Ok, I told my kids this morning that we were making “mermelada” today. They were thrilled and had no further questions. But, if I’m sharing this with a broader audience (beyond the ears of my five and two year olds!), then, i feel I should do my due diligence to make sure I’m calling this what it really is…so, I did my research: The recipe I came up with was inspired by this jam recipe but I cut the sugar by more than half, more than quadrupled the amount of zest and tripled the thyme. Since the sugar is so low, it’s no longer a jam because I doubt it would keep the way jams should. We will be sure to eat ours this week! Maybe it’s more of a compote…it’s definitely citrusy deliciousness. Doesn’t even need the toast…we’ve been eating it by the warm spoonful this morning.

Ingredients:

6 oranges (zest four of them and set the zest aside, then peel and chop those 4 oranges into 1 inch pieces getting rid of as much of the white pith as you can; use only the juice of the last two oranges and compost the rest)

1/2 lemon (both zest and juice, no pulp or pith)

1/2 cup brown sugar (or any sugar, really)

6 sprigs of fresh thyme (if you’ve got it) or 1 tbs dried thyme, or leave it out…

1/2 tsp salt

Instructions:

1. In a small pot, add chopped orange segments, orange juice, lemon juice, salt and sugar.

2. Uncovered, bring to a boil and let simmer on low heat stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes.

3. Add orange zest, lemon zest and thyme leaves and continue to simmer, stirring every few minutes until it thickens (maybe another 30 minutes, but stay close because it could be sooner).

4. Grab a spoon and enjoy. Refrigerate and it should keep a few days!

How to eat it up? Spread it on toast, top your pancakes or crepes, flavor your plain yogurt, pair it with cheese (maybe even in a grilled cheese sandwich!), mix it with olive oil and vinegar for a salad dressing or glaze a savory dish—maybe roasted tempeh, meat or mushrooms…

Makes about 12 ounces, a little over a cup.