harsh lessons

I’ve been learning a lot of lessons lately.  I’m realizing that for the most part lessons are a bit painful.  Some are lessons that I learn by working in a new arena.  Some lessons are a result of carelessness and forgetting earlier lessons.  A recent baking experiment came about as a part of the latter.

I am trying to make some basic staples and some new recipes that will teach me new techniques.  This evening I was baking some breakfast treats.  Buttermilk Biscuits and Orange Marmalade.

The biscuits were really easy but not as tasty as the ones I made a few weeks ago.  Can’t win them all!  Also, I did not learn my lesson.  I made these biscuits too small, I need to stop rolling the dough out so small!

The marmalade, on the other hand, taught me a valuable lesson.  The first lesson that I learned was that jams, jellies and marmalades are made in bulk for a reason.  They are really time intensive!  Between sanitizing the jars, peeling the oranges and lemons and the cook time, this project took most of the night.

It was after 11 when when I finally put the mason jars with the finished marmalade into the sanitizing water for the last time.  I was cleaning up the kitchen and wasn’t thinking when I tried to take the jars out of the pot.  I only had some tongs and while they worked for bringing out the empty jars they were not strong enough for the full ones.  I got a jar part way out of the water when it slipped and splashed boiling hot water all over me.

How did I not see that coming?!  I figured out a way around it (empty the water and then remove the jars.  duh!) but I was left burned for my stupidity.  I did get a chance to taste test the marmalade and the biscuit together.  Despite all my issues, the combination was perfection. The hint of lemon in the marmalade was a bright surprise every few bites.

Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe from For the Love of Cooking
yields 2 dozen
Nutritionals(per biscuit): Cals: 75, Fat: 3, Carb: 12, Protein: 2

Orange Marmalade Recipe from The Year in Food
yields 3 pints
Nutritionals(2 T serving): Cals: 76, Carb: 20, Fiber: 1, Protein: 1.