Yesterday I was feeling creative. I knew I had a few sad looking lemons lying around and wanted to make something with them before they needed to be thrown away. I wanted to make something with the lemons that I never made before. I took to searching the Internet and found a recipe for Meyer lemon-lavender marmalade. It looked simple enough, and even though I wasn't planning on adding the lavender, I had something else up my sleeve. Now, this is the first time I had ever tried my hand at making a marmalade of any kind, so I was sort of just going with the flow. I knew that I wanted yummy and simple summertime flavors in this marmalade, which is what sparked the idea for adding in a peach tea bag to the simmering lemons and also a splash of pure vanilla extract. The results? Delicious!! Now, there are a few things I would do a tad differently the next time around, but this batch will do just fine.
Peach Tea Infused Lemon Marmalade
* 3 medium sized lemons
* 1 cup of water
* 1 cup of sugar
* 1 peach tea bag (I used Celestial Seasonings brand)
* 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
-First, you'll want to wash your lemons and slice them into quarters, slicing end to end and remove the seeds.
-Next, slice the lemon quarters crosswise into small, thin slices (It's important that these pieces are rather small! I think mine were too big. Oops!)
-In a heavy bottom sauce pan, add the sliced lemons, 1 cup of water and your tea bag.
-Simmer together on medium heat for about 15-20 minutes until the lemon peels are nice and soft, stir occasionally.
-After the lemon peels are nice and soft, take the tea bag out of the simmering mixture and add in your sugar and vanilla and simmer for another 15-20 minutes.
-Check your pot to make sure you have enough water while it simmers. (This is another thing I would change with what I did, I feel it got too thick too quickly, I would have liked it to be more smooth in the end and a little extra water probably would have done the trick!)
-When it's all done simmering, pour into a mason jar and leave it at room temperature for a little while before sticking it into the fridge.
-Enjoy on warm buttered toast or crackers and cream cheese!
Remeber, this was my first time attempting to make a marmalade and if you attempt to make this recipe, I really hope it turns out as lovely for you as it did for me! Tweak the recipe if you must!
~Kellie
