when life gives you tomatoes...

Print by Fleur Harris

make tomato sauce!

I made a wonderful sauce for dinner last night using some of the
tomatoes from our own garden, a red onion from the root cellar, 
rich virgin olive oil, some organic dried basil and the recipe from 
Stephanie Alexander and Maggie Beer's great  Tuscan Cookbook

I added a tsp of vegie stock and a tbsp of sugar to please Ari's palate.


Over home-made pasta (there's a great gnocchi recipe in the book) and 

topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese, it's simple and delicious...

and sure to please the fussiest eaters. The chew chew spoon helps too!

You cannot safely bottle the recipe due to the ph level but I plan to give 

this recipe for bottled pasta sauce a go when the next tomato crop ripens.

I found it via this post on tomatoes by the always delicious Food In Jars.

Bon Appétit 
xoxox

Sugar Plums

The last of the plums are almost gone from our beautiful trees!

We have spent this week madly picking, eating and preserving them.

We had been eagerly pouring over the home canning books with 

anticipation.  Last Summer I made a wonderful relish and some truly 

delicious jams and chutneys. And what a pantry we had last Winter!

this morning's breakfast

This year it's Onionz Limone Chutney, Asian Plum Sauce, Blood Plum 
& Vanilla Jam, Cherry-Plum Jam, Cherry-Plum & Raspberry Jam,

Apple, Plum and Onion Relish, the BEST Plum Tart (ah, Dr Oetker...

reminds me of my childhood pantry :), Plum Streudel, Upside-Down 

Cake and the most delicious German Plum Cake from a family recipe!

For those of you enjoying a Summer harvest, here's the relish recipe-

Plum Relish

2 lb cooking apples

1 lb onions

1 lb seedless raisins

3lb red plums

2 1/2 cups malt vinegar

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp each ground ginger, 

cayenne pepper and dry mustard

1 tbs salt

1 tbs allspice

1 tsp cloves

1 cup brown sugar

Wash and sterilise jars. (If you have not preserved 

fruit before, it's easy to do, but please visit this site

for more information and further safety specifics.)

Peel and core the apples, chop finely. Peel and

chop the onions. Place the apples and onion in

separate saucepans, add 1 tablespoon water to

each and simmer, covered, until soft and pulpy.

Chop the raisins, stone and chop the plums.

Place raisins, plums, apples and onions in a 

cooking pan. Add 1 1/4 cups of the vinegar,

and the ground spices and the salt to the pan. 

Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer

very gently, uncovered, stirring frequently,

for 45 minutes. Add remaining vinegar and

sugar continue cooking as before for a further 
45 minutes to 1 hour or until thickened. 

Ladle into sterilized jars and seal while hot.

Water bath jars for 20 minutes, label and store in a 

cool dark place. Should keep 12 months or more. 

So good on bread with cheese!

Recipe from Preserves and Pickles by Alison Burt 

(Octopus Books 1973)

It's plums aplenty here, but not only plums in our pantry...

this afternoon's harvest

Carrot Cake Jam and Golden Gossip Chutney are tomorrow's mission

since I've just picked this wonderful bounty of heirlooms carrots.

And there are red onions & green tomatoes ready to use too, so perhaps

a Sweet Onion Marmalade, some Caramelised Red Onion Relish and a

Good Ole' Green Tomato Chutney will be hitting the stovetop next week.

Indeed this is somewhat how our kitchen looks this Summer ↓

from the delightful Bramley Hedge's 'Autumn Story' 
image found via this lovely post

...only rather less pretty than Mr & Mrs Mouse's (and rather more messy).


I've spent the last few days (and much of 2011) madly researching the
Fine Art of Preserving via my books and the many wonderfully delicious
(and well-researched) canning blogs and sites scattered across the web.

(I've listed my favourite links in the column to the left of my blog under Kitchencraft.)

Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
available here from Amazon

If you're keen to give preserving a shot, I'd advise you to refer 

to this invaluable site first, for specific guidelines and advice ↓

National Centre For Home Food Preservation (US)

and if you don't have your own fruit or veg at the ready

this site:  Pick Your Own (Australia)

can offer links to orchards in your area (there's a US site too)

plus plenty of recipes and advice on home canning & preserving.

Preserving is a most rewarding and delicious endeavour

& really quite easy once you understand the methods involved.

xoxox

winter wonderful

As I travel the internet visiting sites from across the globe

my head is flooded by images of colourful summer-time.

Meanwhile, I sit here stoking the fire and sipping hot drinks,

dressed in my wooliest of woolies with our kitten on my lap

 and a sick little boy nestled, oh so cozily, by my side beneath 

layer upon layer of beautiful knitted and crocheted blankets.

Today I am peering out at a wintery countryside landsape.

The sun shines down through the glistening late autumn 

leaves and early boughs of snow-white blossom begin to 

bloom.  Beneath her gown of fog, sleet and grey skies, the

 land is green and lush and filled with signs of winter life.

And so, in Australia the mid winter solstice is upon us. 

This Saturday afternoon we will be making our way 

down to the Collingwood Children's farm's annual

{ Winter Solstice Bonfire }

(click here for more details)

       and celebrating the wonderful gift that is winter-time,

for there is much to love about this time of the year,

just take a sneak peek at the latest issue of...

donna hay magazine 

...all those indulgent puddings & cosy desserts. yum!

I hope that you're enjoying the world, 

wherever it is that you may live, 

and whatever the season there may be.

image links: 1. detail of card from fugu fugu press  2. vintage knitting pattern 

3. 'raised by the wolves' owl toy (available soon) 4. Navishka Shah via pinterest 

let them eat cake

There's a bit of a 'bake off' going on over at Meet Me At Mike's blog ... it seems Pip's little man is a fan of the old Rich Chocolate Mudcake.  So if you're in the market for a really good chocolate cake recipe, take your pick from the comments at the end of this post-                             

{ CHOCOLATE CAKE } 

there are so many chocolate cake recipes being posted there,

I just had to shake things up a bit with this family favourite...

Old fashioned German Plum Cake

(pears are good too at this time of year)

German Plum Cake image found via the super thisisloveforever

                              1/2 cup of butter (nutelex works too)

                              1 cup sugar

                              2 eggs

                              1 cup flour

                              2 tsp baking powder

                              10 plums (halved and stoned)

                              cinnamon & extra sugar OR icing sugar

1.Grease and flour a round (or traditionally ring) tin

2.Put butter, sugar & one egg in a bowl 

   and stir 'briskly' till thoroughly mixed. 

3.Add second egg and beat mixture with a wooden spoon until light. 

4.Add baking powder and flour and mix well. 

5.Spread mixture in tin. arrange fruit on top. 

Nb. At this point you can-

a)  sprinkle top with a half cup sugar mixed with 2 tsps of cinnamon                                                       OR/as I prefer

b) bake, cool, turn out tin and sprinkle top with sifted icing sugar   

...EITHER WAY...

5.Bake at 200c for 30mins or until crumbs come away from skewer 

   when spiked...   this cake should be moist inside & hard outside

Serve with thick pure cream for afternoon tea or dessert

( or/ as the germans do, have a slice for breakfast 

with a freshly brewed pot of strong black coffee ) 

...though in this house, there's usually only the crumbs left by then... 

As for chocolate cake...

I use the 'Simplicity Chocolate Cake' recipe 

to be found via this delightful cookbook.

(and substitute sour cream for milk to make it super moist)

originally published in the 1970s edition of the NMAA cookbook, 

which my mother purchased when she was preganant with me, 

this has been our standard family chocolate cake recipe all my life

       und so.... GUTEN APPETIT xox