older - I think next up is more swimming classes.
Well it turns out the pack-n-play DOES fit in our tent, so Cooper didn't have to sleep in my suitcase, but it's good to know that he can still travel as checked (or cabin) luggage!
The last day we went to Pescadero on the way home for some 
