As the navel orange crop diminishes, the marmalade could not be put off. I gathered the supplies the night before to get an early start the next morning. Well, that was after I remembered I had no sugar so the process began after a trip to the store.

Some years my sister and I make orange marmalade together. We have a rhythm of working in sync as sisters often do and the tedious tasks like slicing the oranges seem not so bothersome.

At the end of the afternoon, there were 33 jars of marmalade cooling on the counter. If I’m ambitious, I’ll make another 20 jars or maybe just 10. There’s a friend-and-family-fan following for my marmalade—with credit to my mother and grandmother for the recipe. It’s also a nice thank you or small friend gift.

With two near perfect oranges I made Sunset’s Whole Orange Cake—dense, not too sweet with flecks of peel and a nod to marmalade. It was an easy and seasonal finish for Easter dinner.

Diagonal slices of carrots were lightly sauteed in olive oil and fresh sage leaves. Covered and on very low heat, they cooked to tender perfection and flavor as the last minute Easter dinner tasks were accomplished. Noted for next year.

Chicken cream of celery soup used five cups of diced celery yielding a cauldron’s worth with the surplus to the freezer and a friend. The celery harvest shown in last week’s post has been used and shared. I’ll cut another clump this week in preparation for summer crops.

A quick dash through the perennial border yielded a bouquet for the Easter table. The stars are ‘Hot Cocoa’ rose and the purple cerinthe, a Mediterranean that self sows every year. Supporting roles from feverfew, alstroemeria, perennial scabiosa and grevillea foliage.

You may enjoy seeing what other garden bloggers around the world harvested last week at Harvest Monday hosted by Dave at Happy Acres blog.

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