Winter Joys

We've had an epic winter. Even now, several days after the vernal equinox, there's drifts of snow on the ground, ice glazing the roads and sidewalks, and single-digit temperatures to make the morning lunge for the newspaper interesting.

What to do when summer feels a million years away? Eating local can get challenging when winter stretches on, and I'll freely admit to eating produce from far away. This winter held a joyful local treat: Meyer lemon rose petal marmalade, made from Mom's backyard Meyer lemons and rose petals I tried last summer. The recipe comes from Liana Krissoff's outstanding cookbook, Canning for a New Generation.

While Krissoff's cardamom-plum jam is, in my opinion, the book's best recipe, her marmalade recipes keep body and soul together through those long dark cold days. I've made the bitter orange marmalade as well, and both are delicious with brie and pistachios on bruschetta. The sparkly tartness chases the sun back into one's kitchen with mirthful simplicity.