Forbidden Fruit

I associate the making of jams and preserves with little old ladies, who grew up in a time before the Frigidaire. These little old ladies also knit doll's clothes for their fifteen year old granddaughters who might consider wearing said clothing as lingerie.

That said : I made a batch of marmalade - two in fact. I spent a few weekends ago close to Citrusdal. The orchards turned me into a temporary kleptomaniac. Not that stealing something as wholesome as fruit can be considered a crime. I must admit I do become irrational around anything growing on trees - I am often warned not to eat these strange things. I haven't died or fallen ill yet - so I must be really good at selecting the edible fruit, or I have a high tolerance for poison.

I returned home with a large bag of illegal oranges. I had to get rid of them somehow, so I made some marmalade - a birthday gift for my Dad. All evidence of my crime sits neatly in the fridge and pantry.

The Quest for the Perfect Soft-Boiled Egg

There is nothing I look forward to more than a soft-boiled egg served with soldiers. I suppose it has childhood breakfast connotations: dipping the perfect finger of hot-buttered toast into the golden abyss that is yolk. Perhaps a slightly too poetic description of a pretty simple breakfast, but I can't think of a better way to start the day - or end it for that matter.

I hadn't mastered the soft-boiled egg and found myself having to phone a friend before attempting the quite novice task. Every friend seemed to have a contrasting technique - not all with the desired result. So I decided to experiment - I must admit that this experimentation was fueled by the need to procrastinate - of course it is crucial to perfect one's favourite breakfast before it is even remotely possible to write an honours dissertation.

I tried all possible variations: chilled eggs vs. room temperature; dropping eggs into boiling water vs. putting them in cold water. This is my verdict. Make a tiny hole in the eggshell - this prevents the shell from cracking. Drop the egg - room temperature - into a small pot of rapidly boiling water and boil for five minutes. Serve with toast that has been smothered in too much butter. Pure Bliss.