What to do with orange peels?

Oranges are plentiful now and not so expensive. I was able to buy a good variety that smelled so good and tasted quite sweet. I just thought it was a waste to throw the peels...so I googled on how to extract orange oil from it.

Step one says: Put the peel in a warm dry place (such as in a sunny window ledge) to dry. Since the sun didn't shine, and it was even stormy this week I also put the peels on the stove just to warm it up a bit, then I just let it air dry for two days.

Step two says: Grate the peels with a grater or grind them in a grinder, blender or food processor after they are dry. I grated the peels manually, and the leftover bits, I chopped finely.

Step three says: Put the ground peel into a glass jar. Add enough alcohol (grain alcohol or vodka, for instance) to cover the peel. Cover the jar tightly with the lid. I used Ethyl alcohol, but I made a mistake since it has some fragrance...that overpowers the orange scent.

Now I'll wait a couple more days for the last two steps to get the orange oil :p

Gluten-free baking mix!

I was pleased to see gluten-free baking mix available in our local supermarket. It is a bit pricey, but I got it at 30% discount. Sale is up to Sept. 7, at Shopwise, so I had to try it now to know if its worth buying more. I made a small batch of pancakes...it tasted different - but definitely better! Here it is served with butter and raspberry jam.

That was yesterday ;)

Now I made a single serving of blueberry pancake...I just added a spoonful of frozen blueberries to the batter. It had to be served with blueberry jam of course, but I wasn't able to get if from the grocery yet. I'll surely make this again for the family next time!