12.25.2013

My Favorite Places in Austin

Belated list for Vicky and Peter, who are there now.
Links go mostly to posts over on SpyGirl with more info and pretty pictures.

Food
Is that the Asian Heisenberg behind those corn muffins?
Threadgill's (southern) 301 West Riverside Dr, 78704

Maria's Taco Xpress 2529 South Lamar Boulevard, 78704
 
Magnolia 1920 S. Congress Ave., 78704 or 2304 Lake Austin Blvd., 78703

The Boiling Pot (seafood) 700 East 6th Street, 78701

Hot Sauce, Tears of Joy 618 East 6th Street, 78701

Bakeries
Sugar Mama's 1905 S 1st St Suite A, 78704
 
Hey Cupcake 1600 block on So Congress. (see their site for other locations)

Quack's 411 E. 43rd St., 78751

Assorted others


Shopping
Savers (thrift)  5222 Burnet Rd #600, 78756 (other locations)
 
Uncommon Objects 1512 S Congress Ave, 78704

Yard Dog (Folk Art) 1510 S Congress Ave, 78704

Tesoros 1500 S. Congress Avenue, 78704

Austin Country Flea on US290, 5 mi east of I-35, open on Saturday + Sunday, 10am-6pm

Taxidermy 5900 N Lamar Blvd, 78752


Sightseeing
State Capital 1100 Congress Ave, 78701

Driskill Hotel 604 Brazos St., 78701

Music

Waterloo Records 600A N. Lamar, 78703

Jon Dee Graham plays the Continental Gallery (1315 S Congress Ave, 78704) acoustic on most Sunday nights

or carouse the clubs on 6th street

Now I want to go visit STAT!

12.24.2013

Calamondin Orange Marmalade Recipes

My friend Roxanne has a glorious Seville Calamondin Orange tree in her yard in Tujunga.
Our schedules aligned perfectly yesterday, and we were able to spend an evening together, experimenting with marmalade recipes.

We started with this basic recipe :

Seville Orange Marmalade
adapted from Small-Batch Preserving
Makes approx 6c

2lbs Seville (sour) oranges
2 lemons
4c water
1/4 tsp baking soda
4c sugar

Cut fruit in half, remove seeds, chop, then pulse in food processor
notes: wear gloves, work on glass (very acidic juice!)

Place in deep stew pot with water
Bring to boil, cover, boil gently 25 min

Add baking soda, cover, boil gently 20 min

Add sugar, boil rapidly uncovered until mixture forms a gel (about 20 min)
Stir frequently!

Ladle into jars and process

Then we got fancy!

Seville Mojito Marmalade
2lbs Seville (sour) oranges
3 limes
2" piece of fresh ginger (could have used 4")
4c water
1/4 tsp baking soda
4c sugar
1/2c chopped fresh mint
1/2c rum (or more)

follow the same steps as above
slice or dice ginger
add mint + rum with sugar

Savory Seville Marmalade
2.5 lbs Seville (sour) oranges
4 roasted chiles (Hatch, poblano, jalapeno, or...)
4c water
1/4 tsp baking soda
sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme
1/2 c chopped basil
4c sugar
roasted garlic (trying next time)

Again, same steps as above
Peel + pulse chiles with citrus
Add herbs with baking soda, remove woody stems before adding sugar
Add garlic with sugar
Savory Seville Marmalade served on garlic toast with goat cheese and garden arugula