The Button Tin and the Orange Peel

Overcast all day, the kind of grey that makes the kitchen feel warmer than it actually is. I spent the afternoon in the little pool of light that moves across the table between two and four o’clock, and I finally dealt with the shirt that has been sitting on the back of the chair for two weeks with one loose button. It wasn’t even a real repair — five minutes, a needle, a length of thread I had to re-thread twice because my eyes are not what they were. But I kept putting it off, and that’s what bothers me about these things. Small undone tasks take up more room in the head than they do on the clock.

The button tin came out for it, which is always a mistake, because then I sat there for twenty minutes sorting through buttons I will never use. There’s one from a coat of my mother’s, dark green, and I always stop on that one. Anyway, the shirt is done and hanging properly, and the tin is back on the shelf where it belongs.

Earlier I had peeled an orange and the whole kitchen smelled like the peel, sharp and bright, and it struck me that this is the best thing about the colder months arriving — the citrus. I dried the peel on the windowsill instead of throwing it out; I’ll drop it into a jar of olive oil in a few days and see how it goes. It’s an experiment. If it turns out badly, it costs me nothing but a little oil.

There’s a basket of tomatoes on the counter I meant to turn into sauce today, and I didn’t. They’ll keep another day. I’m learning to leave one thing undone without deciding it means something. Tomorrow, though. Tranquillo.

Recipe: Orange-Peel Olive Oil

Ingredients

Peel of 2–3 unwaxed oranges, pith scraped away
500 ml good extra-virgin olive oil
A clean glass jar with a tight lid

Preparation

Cut the peel into strips, removing as much white pith as possible — it turns bitter.
Let the strips dry on a windowsill or rack for 2–3 days until leathery but still fragrant.
Drop the dried peel into the jar and cover completely with the olive oil.
Seal and leave in a cool, dark place for 2–3 weeks, shaking the jar every few days.
Taste after two weeks; strain out the peel once the flavour is strong enough, then keep the oil in a dark bottle.