Citrus crazed

 It's hard for me to believe that, once upon a time, a young Honeybee really didn't like citrus fruits.  Oranges were too hard to peel, and had too much pith.  Lemons and limes were far too sour for her sweet tooth.  Grapefruits were right out of the question.

I'm not sure if more citrus has become available on the market in more recent years, but I count this family of fruits among my favourites now.  I'm especially excited that 1) it's blood orange season and 2) Manitoba stocks blood oranges.  Tangerines, mandarines, and clementines are up there in the top five as well.  So many of my recipes call for freshly-squeezed lime or lemon juice, +/- zest, that I find myself stocking up on these during every shopping trip.

Blood orange slice, for those who are unfamiliar.  If you're in Windsor, go to Joseph's Farm Fresh Produce and buy some now!!!

 I've tried out a couple of noteworthy citrus recipes over the past couple of months: clementine cosmopolitans, at both Hubs' family Christmas and Sher's birthday, as well as tangerine meltaways.  Behold!

Pouring the clementine simple syrup (seen bubbling away at the beginning of the post) into the rest of the cosmo mix: cranberry juice, lime juice, and vanilla vodka.  Mmm.  Recipe is here, courtesy of Claire Robinson (who is just adorable).

These puppies are delicious, but STRONG... definitely made for sipping.  I made a whole pitcher full... and drove to Jess' place with it :S  I kept praying that 1) it wouldn't spill and 2) I wouldn't get pulled over!

Sorry for the blurry pics... my camera wasn't loving me this evening.  They're a very pretty blush colour!

I needed to make something for our bi-weekly genetic counsellor meeting (a chance to review tough cases and kvetch about life in Genetics & Metabolism at HSC Winnipeg).  I'd been wanting to try a few more recipes from my Anna Olson cookbook, so I did what I usually do: check the ingredients list, and make whatever recipe I can with what I have on hand.  The result?  Tangerine meltaways, a sort of shortbread-y cookie that apparently originated in the South.  Tasty!!

My cookbook is so well-loved (mistreated?) that its pages are falling out!  It still serves, though.  Don't worry about trying ot make out the fine print; you can view the recipe here.

Again, camera wasn't super-cooperative, but here are the rolled and sliced cookies.  Look at all that zest!!

Enjoying some meltaways, with some blood orange slices and lemon thriller tea.  I actually used clementine & blood orange juice and zest in the cookies, as opposed to tangerines, which gave them a pinky-orange colour.  P.S.- Ni, click the link in the last sentence.  I've had it stuck in my head this entire post, and it makes me think of you!

Close up!

The glaze DOES dry matte, like Anna says... but this one looks shiny due to some spilled tea.  Oops!

A nice little evening snack.

There IS one citrus recipe that I've personally never attempted... but I've had a HUGE hankering for over the past while.  This would be GOOD key lime pie.  The kind that's not really green, more yellowish, and made with sweetened condensed milk.  I'll have to wait for a good excuse to make one (maybe St. Patty's day?)  If anyone has a tried-and-true recipe, let me know... otherwise I'll turn to Anna again.

Incredibly confident that she'll never be stricken by scurvy,
-Honeybee