Cumquat Marmalade

 No wonder my mother's cumquat marmalade was so good; it takes 3 days to make.

Kimchi

 I have only recently started making kimchi. My first batch is fabulous but I didn't write down exactly what I did. I watched a terrific video and I found Hugh's recipe and I sort of worked it out from there! I did Hugh's quick assembly method but added a whole daikon radish and some things from the video as well. It is definitely worth getting the Korean dried chilli flakes, called kochukaru.

(Cucumber)Bread and Butter Pickles

Feb. 2019 using home grown Dragon’s Egg cucumbers sourced from Linda at Seed Freaks

· 2 kg small cucumbers (the smaller, the better)

· 2 tbsp salt

· 1 litre white wine vinegar

· 1 cup sugar

· ½ tsp turmeric

· 2 small brown onions, thinly sliced

· 3 tsp brown mustard seeds

· 2 tsp fennel seeds

· 2 tsp dill seeds

· 2 tsp chilli flakes (optional)

· 12–18 black peppercorns

Makes 6 x 375 ml jars
Salting time 1-2 hours or longer
Heat-processing time 10 minutes

Slice the cucumbers into rounds about the thickness of a coin. Put into a bowl and sprinkle with the salt, then leave to sit for an hour or two (or overnight). This is to draw out any excess liquid; the bigger the cucumbers, the longer it will take. Transfer to a large colander, rinse and leave to drain thoroughly.

Meanwhile, sterilise your jars. I use the dishwasher.

Make a brine by putting the vinegar, sugar, turmeric and 500 ml of water into a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then increase the heat and bring to the boil. Let it bubble for 5 minutes.

Transfer the cucumbers to a large bowl. Add the onions, along with the mustard, fennel and dill seeds, and the chilli flakes, if using. Use your hands to mix everything together well.

When the jars are cool enough to handle, use small tongs or clean hands to carefully pack the cucumbers into the jars, adding 2 or 3 peppercorns to each jar. The jars should be full but not over-packed – the brine needs to cover every slice of cucumber, and if they are packed too tightly the brine won’t be able to get into every nook and cranny. 

Carefully fill the jars with the hot brine until the cucumbers are completely covered. Remove any air bubbles by gently tapping each jar on the work surface and sliding a butter knife or chopstick around the inside to release any hidden air pockets. You may need to add more brine or cucumbers after doing this (the liquid should reach about 1 cm from the top of the jar). Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean cloth or paper towel and seal.

Heat-process then store in a cool, dark place. Although these pickles will keep for up to 12 months, they start to lose their crunch after about 6 months.

Spiced Crab Apples

A fabulous and surprising addition to the cheese board or pre dinner drinks, all year round.

Combine in a large saucepan:

350g sugar

350ml red or white vinegar

Cover and boil until the sugar is dissolved; about 5 minutes.

Add:

450g whole crab apples with stems. Firm, tart fruit is best.

Simmer briefly, until just tender, depending on fruit and ripeness. Do not let them get mushy. Remove from the syrup and place into jars.

Add to the syrup in the pan:

1 x 2.5cm piece cinnamon stick

6 allspice berries

4 whole cloves

Boil until thickened a little then pour over the fruit in the jars. Seal. Leave for a month before using.

Serve with cheese by removing each piece by the stem. The pickling syrup may be re-used for more pickling or poured over ice cream.

GRILLED CAPSICUMS IN OIL

6-8 large red capsicums

600-700ml white wine vinegar

2 bay leaves

about 300ml olive oil

Cut capsicums in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Grill the capsicums until skins are charred. Peel.

Put the vinegar into a pan and bring to the boil. Place the capsicums into the hot vinegar, cover, return quickly to the boil and boil 1 minute.This may need to be done in a couple of batches. Remove with a slotted spoon and spread out to dry.

Pack the capsicums into clean, dry jars, inserting the bay leaves and covering with oil as you go, making sure there are no air bubbles. You get a lot of capsicums into 1 jar so I use smallish jars.

Put the lid on the jars and leave in a cool, dark, dry place for at least 2 - 3 weeks before eating. They should last at least 1 year but I am sure you will eat them sooner.

BOTTLING RECIPES

Here are the ways I bottle some of the summer fruit I gather. I love having it at hand all year for breakfasts or desserts. Some of them are special treats, some everyday foods.

**Nectarines (or figs or plums etc) in white wine syrup

This makes a wonderful dessert to eat throughout the year.

350gr sugar
2 strips of orange peel
700ml dry white wine
about 12 ripe but firm nectarines, (peeled) and halved, maybe more if they are very small
brandy

In a pan heat the sugar, peel and wine until sugar is dissolved. bring to a simmer and simmer gently 8 minutes.

Add the nectarines to the syrup and poach for 10 minutes until tender. I have written in my notes that this stage is not necessary with plums as they are softer.

Strain and pack the fruit into preserving jars. Boil the syrup for 1 minute, remove the peel and pour it into the jars. Add brandy to cover the fruit completely. It is really up to you how much wine : brandy you use, just try it and see. You may want to add a bit of water as well but I don't.

Bottle as normal (ie put the jars into the pan of water according to your instructions).

Store for at least 1 month before eating.

**Pears (or peaches etc) in Citrus Sauce

Juice of 1 lemon
Rind of 1 orange
1 tbl honey
1/2 cup water
Juice of 2 oranges (or 1 cup)
6 large pears

Combine all ingredients except pears in a medium saucepan and heat gently.

Peel and quarter the fruit.

Place them in the juice and cook gently 20 minutes or until tender but not completely soft. Omit this step for peaches.

Strain (or not), pack the fruit into the jars, seal and bottle as normal.

**Light syrup

This is fine for all fruit especially if you are going to be eating it for breakfast or using it in a recipe later.
For 8 1-litre jars dissolve 500g sugar or 1 cup of apple or pear juice concentrate in 2 litres (hot) water. Allow to cool to room temp before pouring it over the fruit in the jars.

This is approximate only. Even plain water will do but I have tried it and didn't like it much.

Pears stay pretty hard when bottled unless you cook them first, like in the recipe above. I think all other fruit is fine raw.

**Bottled Tomatoes

I also make all our bottled tomatoes for the year. Just chop the tomatoes, put into a pan and heat gently until they release their juices.

At this point you can either bottle them right away or add salt, pepper, herbs etc. or boil them down a bit more. I just bottle them plain (but I mash them a bit with the bamix to break up the skins) . I put them in various sized jars.

I add herbs etc later when I am using them in a recipe. So quick and easy - no packing carefully into jars or adding extra liquid and all year they are there in the cupboard - better than buying tins from the supermarket.

If I have mountains of tomatoes I sometimes make a really yummy pasta sauce and bottle that too.

PEACH AND DATE CHUTNEY

This is a favourite of ours and all our families and even friends. I make loads of it - not that we eat that much but it is lovely to have lots to give away through the year. We never eat any other chutney now.

1 kg ripe peaches, peeled, stoned and sliced

250g dates, chopped

275g onions, chopped

500g sugar

125g crystallized ginger, sliced

250ml tarragon vinegar (or white vinegar and a bit of tarragon or other herb)

125ml malt vinegar

Mix all ingredients except the peaches in a large, heavy pot. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the peaches and continue cooking for about 20 mins more or until well blended and thickened (you may need to mash a little with a potato masher).

Makes about 5 jars of various sizes.

HOW TO PICKLE OLIVES

I like to pickle about 5 kg now but the first time I did it I had 3 kg and this is plenty to get started. Don't go for the big ones - I think small ones have a much better flavour and pack better in the jars.

3 kg black olives (I have never done it with green ones)
3 Tbl salt
12 Tbl olie oil
600mls white / cider vinegar
1.25 litres water ( boiled and cooled)
optional : 1 clove garlic / jar
1 small red chilli (or less)/ jar
dried oregano or other herbs
Method:
After picking , wash then slit each olive on 2 sides. Place in a large bowl and cover with ordinary tap water.
Change the water daily for 10 - 14 days, until you can bite into one and not spit it out in disgust ! It should still have flavour but not be unbearably bitter.
Sterilise some jars (I find 3kg makes about 12 medium jars) . Place olives into jars . Putting in some / all / none of the optional ingedients as you go.(I usually don't use any now because I prefer the real olive flavour)
Mix the boiled water, vinegar, salt and olive oil in a bowl. Pour into the jars making sure you cover the olives completely. Put on well - fitting lids.
That's it. Wait at least 2 weeks before starting to eat. You will find the flavour changes with time - some people prefer them with the ' fresh' taste you get after 2 weeks, others prefer the more mellow flavour after 6 months or more.
They should be stored in a cupboard but when you open a jar put it in the fridge if its a big jar / you think you might take ages to finish the jar / if the weather is hot. I always put open jars in the fridge in summer or they go mouldy, but I never do in winter as we eat them pretty fast and I don't use huge jars.
Good luck. Give me a ring if you have any questions or if you have any spare olives you don't have time to pickle !

APPLE AND JAGGERY TEA

10 - 12 apple cores, with seeds
8 - 10 black peppercorn
2 inch long of cinnamon stick
8 - 10 cloves
1 - 2 inch fresh ginger
3 - 5 cardamoms
750 ml water
1 piece of jaggery (Indian sugar) or a teaspoon of honey
Bruise the peppercorn, cloves and cardamoms using mortar and pestle. Add to the rest of the ingredients. Add the jaggery if using, keep the other sweeteners off the mix for now, and add when serving. Boil on a very low heat about 30 minutes. Strain from a very fine cloth, add sweeteners if not already, and serve hot. I found I didn't need any sweetener.
Kate