Ruby Meyer Marmalade

Like many  people, I've got a lot of my plate right now. From being in the honey bee lab to volunteering at the wildlife rehabilitation center to marine invertebrate lab to being a TA to teaching Sunday school at church. They are all great experiences and I'm blessed to have them. I just wish I didn't have to do them all at once. 

Sometimes I feel like I'm a pinball stuck bouncing between class, lab and church. I have more post it notes on my desk top than I can count. I get stuck in this pattern of do, do, do and I loose sight of what's most important in my life: my relationships my family, my friends and most importantly, my God. These past couple weeks, I've made it an effort to make more time with God and my outlook on life has been so much better. Instead of asking, why am I so busy and stressed all the time? God has made me realize how blessed I truly am. God has given me these great opportunities and blessed me with such a great community of friends. 

One weekend, my best friend from high school and I were able to catch up as well as do what we do best: take pictures and cook. Nick is an amazing photographer; he takes the mundane, every day activities and puts life, emotion, and color into them. He's also obsessed with food like I am. We have a deal, I'll cook something, he takes pictures and we both eat. It's a win, win situation. Since so many kinds of citrus are in season now, we decided on a meyer lemon and ruby grapefruit marmalade. 

The Ingredients

3 ruby grapefruits

3 meyer lemons

5 cups of sugar

pinch of salt

The Method

Bring a large pot of water to boil and place 2 lemons and 2 grapefruit in the pot. Place a plate or smaller lid on the citrus to submerge them. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about an hour or until the lemons are soft and pliable. Remove the lemons and place in a bowl. Then cook the grapefruit for another 45 minutes or until the grapefruit are done. Remove and place in the same bowl as the lemons.

 Let the citrus cool to room temperature or place in the refrigerator overnight. Place a plate into the freezer; this will be used to test if the marmalade has set.

Cut each cooked citrus fruit in half. Place a fine strainer over a large bowl and use a spoon to scrape the pulp into the strainer while reserving the rinds. 

Squeeze the pulp through the strainer to extract all the juice.

 Once all the juice is in the bowl, toss the dry pulp. 

Thinly slice the rinds of 1 grapefruit and 1 lemon into thin long ribbons. 

Finely dice the other lemon and grapefruit rinds. 

I found that slicing all the rinds was overwhelming so that's why I choose to dice half. 

It gives you a great mix of textures in the final marmalade. The rind contains pectin which causes the marmalade to set.

Take the raw grapefruit and cut the top and bottom off so the flesh is exposed. Then make longitudinal cuts to remove the rest of the skin. 

Hold the fruit over the juice bowl and then carefully cut on each side of the membrane to remove the segments. This will add fresh pulp into the final spread.

Juice the raw lemon into the juice bowl. Then place the juices, grapefruit segments, chopped rinds, salt and sugar into a large pot. It may seem like too much sugar but its needed to set up the marmalade and to counteract the bitterness of the grapefruit. 

Turn the heat to medium and stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to boil until it reaches 220-222 degrees (use a candy thermometer if you have one). Be careful, this is above the boiling point of water and can burn you. Take out the frozen plate and place a few drops of marmalade on the plate. Let it set for about 30 seconds and see if it has gelled so it no longer runs. If it hasn't, continue to cook longer. 

Now you can preserve the marmalade with the jars, heat, processing, etc. If you properly preserve the marmalade, it will last about a year in the pantry. 

Alternatively, you can pour them into jars like I did and it will keep for a few weeks in the fridge. 

This Ruby Meyer marmalade has strong flavors of the tart lemon and bitter grapefruit. Spread it on your bread in the mornings or eat it with some fresh goat cheese on a cracker. 

Making this marmalade with Nick helped me to find joy in the simple things in life. I hope that you can take a break out of your busy life to make this with some friends or family. You won't be sorry, I promise. 


Recipe by Spencer Huey

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Chocolate Dessert Waffles

What a summer it's been! I spent the first four weeks of my summer working at Hume Lake Christian Camps. I went to Hume Lake as a camper in high school and it was always the highlight of my summer. It was a special place where God taught me so much about his character and love for us. Because it was such a life changing experience for me, I wanted to give back and help to create similar experiences for other students. Hume Lake sits right in the Sequoia National Forest so it's complete with forests, a lake, and the ever present Christmas tree smell. I worked at Hume San Diego which is the camp's off campus site. We set up on Point Loma Nazarene University's campus which has a constant view of the ocean and the sound of waves crashing on the cliffs. Beach or Mountains? Now that's a hard choice to make.

Last year, I worked as activities and recreation staff. We would run organized rec games and take students to the beach to surf, bike, kayak and swim. This year, I'm a lead counselor. Our primary function is to be a resource for the youth pastors and counselors. We want to take care of all the logistics so that they can be there for their students. It's kinda like being an RA on a floor of campers. It's so great to go around and talk with the students about what God has been teaching them. It brings me back to when I was there age and trying to figure out what it means to seek after God and his will in my life. I really enjoy being a lead and developing these friendships with churches and students. Having beach duty isn't so bad either.

Our western-style theme, All In, takes a look at the lives of David and Saul. It examines what it means to be all in for Christ and follow after God's heart, regardless of the circumstances. Saul often made decisions on his own without seeking God's help. He was looking victory, glory and approval from others which resulted in failure, pride, and jealousy. He was rejected as king because he did not follow after God's will. Conversely, David despite his flaws and sins went to God for advice and wisdom; he was a man after God's own heart. Despite the odds, he knew that God had to be trusted no matter the circumstance. Our theme verse is from Psalm 40.8 "I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart." Through this theme, students, counselors and staff alike will learn to seek after Christ, emulate his character and strive to follow after God's own heart.


It was such a life giving and filling experience for me. I enjoyed getting to know students and youth pastors, praying with them and finding out how their ministries are going. I loved our staff which became a family for four short weeks. Most importantly, God taught me so much about Himself and I gained a better relationship with Him over the four weeks.

So how does this relate to chocolate dessert waffles? It doesn't. However, Christ and seeing Him transform lives (including my own) is the most important things to me. How can I not share what God did this summer at Hume SD? Every single person in this world has the shared desire to be filled. Food (like chocolate waffles) satisfies the physical needs of hunger for a time. That's why we keep eating and eating and eating. But Christ and His love over-fills the empty place in our human hearts for an eternity. We can be ever learning about his character and trying to be more like Him in our everyday lives.

The Ingredients
2 cups AP flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 cups milk
6 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs, separated


The Method
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder.

In another bowl or pyrex, whisk together the wet ingredients: 2 cups milk, melted butter, egg yolks, vanilla extract and sugar.

Am I missing something but isn't sugar dry? Technically yeah it's dry but in baking sugar is mixed with the wet ingredients so that it will dissolve faster.

Mix the wet into the dry. This is the general rule of thumb because the heavier "wet ingredients" will want go to the bottom and the lighter "dry ingredients" will want to go to
the top. Mixing the wet into the dry will help it to combine faster.

In yet another bowl, whisk the egg whites until they reach medium peaks.

To test for medium peaks, dip the whisk into the egg whites and hold it up. There should be a peak in which the top part of the peak curves down. Stiff peaks means the peak will stick straight up.
Using a spatula, fold in one third of the egg whites making the batter lighter. Incorporating the egg whites in two steps will decrease the amount of bubbles popped - lighter, fluffier waffles.

Then once those are incorportated, fold in the remaining two thirds.

Heat up your waffle iron, spray or wipe with oil so that it won't stick and laddle in some batter. When the waffle is done, take it out and dress it up with french vanilla ice cream and strawberries. The hot fluffy waffle contrasts the cold creamy ice cream.

Dessert of champions.

Recipe by Spencer Huey

Potato Rösti

A rösti is a Swiss potato pancake, think it of a glorified hash brown if you will. These are really great to have at at a brunch or when you have a craving for something golden brown and delicious.

The Ingredients

1 lb Yukon gold or red potatoes

1 sweet onion

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped

olive oil

salt and pepper

The Method

If you can, leave the potatoes in the fridge overnight. The cold temperature will cause the potatoes to turn some of the starch into sugar which will yield browner, crispier rösti.The Yukon gold and red potatoes hold their shape after cooking and have a rich flavor than other potatoes.

Peel the potatoes and onion. Using a grater, shred the potatoes and then the onion. Squeeze the moisture out of the onion and potato, there will be lots, I promise. This helps to cook the potatoes faster and will give you a crispier potato pancake.

Mix the shredded onion and potato with the rosemary and season with the salt and pepper.

Heat a pan on medium-low heat with a couple teaspoons of olive oil. Once heated, place the potato mixture in the pan in 5-6 inch circles. Press down on the rösti with a spatula to help it keep its shape. Flip when golden brown, about 5 minutes, and brown the other side.These potato rösti are simple to make and can be served with a dollop of sour cream. This will make about 4 pancakes.

Pancakes...also known as Flap Jacks...also known as Hot Cakes

As the old adage goes, "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." I love breakfast foods in all shapes and sizes. I grew up on fresh pancakes. On most Saturday mornings, before new episodes of Recess or Pokemon would come on, my dad would make fresh pancakes from scratch. They were fluffy, warm and the best way to start a day of relaxing. This one is not my recipe. My dad got it from a 1988 issue of Consumer reports. It's the best one I've tasted. They are super easy to make and beat any package hands down in my book.

The Ingredients
2 cups AP flour
2 Tablespoons baking power
.25 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons oil
2 cups milk
pinch of salt

The Method
In a large bowl, sift together the flour and the baking power. In another bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, oil, milk and salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until combined. Some lumps are ok. Over mixing will develop gluten which will yield flat chewy pancakes.
Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Pour a little oil in the pan; this makes for crispy edges which I really like in my pancakes. Next, pour about a third of a cup of batter into the pan. Wait a couple of minutes until bubbles form on the surface.

Flip when the edges are browned and cook for another minute or so.











Enjoy your fresh pancakes while their hot; have some hot syrup and butter ready.

Classic Crepes: Sweet and Chocolate.

Crepes are one of my favorite breakfast foods. Actually, they're one of my favorite anytime foods. They are always great to have when friends come over...which is why I made them today. The ingredients and the process is simple, yet these thin pancakes are always a crowd pleaser.

The Ingredients
2 eggs
1.5 cups milk
1 cup AP flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

The Method
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the milk until no major lumps are left. Next, add the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and pinch of salt. Mix until incorporated. Be careful not to over mix, the combination of flour, a liquid and stirring will yield gluten...which is great for crusty French bread and pizza but not really for crepes. Mix only when necessary. Slowly drizzle the butter in while whisking. Set the batter in the fridge for about an hour.
The resting allows the flour particles to hydrate which will make the crepes come together better. Most doughs like pie crusts and cookies need this time to relax...don't we all?
After you and your crepe batter have taken a nap, get a couple of small preferably non-stick pans on medium heat. Put a little butter in the pan and wipe with a paper towel. This will leave a very thin layer to prevent sticking. When heated, take about 1/4 cup of batter and pour it onto on side of the pan. Shake and swirl the pan to coat, dump any leftover batter back in the bowl . The keyword of the day is thin.
When the edges are lightly brown, flip with a heat proof rubber spatula (my absolute favorite kitchen tool). Cook for another 30 seconds or so and start stacking up the crepes.

For a chocolate variation, add 1.5 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder to the batter when adding the the sugar.











Fillings include Nutella and bananas, whipped cream mixed with yogurt, strawberries, caramelized apples...the possibility are virtually endless.












Hope you try and enjoy this recipe. Let me know if you need more filling ideas.