Reflections

Blackberry Jelly

Another busy day in the kitchen . . . this time I tackled some surplus supplies in our freezer to try and make room for a meat delivery that arrived a little earlier than planned.  Now we've got a good supply of Pork & Lamb in the freezer AND we've got some yummy Blackberry Jelly in the pantry!  Mmm - yum!

Here's the recipe I used which was created from the Jelly making notes in my Perfect Preserves book!

Blackberry Jelly

• 1kg Blackberries (mine were frozen ones)
• the juice of 2 Lemons
• 2 cups Water
• 4 cups Sugar (see my note in the directions below)

Place the washed frozen blackberries, juice & water into a large pot and bring to the boil.  Simmer for about an hour until the fruit is very soft.  Mash the mixture with a potato masher, then strain through a jelly bag or muslin cloth for a few hours OR overnight - do not squeeze the fruit mixture because you'll end up with a cloudy jelly!

Measure the strained liquid and return to the heat.  You will need to add 1 cup of Sugar for every cup of liquid - I ended up with 1 litre (4 cups) of liquid, so therefore I needed 4 cups of Sugar.  You may need to adjust these quantities if you end up with more or less liquid than I did.  Stir the mixture over a gentle heat until the sugar is dissolved and then bring to a rapid boil.  Allow the mixture to rapidly boil until the setting point is reached, remove from heat, remove any scum from the surface, bottle, cover & allow to cool, then seal & store!

I can't wait to try some on some toast or a muffin in the morning!  Mmm - Yum!

I also got busy today and cooked up some Peach Syrup using the remaining Peaches that my co-worker Rosanna, had given us.  We're yet to taste test the end product BUT it sure does smell good!  I might serve some over ice-cream for dessert tomorrow night I think!  We'll see what the verdict is tomorrow!

Here's hoping you've had a great day!

Shirley

Tomato Sauce

Well - it's that time of the year again . . . time to cook up some more Tomato Sauce!

Last year we had an absolute bumper crop from our Tomato plants.  As a result, most of them ended up in the freezer so that I could use them in place of 'Tinned Tomato' in recipes like Spaghetti Bolognaise, Lasagne and so on throughout the course of the year AND also so that I could cook them up to make our own homemade Tomato Sauce!

This year, our Tomato plants are once again looking very healthy - the actual fruit is still mostly green because I was a little late in getting them planting BUT with harvesting probably only a couple of weeks away, I need to get busy and use up some more of last years crop from the freezer just incase I need to do a some freezing again this year!

So, today ended up being a day for cooking up a double batch of Tomato Sauce (clicking on the link will take you to a blog post that contains the recipe that I use) . . . the result of todays effort is 15 bottles of Tomato Sauce tucked away in the cupboard WITH still more frozen Tomato in the freezer would you believe!  Oh well - at least I've made a little more room in the freezer AND I still won't have to buy any Tomato Sauce!  I actually haven't had to buy any now for a little over 12 months!

In other news, we also got stuck into giving our Landcruiser a good cleanout. . . it's been a little neglected of late so now it's now had a nice once over and looks like someone does at least care for it!  Quite a productive day I think!

Here's hoping you had a great day!

Shirley

Chive & Bacon Damper

More delicious smells coming from our Kitchen today with a Chive & Bacon Damper coming out of the oven! Mmm - it smells so good!

I've decided to declutter some of my old recipe books BUT before just culling them, I'm going through them to see if there are any good recipes that I should note down!  Would you believe this recipe came from a Australian Women's Weekly 'Babies & Toddlers Good Food Cookbook'!  Whilst I used this cookbook heaps when our boys were younger, they're now nearly 13 & 10 so I don't think this is one of my cookbooks that I need to hang onto!

Anyway - whilst flicking through the pages, I did come across this recipe and thought I'd give it a try . . . here's the recipe I used!

Chive & Bacon Damper

• 2 Bacon Rashers, chopped finely
• 2 cups Self Raising Flour
• 30 grams Butter
• 1/2 cup Tasty Cheese, grated
• 2 Tablespoons Chives, chopped finely
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1/2 cup Water

Cook the bacon in a frying pan until browned and crisp; drain on paper towel and crumble into small pieces.

Place flour in a large lowl; rub in butter; stir in cheese, chives & bacon.  Add milk & enough water to mix to a soft, sticky dough.  Turn dough onto a floured surface, knead until smooth.  Shape into a 14cm round and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.  Mark a 1cm deep cross on top of the dough; brush with milk, sprinkle with a little extra flour and bake at 180 - 200 degrees celcius for 25 minutes or until golden on top.  Pull damper into pieces to serve.

Mmm - so good . . . I have to confess I did forget to score the top of the damper before baking BUT I don't think it made a lot of difference - perhaps just the presentation!  This would be really nice accompanied by my Pumpkin Soup OR even my Pea & Ham Soup - I must keep that in mind the next time I cook up a batch of soup!  Mmm - yum!

Have a great day!

Shirley

Lemon Cordial

With an abundance of large fruit on our Lemon tree, it's time to start getting busy in the kitchen!

Today I decided to whip up some homemade Lemon Cordial!

I wasn't happy with a recipe I used last time I made Lemon Cordial - I had to add more sugar and even then, the balance just didn't seem right.  This time around I did a little searching online and decided to try a modified version of a Stephanie Alexander recipe - I don't really like grated peel in my cordial, so instead I steeped strips of the peel in the cordial for 30 minutes before removing & bottling.  I think it worked it a treat!  It has the perfect balance of sweet & sour!

Here's the recipe I used!

Lemon Cordial

• 880g Sugar
• 1 litre Water
• 1 Tablespoon Citric Acid
• 1 Tablespoon Tartaric Acid
• Peel (no pith) of 2 Lemons
• Juice of 6 large Lemons, strained

Combine the Sugar & Water in a large pot and over a gentle heat, gradually dissolve the sugar until completely dissolved.  Remove from the heat and add the Citric & Tartaric Acids, along with the Lemon Juice & Peel.  Allow the mixture to steep for 30 minutes, before removing the Peel and bottling the cordial.

I ended up getting two bottles of cordial which I'm now storing in the refrigerator.  I'm not sure how long it will actually keep for BUT I know it won't last all that long anyway with a family of 4 enjoying it so much!

Mmm - it's so good!  You just can't beat a glass of cold icy homemade lemon cordial!  Mmm - yum!

Have a great day!

Shirley

Tomato Sauce

Can you guess what this yummy goodness is?

YES! It's my homemade Tomato Sauce!

And YES, as promised - after so many requests via email - *grin* - here is the recipe I use! 

The original recipe was taken from a bottle of Wild's Ezy-Sauce (available in the Supermarket Sauce section) BUT mainly due to me not having a pot big enough to cook such a vast quantity of sauce (the recipe calls for 9kg of Tomatoes, 1.5kg of Onions, I think you get the general idea) - *grin* - I scaled the recipe down and this is what I've made for the past few years. I know I said in yesterday's post that I've never had success growing Tomatoes up until this season BUT I've always been very fortunate to have got heaps of them from my Dad who has up until this season, has always had bumper crops - things have reversed this year though and we've been giving Tomatoes to him!

Anyway - onto the recipe!

Tomato Sauce

2kg Tomatoes, skinned & chopped

330g Onions

25g Garlic

1 teas. Ground Ginger

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to the boil. Boil for approximately 1 hour, stirring regularly to ensure mixture doesn't burn on the bottom. Remove from heat and using a Stick Blender, process the mixture and then strain to remove the seeds - of course if you like seeds in your sauce, there's no need to do this step!

Return the mixture to the heat and add:

330g Sugar

30g Salt

275g Apple Puree (I just use Stewed Apple that I've had in the freezer)

60ml Wild's Ezy-Sauce (make sure you shake the bottle well and pour quickly - there's lots of spice sediment and you want to make sure that the amount you pour out is a good mix of the product)

Boil for 1 hour, stirring regularly, until the mixture becomes thick and sauce like. Since I use Stewed Apple, I use the Stick Blender again to make sure the sauce is nice and smooth. Pour into bottles and seal while hot. Label once cool. Makes approx. 1 to 1 1/2 litres of sauce, depending on how long you let it reduce and how thick a sauce you like!

Mmm - Yum! For those of you who have been begging for the recipe, I hope you enjoy making it too!

Strawberry Jam

Remember a little while ago I shared this photo of the abundant flower/fruit growth on our Strawberry plants?

Well - just look at what we're harvesting now!

It would be close to a punnet of Strawberries nearly every day! Mmm - yum!

Since we have so many Strawberries at the moment, I decided to have a go at making some Strawberry Jam - I've never made it before BUT I have to say that I think I'll be making it again - this is just so yummy!

Here's the recipe I used!

Strawberry Jam

1.5 kg Strawberries, hulled

1.1 kg Sugar

250ml Lemon Juice

Gently heat the Strawberries in a large saucepan for 5 minutes or so to help extract their juice. Using a stick blender, process the Strawberries - just lightly to help extract more juice - now, using a slotted spoon, remove the Strawberry pulp to another bowl and sit aside. Don't worry about getting all the Strawberry, you just want to get the biggest pieces and leave most of the liquid behind.

Add the Sugar & Lemon Juice to the juice in the pan and stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the reserved Strawberries, bring to the boil and boil, uncovered for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally (and very gently) to ensure the Strawberry pulp does not burn on the bottom.

When the jam jells when tested, remove any scum from the surface. Pour jam into sterilised jars, seal while hot and label once cool.

 

Apricot Jam

'Tis the season for Apricot Jam making!

Whenever we have a bumper crop of Apricots, I love to turn some of it into Apricot Jam - nothing beats the freshness & flavour of home grown Apricot Jam!

Here's the recipe that I've been using for the past few years!

Apricot Jam

1 kg Apricots

1 kg Sugar

1 cup Water

Juice of 2 large Lemons

Wash, stone & slice the Apricots and cook over medium heat until soft. I like to blend the stewed fruit to achieve an even consistency - if you prefer the texture of Apricot pieces in your Apricot Jam, don't worry about blending the cooked fruit. Sit aside.

In a large saucepan, combine the Sugar & Water. Stir over a low heat until the Sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil for approximately 3 minutes. Add the cooked Apricots & Lemon Juice and boil for 30-35 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. When you are sure the Apricot Jam has reached it's setting point, remove any skum from the surface of the jam and pour into jars. Cover the jars with a clean towel until cool and then seal. Mmm - Yum! 

I now have 15 little jars of yummy Apricot Jam in the pantry and a heap of stewed Apricots in the freezer which I can use for Cakes, Slices, Crumbles OR you guess it . . . more Apricot Jam - *grin*

 

Chocky Rock Cookies

Well - it certainly did prove to be a busy afternoon in the Kitchen today!

First up there were 3 dozen Chocky Rock Cookies baked - don't they look delicious?

This was an old favourite recipe that Mum used to make all the time when we were at school (I think Mum may have got the recipe from my Auntie Lexa but I could be wrong).  I did tweak it a bit this time around as I added some dried Cranberries instead of Sultana's since I had a few left in the pantry and also 1 cup of left over crushed cereal (from the bottom of the container) - mmm - yummy!

CHOCKY ROCK COOKIES

• 250g Butter or Margarine
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
• 2 cups Self-Raising Flour
• 100g Choc Bits
• 1/2 cup Sultanas
• 4 cups Cornflakes

Pre-set oven to 180C.  Cream Butter or Margarine & Sugar in a large bowl.  Add Eggs & Vanilla and mix well. Fold in the sifted Self Raising Flour, Choc Bits, Sultanas and Corn Flakes.  Ensure your mixture is well combined. Drop spoonfuls onto a lined baking tray and bake for 12 - 14 minutes until lightly golden.  Cook on a wire rack.

The next item on the cooking list was to stew up the 4kg of Apricots we picked off our tree last night.  They're now in containers in the freezer to later be used in jams, puddings, cakes, desserts or whatever takes my fancy!

I took a small portion of the stewed Apricot and made a quick Apricot Dessert Sauce by adding a little Sugar & Vanilla and then pureeing it all together - mmm - tasty!

With 4 Banana's needing to be used I decided to bake a Banana Cake with Crumble Topping - oh my - this is absolutely delicious and made such a wonderful looking cake - the topping is very tasty!  I served it with some of my Apricot Dessert Sauce & a little Cream too for dessert!

Next to bake in the oven was a Zucchini Slice for tea AND I then organised the 4kg of Zucchini & Button Squash that we'd picked as well.  Last year I grated these together and bagged them in 200g amounts - they froze perfectly and were ideal to add to spaghetti bolagnaise, casseroles, taco mince and so on.

Phew!  What a busy day!

Guess what though . . . we've just gone and picked another 5kg of Apricots, 3 punnets of Strawberries and a few more Zucchini too . . . gotta love having our own produce growing!

White Chocolate Christmas Trees

Today I thought I would share some pics of the edible Table Centrepiece that the boys made for Christmas.

 
It featured two White Chocolate Christmas trees that were made using a Chocolate Mould I picked up in Spotlight.  We then surrounded them with Red & Gold wrapped Chocolate Eclairs.  Mmm - Yum!

 
Each Christmas tree was decorated with coloured Caucus Balls glued on with a little melted white chocolate.

 
We had intended on making a Gingerbread House too and then having the Chocolate Christmas Trees in the garden BUT alas we ran out of time.  It's definitely on the list to do next time though!

 

Macarons with White Chocolate & Raspberry Ganache

Inspired by Masterchef, my family encouraged me over the weekend to have a go at making Macarons!

Whilst I didn't use the actual recipe that they'd used on the TV show, I did use this one I found online - Macarons with White Chocolate & Raspberry Ganache and I have to say that I think they came out rather well!

I know I piped them a fraction too big and I think this may be why they didn't rise as much as they should have BUT they all had delightful crisp tops and a lovely chewy centre, just like they were supposed too!

Oh - and the White Chocolate & Raspberry Ganache was just divine! Gotta love White Chocolate!

 

The boys - both big and small - *grin* - were quite impressed and have asked that I give them another go one day . . . yeah - I think I will too! A friend was telling me that her son was going to have a go at making some chocolate ones . . . I wonder if he did and whether the recipe he used is worth trying?