How I slow down at the start of the new year, when it's so tempting to rush ahead. Remember that we are still in winter, it's only the beginning of the year and you still have time to work on all your goals and resolutions. A slow and steady start is better than taking a plunge and burning out two months later. What are your favourite ways to winter?
_____
Art Prints: www.dariamundi.com
-------
SEVILLE ORANGE MARMALADE RECIPE:
1.5 kg of whole Seville oranges (bitter oranges)* 1/2 lemon 750g of plain white sugar 1.5 L of water**
🍊 Place whole oranges and a lemon half into a big saucepan. Pour 1.5 L of water and simmer for 1.5-2 hours on a small heat. Cover with a lid to prevent the water from evaporating too fast. 🍊 When the oranges are cooked (a fork or knife will go through the skin easily), remove them from the pan, reserving the remaining water for later. Remove the lemon half too. 🍊 Let the oranges cool down. Cut in half and scoop out the pith and the pips (the inner part of the orange) and set aside. Seville oranges have a lot of seeds inside, and we will need to use them too! They help to produce pectin and thicken the marmalade. 🍊 Slice the orange peel into long strips. You can use as much peel as you like - I used about half of the whole amount, but some people use much less. (The peel gives a slightly bitter flavour) Set aside. 🍊 Place the pith and pips (the inner part of the orange) back into the pan with the reserved water. Let it simmer on a small fire for 15 minutes. 🍊 After 15 minutes, pour everything out into a separate bowl through a fine mesh sieve. Squeeze as much of the liquid as you can using a spoon. Make sure to scoop up any thicker liquid from the bottom of the sieve as this is what contains the most pectin. The liquid should be orange and cloudy. 🍊 Pour everything back into the large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add sugar and mix until it's dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved, add orange peel. Simmer for about 30 minutes.
You can use any oranges or citrus for this recipe. Seville oranges are tart and bitter and contain a lot of essential oils which is perfect for this recipe. They also contain a lot of seeds which help to naturally thicken the marmalade. If using sweeter oranges, then I'd suggest to add about 2 whole lemons in as well. ** I used about 1.5 L of water, but the goal is to cover your oranges. They will float up, so you need to push them down to see if the water covers them. You may also place a plate on top of the oranges to prevent them from floating up when boiling. *** You can adjust sugar to taste. If using sweet oranges, I'd suggest using less sugar. I initially used 500g of sugar for this recipe, but then added another 250g half way. The jam is quite tart, and if you want it sweeter, you can try increasing the amount of sugar. **** This is my preferred method of making the marmalade, but a lot of people make it using a muslin cloth. I don't have a muslin cloth, which is why this method works for me.
Hello friends, we are currently in the depth of winter, and to me this time of year is
rather difficult to navigate, I'm sure many of you will relate.
Which is why today I wanted to share a few thoughts and ideas with you on how to continue
living seasonally in winter, when everything around us is slow and still, but we, as humans
always do, feel the need and anxiety to rush and defy the strong nature's pull to hibernate.
I'd like to share with you a few musings about the art of wintering, and a few reasons
why we should embrace seasonal living during the darker periods of life.
Right now is a good time to plan gentle and peaceful activities and habits which help
you feel your best.
This is a great time for any sort of home projects and tidy ups, cinema trips and new
craft hobbies, for starting a new book or rereading an old comforting favorite, for
taking a short walk early in the morning.
These are some of the things that I have been implementing personally.
It's winter in my own life, in many of its aspects.
I'm trying to make sure my mornings are slow.
I'm rereading my old favorite childhood book, the Count of Monte Cristo, and I'm finding
so much comfort in its familiar pages and words.
I'm painting something new for myself, following tutorials and doodling when I have time, without
a plan to share any of that work.
I did go on a cinema date, but a word of caution, do choose something comforting to watch.
A horror movie, which was my pick, is not something I would recommend.
And I go on 30-minute walks three times a week.
Mornings are the best time to go outside in January, because the air is crisp and fresh,
the birds are loud and cheerful, and you get a chance to witness the beautiful winter sunrise
without needing to get up too early.
I find that the sun disappears too fast, catching just a glimpse of it in the morning has brought
me so much joy.
And of course I plan, I journal, I have so many projects I'm so excited to embark on
this year.
I remind myself to have patience.
I have been stuck in some kind of aesthetic starvation lately, as the view outside my
windows seems to be so grey and unchanging.
I really don't like this time of year, and I am impatiently waiting for spring.
Just like many of us, I guess.
And which is why all these reminders and little tasks are so important right now.
Choose something that is easy to stick with at the start and build up from there.
That's the best piece of advice I can give to you and to myself.
Over and over again I realize that, perhaps, wintering is one of the most important things
in life we all should learn and master.
As much as most of us would like to avoid winters at all costs, both personal and seasonal,
its arrival is as inevitable as night after day.
Something we can't simply ignore or silence.
I like to remind myself that it's impossible to build anything lasting in life without
making a mess first, without embracing the darkness, without giving yourself rest when
your body and mind scream for it.
You know, how resolutions barely ever last and all the intentions we set at the start
of the year often disappear into nothingness a few months later.
I find personally that a slow and steady but continuous beginning is better than a forceful
plunge that leads, quite inevitably, to burnout.
Of course, we are all different.
I'm not saying that my way of wintering is the only way, but I'm rather asking you to
look on the inside and find a way that works for you.
If taking a leap right away or setting resolutions works for you, go ahead.
We are all made different.
Remember, we are still in winter.
Days are short.
The sunshine isn't a frequent guest, at least in my part of the world for sure.
The energy levels are at their natural low.
Perhaps we too often feel the need to become the new selves as the year begins.
Become a new, unrecognizable person.
So here's what I want to tell you.
You don't need to become a new you, but rather become yourself again.
Nature, flowers, birds, they don't fight against the current of seasons like we tend to.
They prepare for it.
Nature works in unison, creating a most nurturing environment for plants to burst with new strength
come spring.
A flower must hibernate in order to bloom, going through many transformative processes
underground before it pushes its green stems through the soil, digging its way out to the
sun to meet spring when time comes.
Without winter, spring flowers can't bloom.
It's metaphorical to our lives too.
As if to say that the inner work we do on our own bodies and souls in the quietude of
winter months will blossom most beautifully when the seasons begin to shift.
Have patience with yourself, cultivate your inner flowers.
Do as much work on the inside as is needed for you to bloom.
It's okay, take time.
