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MINCEMEAT SOUFFLE – PLAYING AROUND IN THE KITCHEN AGAIN
A kick start to my Christmas preparations
I realised I had been dragging my heels a tad in starting to prepare preserves and fare for Thanksgiving and Christmas and the coming months. Well I have been a little busy and it is only the beginning of November after all. Then a few days ago I was brought up short when someone mentioned that…
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APPLE CHEESE and THE PECTIN POWER FRUIT
How to preserve and enjoy apples through the winter
If asked to choose ONE food that I could not live without, it would be a very close call between an apple and cheese. That is not to say that I am planning on living on solely one food. It is just that without that one food I would be devastated, lost, mourning . And the apple wins….
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FLAVOURED VINEGARS and that end of summer feeling
Fruit, herb vinegars and spirit infusions
I do enjoy that end of summer feeling. Amongst other things, I have just been gathering in some surplus herbs for a supply of dried herbs through the winter and wow what a surplus this year. I now have herbs hanging up in every dark corner of the house. Dried herbs It is also a perfect…
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BRIGHT AND JOLLY TOMATO – FRUIT OR VEGETABLE
The All Singing All Dancing Preserve
I have tomato plant is just outside my kitchen door. This is not so much for the fruit as for the wonderful waft from the foliage that hits me every time I saunter out. No matter that I only have a few green tomatoes on my plant, this year! A FRUIT Yes, indeed it is a…
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TEENAGERS AND PRESERVES AND ENTREPRENEURS
A variation on the selling lemonade and the USA right of passage
Just a little motivation ? It seems that once they have reached their teenage years and feel safe using a hob and oven, some teenagers may need just a little motivation to start cooking. Making preserves offers lots of scope . For a start, cooking to impress their friends may include knocking up a Tomato…
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SCHOOL HOLIDAY BLACKBERRYING and SAFE FORAGING
Go blackberrying
If there is just one MUST DO OUTING to enjoy with your children in the summer holidays it is to go blackberrying. By the end of August the hedgerows will be heaving with dark shiny berries and I cannot wait to collect them and then sit back and enjoy a plain bowlful. And then some for puddings, cheesecakes…
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SCHOOL HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES – COOKING WITH PRESERVES WITH THE YOUNG
With Jam and Coconut Slice for all ages
When my daughters were small and would come back from school at about 3.30pm they were generally absolutely famished and often totally ratty. A small sandwich would smooth everything out until their evening meal. By the time they were aged about six or seven, I would put out the sliced bread, spread and filling for them…
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SCHOOL HOLIDAY ACIVITIES – A KITCHEN GARDEN FOR THE YOUNG
Grow, pick and preserve
CHILDREN’S GARDENS The one childhood memory that my sister and I can always agree upon is that my mother paid us two pence a pound for picking blackcurrants. Old pence you understand. There was a row of inexhaustible bushes at the bottom of the garden. My mother was not generally so generous. Did she find…
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A JAM COCKTAIL – WHATEVER NEXT?
AND HERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN TRY AT HOME
I think I was lured unsuspectingly into the Jam Tree. It was about a month ago after my younger daughter Olivia had just run her first half marathon. I was so impressed with her achievement and I suggested she deserved a celebratory drink and bite to eat for lunch. That is when she said we…
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THE PECTIN PURIST
ARE YOU A PECTIN PURIST OR SOMETHING OF A FRAUD?
I AM A PECTIN PURIST Pectin purists love that the fruit and pectin are to be found together and all ready for that preserving moment. Pectin is sitting there in the skins of the best fruits and so just combining some of the high pectin fruits with low pectin fruits ensures a perfect set – the…
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