Pickled nasturtium "capers"

I've always wanted to make these but thought it would be difficult. I was confused about what part of the nasturtium to use. So I took the plunge and can share some tips to assure you its easy. They have to cure in the jar for three months so I can't give any report on taste, not until late September, but you might like to check back in when I open them.


So, first of all, you need to collect the seeds of the nasturtiums. When the flowers die back the vine produces shiny seeds on the end of curly stalks. The seeds are actually a cluster of three or four.

I suggest you crouch down low to find them as they hide really well under the leaves.  Its easy to tell them apart from the flower buds, although I suspected that would not be the case. The buds are single and dull.

This close up shows the seeds in the bottom of the frame and a bud near the top to the right of the full flower.

So, once you have picked enough seeds for a small jar follow these simple steps from Sarah O'Neill's The Good Life: four glorious seasons in my country garden.

Add to a saucepan, enough white vinegar to fill the jar, two peppercorns per 200ml of vinegar, 5ml of salt and herbs to your taste for example bay leaf and thyme. Boil for 10 minutes. Remove stems from the seeds and break apart the clusters. Add to the jar. Pour in vinegar and seal. Set aside to cool and for the button to pop down on the jar.

Label and date. Store in the fridge for three months before opening and enjoying.

I hope this makes it easy for you. Lets chat again in 3 months when I break the seal.

Making lemon cordial

I am making lemon cordial!  I have filled old syrup bottles and pretty jars with fresh cordial make a pretty presentation perfect for gifts.


This is really easy.  The only ingredients are fruit juice, rind, sugar, water and tartaric acid. All easy to find in the kitchen or supermarket. Old fashioned lemonade is so in fashion right now.  Use your in-season citrus fruit to create that summer taste all year round. Everyone can do it.  A little simple fruit preserving tip for you.

Lime or lemon cordial recipe

6-8 limes, 4 lemons

1.5kg sugar

4 cups boiling water

1 tablespoon of either citric or tartaric acid

Finely grate the lime rind, avoiding the bitter white pith. Squeeze the limes and set aside.

Bring the water to the boil and add the lime rind, citric or tartaric acid and sugar. 

Stir to dissolve the sugar. Take off the heat when dissolved and stir in the lime juice.

Leave to cool completely, overnight if you make it in the evening. 

The mix will thicken into a syrup as it cools.

Strain the syrup to remove the rind and pour into sterilised bottles.

This cordial is excellent with cold mineral water. A splash of gin doesn't go astray either. Enjoy!

Note this recipe makes 4-5 cups of syrup. I recommend you pour it into small bottles so you can share it.   It keeps for months so you can enjoy your harvest or the greengrocer season surplus all year long.

Day three cooking up a storm: spinach and mushroom lasanga

After the success of last night's sweet potato and peanut soup, I decided to keep cooking. This morning I made a fabulous lasagne and the crock pot is gently simmering away on a cashew, coconut curry.

My aim, apart from eating very, very well this holiday, is to fill the freezer with delights for when I inevitably return to work and have to endure the usual rushed days.

Here's the lasagne recipe. I was happy to be able to use greens straight from the garden and sauce I bottled last year.  I'll share the curry tomorrow, after I've tasted it ;)

I found this very collectable Henry Watson lasagne dish in a op shop for a steal last week. 

It is the perfect size.

Ingredients
1 packet lasagne pasta (I am now a devotee of fresh, see note below)
1 bottle tomato pasta sauce
1 large tub ricotta
1 tub silken tofu (see note below)
fresh spinach, silverbeet, kale or mix of all
mushrooms
parmesan cheese
olive oil spray

Method
Lightly cook the greens until wilted. Saute the mushrooms separately.
Spray your lasagne dish with olive oil, then pour in a small amount of tomato sauce. Line the bottom with lasagne sheets.
In a separate bowl mix together the ricotta and tofu.
Spoon in some ricotta mix, and spread evenly over the pasta. Add spinach greens, again spread evenly.
More pasta, more sauce and more ricotta. Then add the cooked mushrooms. If you have any ricotta left add it here.
One last layer of pasta sheets and the last of the sauce.
Cover with alfoil and bake in a hot oven until all cooked and bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle grated parmesan on top.

Cut into approx. six servings and eat straight away or freeze individual serves.

Note: Fresh pasta
Today was the second time I have used fresh lasagne sheets (from chiller section of supermarket). I used a different brand both times: today's type has convinced me not to go back to dry, unless desperate, for a couple of reasons. Firstly you don't have to mess around trying to break corners off or splitting them, very messily, to make them fit your dish as the fresh ones flex. Secondly I was able to make better layers by pressing the previous one down gently. That doesn't work with the dry sheets.

Note: Mixing ricotta and tofu
I know I have said this before, and I'll no doubt say it again 'cos its true. If you don't tell, no one will ever know this has tofu in it, or object. You can increase the protein and eat a more varied diet this way. It also gives the ricotta mix a better texture in this or canneloni. Tofu comes in lots of different forms, look for silken tofu. It has the consistency of junket, if you remember what that was like, or the custard in a vanilla slice.

Home made tomato pasta sauce

Tonight I'm making and bottling tomato sauce, using my Fowlers-Vacola preserving kit.

It has been a success I think. This is the first time I have used this recipe. 2 kilos of tomatoes and 1 kilo of apples made 4 jars of sauce. It is quite time consuming and very messy but I'm glad I did it.

I will make another, double, batch over the next few weeks.

First I chopped up the tomatoes, put them in a large saucepan with chopped onions, herbs and garlic.

 The recipe calls for a Fowlers-Vacola product called saucesetta. I tried the co-op where I buy my jars, lids and seals. No luck. I tried online cooking supply shops. No luck. I discovered some forums where people weree discussing what was in it - was it a thickening agent or spices? Not a lot of help

So I emailed Fowlers-Vacola. I got a very prompt and helpful reply. So here it is, the defintive answer.

"We deleted Saucesetta from our range approx 6 years ago, you may like to use a blend of cinnamon, garlic, cloves, allspice, salt, ground mustard seeds and nutmeg in equal qtys."

Then I added apple, sugar, salt and vinegar, brought it all to the boil, then down to simmer.

 I pureed the sauce but left it chunky. Here are the bottles with their rings, lids and clips in place.

 The bottles stay in the preserving kit for an hour, so I'll be up for a bit longer tonight.

In truth I have had the ingredients for almost a week but have been too busy to make the sauce. I came home from work tonight and almost talked myself out of making it. You know how it goes, I was tired, hungry.  I knew it would take a while. I am really glad I persevered though. I have a wonderful sense of accomplishment for a Monday night!

Speaking of accomplishments I am about to reach blog post number 100! So I think its about time I made some updates, announced my blog plans for 2012 AND hosted a give away.

So please stay tuned.

Preserves and lemon lime cordial

Today I have been using some homespun skills, storing the summer bounty for winter.

First I made lemon and lime cordials. Its really easy and makes a very yummy cordial.  I used a recipe I found on the net. Basically you add lemon or lime juice, zest, sugar, hot water and citric acid together and as it cools it thickens and becomes syrupy. The bottles on the left are lemon and the ones on the right lime cordial.  Place the bottles in the fridge and they last for ages. Perfect for summer drinks and gifts.

Next I preserved some summer fruits to keep me going through winter when there are only apples and oranges to eat.

First I got all my equipment washed and laid out. I have a Fowler-Vacola preserving kit.

Next I washed my fruit.

 

Today I made fruit salad inspired by the canned fruit my nana used in her famous parfaits. The fruit salad was mostly peaches and pear but occasionally you'd find a grape or cherry. You always hoped you'd get the right one! But never fear each of my jars have both green grapes and red cherries in them. Also white and yellow peaches, yellow nectarines and apricots. Unlike bought fruit salad these are preserved in water only, no sugar, syrup or preservatives.

I have also cooked and bottled rhubarb from my garden with pears and blueberries. Yumm.

The jars need to sit undisturbed for 24 hours after which time I can take the clips off and put them into storage. This bounty will mostly be eaten as my winter breakfasts served with yoghurt. Although I may make a few crumbles too.

Will do some more preserving after Christmas to make sure I have a good store. Its a bit of a messy job - lots of washing up but its worth it when you pop the lid on those jars and eat the good as fresh contents. And my pet worms have been given a feast - all those sweet, moist scraps will keep them very happy.  Christmas for them too!

Enjoy 

Preserving mandarins

Back in February I preserved jars and jars full of fruit to brighten up our food choices in Winter. The jars look like glittering jewels. Today I added four jars of mandarin segments to the collection.  Our favourite mandarins are Imperial which have a very short season in the shops so I bought up big. 

Two Christmas's ago I received a Fowler-Vacola preserving kit which is one of my favourite toys. My kitchen bench is covered in shiny jars of peaches, plums, rhubarb, figs and apricots. I planned that when winter came and the only fruit that is locally available are oranges and apples we would be able to feast all our senses.

Before I got my kit I read umpteen books on preserving and it all seemed so complicated and dangerous with dire warnings about horrid bacteria and all the sorry things that could go wrong.

In fact its really not that hard. The kit came from my local coop. The jars are cheap - I buy 4 every now and again. The lids, clips and rubber rings come in packs of 12. Everything is reusable except the rings which are one use only. Honestly they look fine after one use but as they seem to be the weak point where bacteria is likely to get in I diligently follow the rules and throw them out.

I put the jars and lids through the rinse cycle on my dishwasher so they come out clean and piping hot. Wash and cut up the fruit. Stuff the jars, then put ring, jar and clip in place. The jars all go into the big "kettle" which is switched on for an hour. Hey presto gorgeous fruit with a long shelf life.

The rhubarb is the only home grown fruit I have used. I need to aim for a wider variety in future although I have preserved lemons which are great in lentil curries. I stewed the rhubarb and placed directly into the jar.  I had hoped to bottle wild blackberries. Last year I bottled two large jars full which made a delicious pie in early spring. Alas though Council found the bramble patch and poisoned it. I know it will grow back but it will be a few years.

I did have one failure when I bottled two lovely ripe mangoes. Mangoes don't have enough acid by themselves so I added citric acid according to the instructions that came with my kit. Alas however when I removed the clip the lid popped up and it was ruined. I thought it looked a little frothy around the shoulder of the jar. I bought more mangoes but couldn't quite bring myself to have another go. Next summer.  It is too much of a waste of gorgeous fruit.

One tip - Fowlers Vacola recommend a special set of tongs for removing the hot jars from the "kettle". I didn't buy one at first - I thought it was just a marketing ploy. But it is diabolically difficult to get the jars out without pulling the lids off. I bought one very cheaply and it is a must have. Absolutely marvellous.

I even used the hot water from the kettle to do the washing up!  Otherwise let it cool and use in the garden. 

Now the only problem I have is that the jars are so pretty I never want to use them. It will be Spring before we know it and then Summer and fresh fruit will be in season. So I better start eating up. Oh what a terrible chore!

Wintry Saturday in the Southern Highlands

I live in a truly beautiful place. As the last of the leaves fall it is time to admire the colour in the trees themselves. There is a tree in my street that is the purest white. There are quite a number of yellow trees too with some sort of fungi growing everywhere on their trunks and branches at this time of year. They glow in the late afternoon sun.

This photo shows the view from across the road. My house looks across cow paddocks towards the ocean, not that I can actually see water. But to the west there are row upon row of mountain ridges. It is so quiet and peaceful.

Yesterday was freezing cold but I took my camera along when I went for a walk with my dog Harry. It is an interesting experience taking photos with gloves on. Removing the gloves would have done no better however as I couldn't feel with bare fingertips. We were watched by Alpacas further down the road, unusually curious about us. Perhaps the lack of babies as usually they quickly move away when we walk past. I found some rather intriguing, read suspicious, looking mushrooms despite how late it is in the season and a bird's nest high in an apple tree that would have previously been hidden by leaves now fallen.

Today we went to the Farmers Market in Bowral, the main town in the Southern Highlands. Markets are really taking off in this area. It is a long weekend so tourists abound. I have never found Bowral to be so busy. We stocked up on sourdough bread, olive oil, cheese, cheese and more cheese. Returning home from the shopping we have just had a late lunch of, well rather predictably, cheese, olive oil and sourdough.

I met a man at the markets who teaches preserving with Mason jars. He gave me his number so I could enquire about the next class. This is very exciting. I requested a Fowler Vacola preserving kit a couple of Christmases ago so I could preserve the glut of seasonal vegies from the garden not understanding that it is not a suitable system for vegetables. I have instead preserved fruit bought in season as well as wild blackberries picked before the Council poisoned the vines. Never fear they will grow back, but it will take a few years. So I am excited about the possibility of this course. Homemade preserves are wonderful. Truly homespun. My husband wants to attend also as he has memories of preserved new potatoes and we certainly end up with plenty of those in the garden.

Howard has just announced that is 5 degrees outside and it is only 4.30pm. The fire is blazing as protection against a very cold night ahead. I am going to make lime cordial tonight. And in the morning a lemon cheesecake. I bought fromage blanc from Megan of Highlands Organics at the markets today who gave me a recipe to turn it into cheesecake. I have never, ever made cheesecake before. Cheesecake with cherries was my Nana's speciality, well apart from Parfaits that were good enough to fight over. My sister and I were absolutely devastated when we finally learnt that Nana used a packet mix for her cheesecakes (and dyed her hair). But still, they were her special dessert so I have never ventured into trying to make them. The time has come so tomorrow I will see if I can come close to hers (well the factory mix anyway) with my fromage blanc and home grown lemons.