My grandma, her new phone, and some blood orange marmalade

My 93-year old grandma {Gertrude} recently got a new cell phone with texting capabilities. My aunt and uncle thought it would be a great way for us to keep in touch with her, and she was willing to learn how to operate this new phone of hers. She texted me that first day and said, "Hi Debbie. Imagine this, I'm learning something new. Love, Grandma." Oh, I was SO proud of her!!!

Sunday morning I noticed I had missed a call from Grandma on my cell phone so I rang her back. She was surprised when I said, "I noticed I missed a call from you..." because, according to her, she hadn't called me. She finally did admit that she and Uncle Ken had been "trying to figure out how to make a call" and they must have accidentally called me. Apparently there's still a bit of a learning curve with the new phone.

We talked for a little while and I told her I was in the middle of trying another batch of blood orange marmalade. She was quick to say, "Use some pectin this time!" and I explained that the new recipe I'd found called for tying the orange membranes and seeds in a cheesecloth bundle to cook with the mixture and that was supposed to be a natural pectin.

She was skeptical - never heard of such a thing - and then she told me stories of jelly making with my mom. She said Mom bought a gallon jug of pomegranate juice from a local fruit stand one year, and the two of them made the best batch of pomegranate jelly. And they used a powdered pectin and "it set up real nice."

"Ok, Grandma, but I'm going to follow the recipe and use the tied-up-bundle of orange membranes and seeds this time," I told her.

Well, thank goodness the recipe worked this time, and the orange marmalade "set up real nice" for me. The other thing that was different about this recipe was the temperature and cooking times. I had to use a thermometer and heat it to a certain temp, then hold it there for five minutes - like candy making. I might have cooked it a little too long though, because once this marmalade is opened and refrigerated the mixture becomes very thick and sticky.

Oh well! It still tastes great and I was finally able to package it up like I've had in my mind for a couple of years now. One of these little jars is on it's way via United States Postal Service to my sweet grandma in California.

I wonder if she'll text me to say she likes it when it arrives on her doorstep.

♥