St Clements Marmalade...

Orange and Lemon Marmalade = St Clements...
I love to make Jams & Chutneys & Pickles & Cordials... and the more i make them, the less i can bear to buy them from shops. I had a mammoth making session the other day. My nanna is in a position right now where she needs and deserves, a lot of looking after. The first of her favourite things i made was the Marmalade.
Recipe used from my LAKELAND Preserves & Pickles Book (i love it) but it made soooo many jars...

I think this: was one one of my problems. I don't like coarse Marmalade with lots of peel but i know that the peel is what gives it the bitter flavour. So i juiced all my fruits and mixed some of the peel 'waste' into the juice.

This led to much more juice than the recipe anticipated. It was quicker and easier for me this way but i needed more sugar to boil the liquid into a jelly. *lesson Learned*

And i realised too late the recipe made milllllliiiioooonnns ofg jars!

So i will be out and about next week delivering pots of Marmalade to family members (you've been warned family)

OOoohhh the satisfaction....

P.s. On delivery to my nanna she told me about a great product called "marmamaid".... an alternative to all those Seville Oranges. I will investigate.

I Want to Share....x

This is so simple and really I just made it because it looked lovely!But what a revelation!

It is just wonderful! I was truly won over when I ate one of these! The sweetness, the Christmassy spice, the enticing warmth of ginger and chilli! Perfect!

I can't wait to eat it with my Boxing Day ham! I can't wait to open a jar and sit it prettily in amongst my buffet! Please make it! It is ridiculously easy and once you have the ingredients you could make a few batches to give with a big cheery knowing smile!

INGREDIENTS 2 x 400g cans peach halves in syrup 1 x 15ml tablespoon of rice vinegar or white wine vinegar 2 short sticks cinnamon 1 x 4cm piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thinly into rounds 1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes 1/2 teaspoon Maldon salt or 1/4 teaspoon table salt 1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns 3 cloves Serving Size : Serves approx. 8 people Nigella Lawson Sling all the ingredients into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Allow to bubble for a couple of minutes, then turn off the heat. Serve with ham. Keep left overs in a jar in the fridge. I have put mine straight into jars, which I will keep in the fridge to serve cold with buffet on Boxing Day. x

Pear and Vanilla Butter (jam)

I can't believe i waited so long to talk about this!
As mentioned before: i love Lemons and i love Vanilla - 2 of my all time favourite flavours. Lemons i eat continually in many formats - but vanilla seemed relegated to 'dairy products'.... sloppy yogurts and custard style desserts... why? Joy when i saw THIS in my favourite recipe book....
2lb pears ** 3 lemons **1 vanilla pod split ** 650g sugar ** 300ml water....
Perfect for the smell and taste of vanilla without having a sanitised pudd.


Pears: peeled, chopped and put in a large pan with the water, juice of the lemons, a split vanilla pod. Bring to the boil - then reduce, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or so.

Uncover and cook for a further 20 mins.

Remove the pod - then scrape through all the seeds and pop them in the mixture. Discard the pod now.

Blend / puree / push through a sieve - back into the pan.

ADD 275g of sugar for every 600ml of liquid you have. You'll need to measure this in a jug really.

Dissolve the sugar slowly over a low heat - then boil for 15mins. Until it has really thickens. If you drop a small dollop onto a dish, it should 'hold its shape'.

pretty pretty light orange shade with those fantastic vanilla seeds in.

It is so delicate and great for vanilla fans.

Serve on: Toast, CROISSANTS!, scones, pancakes, bagels, waffles, home made bread rolls... it is probably too soft a flavour to use in a cake but it's worth a try?

Great recipe x

Your Mission....

should you choose to accept it....(Mr B laughed at me when I came down the stairs in this outfit, stating I looked like I was on "Special Ops"! Well I am....in the kitchen!)

Glut of plums, some 'looks challenged' bramleys (scrumped by your F-i-L!! Brilliant!) and icecream tubs full of gorgeous blackberries... (my current obsession....just beating the lemon curd obsession of last month!). Sound familiar?!

Well here are a few yummy links to inspire you...(Bramley and Blackberry Tray Bake)and tomorrow in the B household the Christmas Chutney cottage industry will whir into production!

Recipes

Blackberry Honey Creams
Bramley and Blackberry Tray Bake
Wonderfully Moist Plum Cake
Blackberry Galettes (gorgeous Nigella...this will be in my kitchen by the end of tomorrow!!)
Spicy Plum Chutney

x

When Life hands you Lemons...

I have 2 absolutely MUST have flavours in my life that make everything OK in the world:
Vanilla and Lemons. MMmmmm.
One is as soft and comforting as the other is sharp and ascerbic (Much like my personality me thinks!)
I alway have a huge bowl of lemons in the kitchen and they are the staple ingredient to so many things... Lemon Curd being one. I make this Lemon Jam / Lemon Cheese / Lemon Preserve for ME and my NANNA as we both love it. It really is quick and easy to make:
3 lemons
200g Caster Sugar
115g diced unsalted butter
2 large eggs
2 large egg YOLKS
2 standard jam jars - this list makes 2 jars!

Get a pan of water on the gentle boil. A taller pan works well and you don't need too much water. On 'top' of the pan you're now going to place a heatproof bowl in which to heat the ingredients so you don't want water bubbling up over the edges.

Grate the lemon RINDs into the bowl. Then add the juice of both lemons.

Add the sugar and stir and the butter... keep stirring it all till it dissolves nicely.

Beat together the 2 full eggs and 2 egg yolks. You're now going to add the eggs to this gently heating bowl through a sieve so you might need a metal spoon to help push the eggs through.

Stir the ingredients gently and slowly for maybe 8 mins? The mixture should be smooth and glossy and when you lift the wooden spoon from the pan the mixture should 'coat' the back of a spoon.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool ever so slightly.

You need your jars sterilized really. The Curd will preserve for longer and without risk of bacterial interference.

Cover with a wax disc and seal with a lid!

Keep in the fridge and use within 3 months.

Never eaten Lemon Curd? You're missing out!

Would you call me a greedy pig if i tell you i eat this spread on Lemon Drizzle Cake!? It is also divine on American Style Breakfast Pancakes..... or spread on toast... on a slice of bread and butter... as a cupcake topping?

LEMONS are the gift of the gods!
(and i score extra points for giving 1 jar to me Nanna)

Beetroot and Orange Preserve x

As in the previous post - it was the fat, muddy bulbs of Beetroot that inspired the making of this. I wanted to pickle them but i came across the recipe in Lakelands Book. I wasn't sure about the orange to begin with, but the recipe wanted 3 and i happend to have 3 oranges sat in my fruit bowl that needed to be used up.... thrifty cookery is the best x 300ml of Malt Vinegar
200g Granulated Sugar ..... heated gently in a large pickling pan.
I added a little less Malt Vinegar and substituted with some Raspberry Vinegar and White Wine Vinegar so i had 400ml i think, all in.


350g/ 3 Raw Beetroot (from the Veg Box)
350g/3 Cooking Apples (scrumped from a neighbour if possible)
225g/ 3 Red Onions (Man sent to the shops to fetch)
Chop them all as small or big as is your preference. I like mine as small as i can, 1cm cubed on average. Add them to the liquid in the pan.

3 oranges - the rind and juice of (i just re-read the recipe and it says only 2, oop, i added 3)
1 garlic clove crushed
1tsp ground Allspice
1tsp Salt
... i added to the mix also: 1tsp Mustard seeds / 1tsp Corriander seeds / Celery Salt / 1tsp GROUND Peppercrons. Add whatever you like... oh and some fresh tiny cut Rosemary! (love that stuff)


Bring it the boil - just - then put it on a low setting and simmer away for 40mins. I put a lid on mine but you don't need to....

Give yourself a pat on the back and feel rather pleased with yourself :)

After 40mins - whack i gave mine a good mulch with a big potato masher as i don't like anything too chunky. Then whack the heat right up again and boil away the last of any liquids you dont want. I kept a bit of liquid in mine.

Oh IF ONLY this screen was scratch and sniff! This kitchen smells amazing x i am in love with my own culinary genius... or i love chutney / presrves / pickles x

This ingredients list made 2 FULL 1/2Litre Kilner Jars - so you are looking at 4 standard jam jars? or even 5 if you want to give away / sell jars that aren't too big?

A glass of chilled white wine to celebrate the fact it was now 5pm on a Friday and i had survived another week as an amazing Mum! tee hee (i have to keep saying it as one day, i'll believe it)

Decorate the jar a bit, of course! And i always put the dates on each jar as i will never remember, come Nov / Dec when they were made or how long they will keep:

"Made in beg. August 2009 - use in Nov 2009 - once opened, keep refridgerated and use within one Month"

So there you have it - open it mid November and you'll have a sweet and spicy preserve to accompany meats and cheeses and it will take you right through Christmas festivities from Mid November into the New Year x

Do i sound like Nigella yet? I hope I am a little more real than that x

Friday is VEG BOX day...

I had just finished vacuuming the entire house and i even managed to mop the kitchen floor (i know, Knight me) when the Fortnightly "Veg Box" arrived :) We buy tomatos, by the hundred, weekly... they are like sweets in my house. ManFish and ChildFish eat them on a continual grazing routine, like small house trained cows...

These HUGE field mushrooms will be eaten at their best: lightly fried on a low heat with butter, garlic, a splash of water - to keep them fat. Popped into a toasted ciabatta roll with a splodge of organic mayo - veggie heaven!

I get Fruit in my 'Veg Box' too.... and milk and eggs and Apple Juice... i love the fact, that no matter how scatty I am (and I am quite scatty!) there will be food, every fortnight, at my back door. There is a sneaking suspicion we might starve if not, as i have a life threatening allergy to Supermarkets....

AND, because i am the way i am, i left all the veg in its box outside (cleaning anything being LAST on my agenda, especially after having vacuumed AND mopped floor today) i decided to use this book>>>>>> to make some stuff.

This is one of my bestest all time cookery books. I got it from Lakeland for about £4.99 and i swear by it people. You want a preserves book? This is THE ONE x

And these chalky fat bulbs were sat on the top of the Veg Box... Beetroot!! a challenging vegetable i feel...

I was all intent on pickling them ready for Winter but then i found a great recipe in above book for "Beetroot and Orange Preserve"

Yes! Of course i made it - there and then! Whilst my 5yr old and her chum played in the paddling pool (one eye on the chutney / one eye on the dog's drooling / half an eye doing 'health and safety' on the kids...)

I have photographed the whole lot and i'll show you next week.

I also made Lemon Curd for my Nanna... so that is two NEW exciting food posts to follow soon! And, reading this all back, it would seem i have 2 and half eyes!

I LOVE this place, thanks for coming x