Hoopskirts

It's January and that means decreased levels of sunlight, lots of cold, and an upswing in illness across the board.  Christmas decorations are down and put away, leaving surroundings duller and grayer.  It's also peak time for citrus (this assumes you remember when fruits and vegetables were sold seasonally in the grocery stores). We have been eating a lot of oranges this winter.  I have been collecting the peels in a water-filled plastic zip top bag in our refrigerator,  When the bag reaches the desired level, it is time to make candied orange peel.  There is no hard or fast level - it totally depends upon how large a batch you want to make at a time and if you have the time free for candying. Historic Recipe Let's start with the historic recipe (A Cyclopaedia of Six Thousand Practical Receipts, Arnold James Cooley, New York, 1856) How to Make It! To actually make these, I used some modern techniques. Place the orange peels in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with