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Today's crafty mission was to learn water bath canning. I'll be writing a whole rundown of the process in my February column at Get Crafty, but here is a little sneak peek.

I decided to make Blood Orange Marmalade, from a recipe in Martha Stewart Handmade Holiday Gifts. This is because of all the things that seem to no longer be seasonal (um strawberries, year round?), blood oranges still are, and also because I love, love, love them (I told my dad about my project, and he waxed nostalgic about how he'd go to all the grocery stores trying to find them for me as a treat when I was little). They have the shortest wee season, and are so expensive when you can find them (though miraculously I got these on sale). Plus making jelly or marmalade seems extravagant if it will cost more than buying a jar, and blood orange marmalade is both hard to find and expensive ($14 a jar!).

Anyway, the process was messy and time-consuming, but the results were both gorgeous to look at and delish. And I don't even like marmalade.

It was definitely worth it satisfaction-wise, and when the costs are all broken out comes to roughly $3 a jar instead of $14, so my crafty economy needs were also met. Since I ordered a case of mason jars and only used 4, there will be more preserves happening chez belleepoque, once other favorite fruits come into season. Finally, a reason to cruise the fruit aisles at Costco! Oh, and come by Get Crafty next month if you want the lowdown details on how to make your own.

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