Candied Peel

Right before I climbed into bed last night I started getting a migraine aura. I took the last two Tylenol in the house and figured if I was asleep before the migraine struck, I'd be OK. When I woke up I felt like I'd been hit by a freight train. So I stayed home and mostly just laid in my darkened living room for the first 3 hours, not wanting to move much because my head was throbbing. It gave way a little around noon and I was able to get up and move around, but still felt pretty generally crummy. However, it did afford me time to get started on my candied peel for the Scottish Party.

Last night, I took 3 Lbs each of lemons and limes to my moms and we juiced them, so I have those two peels to candy, and I'll be getting oranges closer to the weekend so I can take the fruit with me to the party. Making candied peel is a LOT of cooking time and a lot of waiting for things to boil. It's a long process, but if you are, for instance, feeling like not doing much, it's really easy. The total cooking and prepping time (not including prepping the fruit to get the peel) is several hours, but there is really very little actual work involved. Perfect for how I felt today. I was rewarded with 2 lbs of candied lemon peel and 6 cups of syrup. I really like the recipe I use, and the fruit, while a little more bitter than the orange I made last year (remind me to blanch the lime peel rather more), is refreshing and very tasty. Maybe I'll do the lime yet tonight. Although I might not have enough time.