I made a simple syrup of 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of water.  Bring it to a boil, then add the lemon peels and boil them until they are translucent.  At least that is what the recipe said.  They got kind of translucent, not very, but you could see the difference.  Drain them and spread them out, let them dry a little.

I then put some sugar in a bowl and added some of the peels.  I mixed it around and added more peels, then more sugar as needed.  It got kind of granular all over the outside.  I did this with the whole batch until they all had a good coating of sugar.  I then put them in the oven at 170 degrees for a while to dry out.

When they cooled and dried a bit, I sprinkled sugar all over again and tossed them around again.

What didn’t work – the second batch I put in the oven to dry without first tossing them with sugar.  When they came out of the oven, they were kind of tough and curled up.  I’m not sure I boiled them enough, so I don’t know if they got too dry because they weren’t precoated or just not cooked enough in the first place.  I tossed them with some more sugar but they just aren’t as good as the first batch.

And of course my wife saved the leftover lemon flavored simple sugar.  I think it’s basically just limoncello without the alcohol.  Great for ice cream.

The small bottle in front is a vinegar bottle I got from the local dollar store.  It’s hard to find these in glass, they are usually plastic.  They hold like 300ml, just enough for one night of drinking.  Small is better for three reasons, it easily fits in the freezer, the smaller volumes chills faster when you need to put it in a friend’s freezer, and people don’t over-drink when there is a small amount to begin with.

I keep forgetting to post the amount of sugar.  Today I boiled the sugar/water mixture.  I use 3 cups of water and 4 cups of sugar.  Heat until it just starts to boil, then let it cool before pouring in the liquid.

Mike made a batch of LimeCello and OrangeCello.  I’m not a fan of the lime, it had an aftertaste I didn’t care for.  The orange version was ok, but not sweet enough.  The lemon – it’s just a winner.  I’ve got another batch brewing under the counter.  This time we squeezed the lemons and put the juice in the fridge.  My wife made lemon squares and a few other treats with the juice.

I just talked myself into a shot.  See ya.

Important note: Make sure you boil the sugar/water before adding it to the mix.  Adding sugar directly to the mix will cause it to be cloudy.  The boiling process is a must.

There’s a lot of update feeds, mostly Earl keeping us up to date. There are only a few episodes so far, Earl and his crew are obviously busy, the projects must be coming out of the woodwork after their first three episodes debuted.

I was trying to get the promo to preview here, but I just can’t seem to find the video on YouTube. Honestly, the preview doesn’t do it justice. StrangerThings.TV

And that haunting soundtrack is cello by Zoe Keating, it’s perfect.

The down-side to this place is the seasonality of the fruit. There were a few short weeks when the plums were really good and really cheap. A few weeks later they weren’t even available. The trick is to be a regular, I often walk out empty handed.

I want to make my plum wine again, it is just magnificent. Check out the recipe and watch your local fruit stands.

Keep your questions and comments coming.

So why not just filter or add chemicals. You can, lots of people do. I try very hard not to. Most particulates will settle out given enough time. I’m of the opinion that filtering will remove some of the good with the bad. My friend at the winery says filtering strips the color from the wine. I don’t want to filter, I’m lazy.

I’m getting to be fond of Tony.  He is really into his science fiction.  He often gets too deep into the authors for me, but I still listen.  What impresses me is that he gets well known author’s permission to podcast their stories.

Tony recently broadcast the five short story nominees from a British SF writers award.  The one that should have won and didn’t is absolutely fantastic, called “The Merchant and the Alchemist ‘s Gate.”  This is probably one of the finest short stories have heard.  Check out Starship Sofa on iTunes.

This is a hobby for me, just like woodworking and golf.  I enjoy digging in and learning as much as I can about my hobbies.  It’s not to be a know-it-all, it’s because I get joy in feeling accomplished.  I like to learn, I expect to pursue knowledge for the rest of my life.  It’s who I am, it’s what I do.

I think winemaking is loaded with hocus-pocus, and that doesn’t work for me.  The real winemakers are very scientific in their work, but not everybody works that way.  My off-the-boat Italian friend has lots of old wives tales about making wine.  I wish I could remember one right now.

It’s hard to experiment.  For the home winemaker, making five batches of wine from the same juice, but with five different yeasts is not at all practical.  Not to mention the fact that it will take at least six months before you can start evaluating the results.  My scientific training makes me want to try, but it ain’t happening.  So we learn as much as possible and make the best choices.

It comes down to control.  I get to make wine the way I like it.  I make big enough batches to I have what I like available in plenty.  I already have more wine in my basement than I can drink in five years.

It’s okay, I’ll share.