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I do hope you will consider using my kitchen shop to purchase kitchen products. As I said above, I earn a small commission that helps me to pay the bills.

Watermelon Rind Preserves

Some may find my life in a small town a bit strange. They may wonder about the strange ways of this girl from a small town with a population of 1,074 at the last census count. There are some disadvantages to living in a small town; however, those disadvantages are not enough that would make me want to move to a larger city. The country life is the one I prefer and if I need the amenities of a larger city, there are several not that far away.

These preserves are made from the rind of a watermelon and they are actually quite tasty, at least I think so. I got the recipe from my Mum and I use to help her make these every year as they were one of my favourites. I use to enjoy these preserves on fresh baked, hot from the oven, scones topped with butter.

Making the preserves is a very simple process, you simply remove the outer thick peel of the rind, trim the inside a bit leaving a bit of the red fruit, and then cut the rind into small pieces about 0.5 cm in size; however, you can make the pieces as large or small as you desire. Add white sugar in the ratio of about 1 (rind):0.75 (sugar) and place on a low heat. As the mixture is heated, the sugar will absorb the water from the rind. Cook on a low heat until you see the rinds becoming translucent; don?t over cook! For the best consistency of the syrup, bring the mixture to a temperature of 110 °C (230 °F).

To store for future use, I recommend purchasing glass Kilner jars. Wash the jars in hot water with a liberal amount of washing-up liquid. Then sterilise the jars in boiling water for several minutes to make sure you kill any little microbes that could cause spoilage. Carefully pour the preserves into the hot jars using a wide metal funnel that has also been sterilised in the boiling water. Leave a space at the top of the jar. While you are filling the jar, sterilise one of the sealing lids in the boiling water; place the lid on top and then screw the band down snug, but don?t over tighten. Allow the jars to cool, check to make sure each lid sealed properly and then remove the bands. I ended up with six pots of the preserves and three pots of the left over syrup. The syrup is delicious on waffles.

Herb Crusted Turkey Breasts

It has been a while since I posted an article to Kimberly's Kitchen. As my regular readers know, I love to cook and bake and I love to share my cooking with others. Turkey is often associated with the holidays; however, it can be found in the market year round and there is no reason not to serve it throughout the year.

I started with a bone-in turkey breast as that is what I had on hand. I was not interested in cooking the breasts on the bone so I sliced the breasts from the bone using a long thin bladed knife. Removing the breasts from the bone is very easy; you just follow along the rib cage carefully pulling the breast to the side so you can see what you are doing. Once the breasts are removed from the bone, remove the skin from the breasts and discard. If you like, you can marinate the breasts for an hour in a brine solution much as you would a whole turkey.

Prepare a baking dish by coating the bottom with a thin layer of cooking oil, either by pouring a bit of oil and wiping with a paper towel, or using a cooking spray. To coat the turkey breasts we are going to use a thin slurry (but not too thin) of water and flour to which we add the herbs of our choice along with some black pepper and if you desire, a pinch of salt. Arrange the turkey breasts in the baking dish and spoon the slurry over the breasts. Don't worry about the slurry that runs off and if you didn't make it too thin, you will end up with a coating on the breasts. Sprinkle fine bread crumbs over the top of the slurry; I used the bread crumbs that are also flavoured with herbs but plain bread crumbs will work as well. Finally, sprinkle a bit of your herbs over the top of the bread crumbs. Cover the dish with aluminium foil and placed in the oven set to 180°C, 350°F, Gas Mark 4. When the breasts have cooked long enough to be done, which depends on the size of the breasts, uncover the baking dish and allow the crust to brown to a nice crispness.

When the crust has browned and crisped to your liking, remove the breasts from the baking dish and place on a serving platter. You will find that some renderings from the breasts will be left in the baking dish. If you desire, you can use the renderings in the baking dish to make a very nice sauce for the breasts; serve the sauce in a side dish to allow it as an extra if your guests or family so desires. Allow the breasts to sit and slice just before serving your meal. Ce sont de bonnes mange!