Things are looking up, seriously. Monday evening was a hectic evening, including a trip to the airport and a phone call from my favourite hospital consultant and I’ve been making marmalade.
I remember being told in 2018 that I would always be in the renal system for life. They expected my kidneys to recover a little over a few months and then level off before the normal ageing process takes over with a slow, natural decline. Back then my kidney performance had dropped well into stage 4 (out of 5, with 5 involving transplant, dialysis and grim stuff).
It was also discovered that my kidneys were unbalanced, with one kidney hardly working at all. However, there has been a steady improvement although there was an unexplainable dip in 2022 which was temporary. Now in early 2024 the consultant is really pleased and so am I! So that’s more than an answer to prayer; my feeble faith never expected it to be quite that good.
He also put into plain English the outcome of my CT heart scan. My calcium score was zero. Apparently as we get older, we are prone to plaque building up on our artery walls, causing them to become stiff and narrow. This plaque then calcifies and this can be measured. The result? My blood vessels are nice and clean, a good result.
Then, the table turned
We were having this telephone conversation in the evening and there seemed no hurry on his part. By 9pm and once we had talked about the immediate things, he asked if I was still running. I explained why I’d had to give up and he agreed it was a shame and commented that the endurance nature of long distance running had obviously done me some good. I appreciated him asking, he had taken an interest in me before.
He then said his CT scan, if he had one, wouldn’t be as good as mine. He also started to talk about his work and his opinions on this or that; really interesting but not for posting here.
I do like his straight talking, no messing around, always straight to the point. None of this airy-fairy medical stuff which doesn’t move you forward, he tells you like it is. He is very suave, well spoken and slightly rebellious. I do like him!
More marmalade
I think I’m definitely getting a Paddington Bear liking for marmalade these days and this has been fuelled by a find in Tesco. This is the first time I have made marmalade with Seville oranges, which is said to be THE choice for the best marmalade.
The recipe is as follows, loosely based on what Delia Smith advises:
2lbs or 1 kg of Seville oranges
1 lemon, or 2 small lemons
400mls water
Sugar, almost 4lbs or 1.8kg
Knob of butter for managing any scum while boiling
Halve and extract the juice from all the fruit, then pour into the pan of water which is slowly warming up on the hob.
Slice up the fruit, either finely or roughly, depending on how chunky you’d like the scrummy marmalade to be. Discard all the pips.
Simmer for about 90 minutes, until the fruit peel is soft. Then the really exciting part! Add the sugar, stir it around to ensure it is thoroughly dissolved and then hit the boost button and bring to the boil.
Put 8 jam jars into the oven to warm through, about 150°C. Also put a couple of plates into the freezer – this is for testing if the marmalade will set.
By now the “rolling boil” is happening. Make sure the marmalade doesn’t boil over, or burn on the bottom of the pan. I stir it frequently.
After 10 minutes I tested the marmalade by pouring a little onto a plate straight from the freezer. It set, not running around as I tipped the plate. Then, turn the heat off and let things settle for 10 minutes before pouring into the warm jars – this is the fun part, also the most messy and sticky!
Once the marmalade is in the jars, put the lids on nice and tight (you’ll need oven gloves for this and they will almost certainly need washing afterwards).
The end result?
The most intense orange flavour ever. Ever. I was really surprised at how good these Seville oranges are. They look rather ugly and have lots of pips but don’t be put off by this. To taste one it is sharp and has a strong citrus taste, almost like lemon or lime.
The most satisfying part? Rachel’s approval “this is THE marmalade”.
Oh drat, I noticed a pip had got through quality control. Oh dear, never mind, therefore labelled accordingly. Should bring a smile to someone’s face, well I do hope so. Ever the optimist.
Related the maverick consultant