Redcurrant-o-rama!

Earlier this week I was given 10lbs of redcurrants.  ;o)  What's a girl to do?  Well, this girl gets her preserving pan out!  ;o)  First on the menu was chutney.  I've never made chutney with redcurrants so I hope it turns out to be tasty.  The recipe consisted of redcurrants, cooking apples, raisins, sugar, vinegar and spices:

Then it's just cooked.....

...until it thickens up.  Chutney isn't a fast moving thing, it bubbles away at it's leisure until it reaches it's destination.  ;o)  It probably wasn't my brightest idea ever to turn the kitchen into a steamy chutney den in this current spate of hot weather!  However, eventually I got there...

I now have ten pots of redcurrant chutney gracing my pantry shelves, looking forward to trying it in a few weeks time when it has brewed.  ;oD

On the evening of Chutney Day I started the process of making redcurrant jelly, which I love!  I ended up with nine pots of jelly the next day and very yummy it is too.  ;o)  No pics of the jelly making process as it totally escaped me!  I want to try making mint jelly this year as I adore that ~ my favourite sandwich is lettuce and mint jelly ~ but have never yet made it.

Next on the redcurrant hit list was muffins from this recipe.  These turned out nice if a little flat! 

They panned out at only about 165 calories too so quite a healthy muffin at that.  You can't really tell but the muffin papers are flower shaped ones that I received in a Swap-Bot baking swap recently.

Last to roll off the redcurrant production line yesterday was redcurrant vinegar.  I haven't ever made a flavoured vinegar so I thought I'd have a go as I'm experimenting with salad dressings alot more these days.  It was very simple, 1 1/2 cups of redcurrants into a jar with a generous pinch each of sugar and salt, smooshed up with a masher and then 1 1/2 cups white wine vinegar poured over the top.  This is what it currently looks like :

  

                                                 

It has to spend a week in a cool dark place and then be strained ready to use.  Looking forward to giving it a whirl in a dressing next weekend.  ;o)

And just a random foodie thing before I go on my way....if you've ever heard me rant about crustless bread you'd have been surprised to find me in Tesco yesterday buying a loaf of the heinous product!  The reason?  My lovely daughter had braces fitted on Monday and has been wasting away on a diet of noodles, rice pudding and yogurts but has now progressed sufficiently to be able to gently chew crustless bread and butter, bless her!  My hone made bread isn't soft enough for her to tackle yet hence my crime against food yesterday!  

When life gives you lemons....

.... make lemonade!  When I was a little girl, every summer my mum would make home made lemonade and I've always loved it.  When I left home I went armed with the recipe and I've probably made it every year since.  Now, technically, I don't suppose it is a lemonade since it's not fizzy and you have to dilute it, so, more of a squash really!  Anyway, here's the recipe:

My Mum's Lemonade

3 lemons
2 pints water
2lb sugar
1/2 oz citric acid

Put sugar and water in a pan, bring to the boil and boil for 10 minutes with the lid on (unless you like cleaning sticky stove tops!).  Peel lemons thinly and place peel in a bowl.  Squeeze lemons and reserve juice.  Pour syrup over the peel and leave to stand overnight.  In the morning, add the lemon juice and citric acid and stir until citric acid has dissolved.  Strain and bottle.  Keep in the fridge.  Dilute to taste.

I usually bottle mine into empty plastic squash or water bottles but recently, whilst staying at a friend's holiday cottage, I bought a glass bottle of pink lemonade from the corner shop with this sort of groovy stopper (see pic), reusuable and it's perfect for my lemonade.  ;o)  Citric acid can be a bit tricky to lay your hands on but most larger chemists have it under the counter as it were!  ;o)  Oh, the times I've had to explain to the assistant just why I want citric acid!  I've tinkered with the recipe over the years and have successfully made versions with limes and oranges although lemons remain my favourite.  At this time of year it's lovely to add elderflower heads, I love the flavour of elderflower.  ;o)

Now, then....if I feel stressed or low or cross (or a myriad of other things to be honest!) I will head to the kitchen to bake and soothe my troubled soul.  ;o)  This evening I did just that and made cheese and bacon muffins....

My seventeen year old daughter has extreme (and I mean extreme!) trouble dragging herself out of bed in the mornings and as a consequence often misses out on breakfast before we head off for the school bus.  ;o(  Sometimes I make muffins to freeze so that she can grab one and go and that's what these are intended for.  Quite often when I bake it's the baking process I require and not the end product but this evening I did partake of a warm muffin and bloody lovely it was too!  It certainly hit the spot!  ;o) 

I also made some plain fairy cakes which I'll transform into butterfly cakes tomorrow with buttercream from the freezer.  I only recently discovered that buttercream is freezable ~ yes, I know, I have BIG gaps in my culinary knowledge!  ;oD  ~ and this is the first time I've used some so I will be interested to see how it's fared in the freezer.  On the subject of freezers....I also intended making some ginger thins this evening and I did indeed knock up the biscuit dough but being of an impatient nature I bunged it in the freezer (instead of the fridge) to firm it up before cutting into rounds for baking and then completely forgot about it!  ;oD  So, that'll keep for when I next have the oven on!

Feeling the pinch but not losing the flavour!

So, like many others, we find ourselves in a pretty unpleasant place financially speaking, boooooo!  Without going into a long winded ramble about the whys and wherefores of it all what I will say is that our grocery bill is at least one of the places where I can attempt to make a few savings.  I know there will have to be compromises and that's fair but they will have to be made working around my odd views!  ;o)  With a few exceptions, the meat I buy is always organic and I'm not prepared to make compromises on that one.  I'd rather eat smaller portions of organic meat and more vegetarian fare (which I love!) than buy cheaper non organic meat.  At the first day nursery I was cook for they used to make me use value mince and if that's not a crystal clear example of a false economy I don't know what is!  Other than meat I buy organic butter, milk and fruit & veg.  I usually try and buy organic flours and sugars, Fairtrade tea and coffee and other stuff as well but I may have to be alot more selective for a while. 

I've posted before about my self imposed pantry challenges where I try and use up stuff from my pantry and freezer rather than buy new and I'm embarking on another bout now!  I like a challenge and I especially like a foodie based challenge.  ;o)  So, you can expect tales of leftovers and inventive concoctions!  ;oD  Right now, I have a loaf of Courgette Country Grain Bread in my breadmaker, a recipe from Jennie Shapter's Ultimate Bread Machine book.  It's not one I've tried before but I had a courgette fading fast in the fridge that I didn't want to waste!  This morning I made a sugar free jelly from the pantry....yes, I know, I'm 44 but I love jelly!  ;oD  Lunch today will be home made smoked paprika veg soup and bought (well, it was 25p and I couldn't help myself!) cheese & tomato flatbread that have both been in the freezer for a wee while.  Haven't considered dinner yet but I have plenty of salad to use up along with bacon in the fridge so it may be home made potato salad (with onion and bacon) and salad.  ;o) 

Well, that was all rivetting stuff wasn't it?  LOL 

Tapas, Seasonal Eating and Lemon Loveliness!

I love a new food experience and last week I partook of Tapas for the first time.  ;o)  I'd never had Spanish food, mainly because the opportunity had never presented itself but also because I've always thought I probably wouldn't like it!  Now I know better.  ;o)  I went to a La Tasca in Edinburgh with my lovely friend, Elizabeth.  Not knowing much about the subject we elected for one of the set menus which consisted of eight dishes to share:

Tortilla Española

Spanish-style omelette with potato and onion.

Albóndigas a la Jardinera

La Tasca’s beef & pork meatballs, served in a tomato sauce

Pollo Marbella

Chicken breast cooked with paprika, chorizo, peppers, onion and a white wine & cream sauce

Croquetas de Pollo

Chicken croquettes, with roasted garlic mayonnaise

Chorizo Frito al Vino

Spicy Spanish sausage, flavoured with paprika, garlic and herbs, sautéed in red wine.

Gambas Pil Pil

Six king prawns, sizzling in a chilli-&-garlic-infused oil.

Paella Valenciana

Paella with chicken breast and mixed seafood.

Patatas Bravas

Fried potato, with a spicy tomato sauce.

Berenjenas Gratinadas

Fresh aubergine, baked in a tomato, garlic & wine sauce, topped with Cheddar cheese.

Ensalada Verde Mixta

Fresh baby spinach, lamb’s lettuce and baby gem, with avocado, cucumber and onion.

Preceding all that lovely yumminess was:

Pan de Barra Catalán

Fresh bread served with two dipping oils:
Catalán – a tomato & oil dip; picada – a garlic & herb oil
 
and
 
Aceitunas Mixtas

Mixed Spanish olives, marinated in extra-virgin olive oil, herbs, lemon and sweet pimento peppers.

And to wash it all merrily on it's way:

Fruity-Fizz Sangría

Extra-fruity sangría, with orange liqueur, peach schnapps, brandy and fresh orange slices, mixed with cava.

I have to say, I enjoyed every dish that we had!  ;o)  I think my favourites were probably the Pollo Marbella and the Croquetas de Pollo.  The sangria was a new experience too and, my word, that goes straight to your head doesn't it?  ;oD  Staggering along to the station to catch the last train back to Lockerbie I was questioning my decision to drink but it was good fun!  lol  I'm a recent convert to olives - having loathed them for many years I recently tried them again and mysteriously I like them now!  I don't know if I'm just more open to new flavours nowadays or it's hormonal or what but my tastes have definitely been changing over the last couple of years.  Suddenly I love lots of things I've always disliked and a whole new avenue of flavoursome adventures has opened up to me!  ;o)  

I am a big fan of seasonal eating and I loathe that everything is available all year round, it's just not right! Now, if ever there was a case to be made for seasonal eating then surely the first plumptious English strawberries of the season is it?  I had my first strawberries of this year a couple of days ago and they were just deliciously fabulous, why would anyone want to miss that taste bud tingling annual moment by eating the disappointing tasteless specimens wheeled in from sunnier climes all year round??  And if it needs seconding, what about the firsts of asparagus, new potatoes, rhubarb, parsnips?  Come on, guys, eat seasonally!  Check out Eat the Seasons!  Ok, hopping down off my soapbox now....

To finish off my post a little baking... remember I made some luscious lemon curd the night before I went away?  Well, this week when the baking urge was upon me I made some little plain cakes, sliced the tops and treated them to a goodly dollop of the aforementioned lemon curd each then topped with lemon icing and little lemon slices.  ;o) 

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

My chickens are really getting into their stride now and so I've had a glut of eggs to use up of late!  This evening I hard boiled eight eggs (they're still quite small) for picnic sandwiches tomorrow and I also made lemon curd for the first time in ages to use a few extra eggs.  I used to dislike lemon curd hugely but my tastes are definitely changing as I get older and I love it now!   There's a recipe for honey curd in the book I used the lemon curd recipe from which I found interesting, never seen that before, worth a try me thinks.  I also want to try passionfruit curd too, yummy!  ;o)

Using it up...

Yes, it's my dinner!  ;o)  I just thought I'd share (although quite who I'm sharing it with I'm sure I don't know!  Just myself I feel!  lol) a picture of my dinner as an excuse to have a ramble about my current mission to use things up and cook more from scratch.  So, my dinner comprises bulghur wheat, butter bean & veg stew, grilled Halloumi, broccoli and a Portobello mushroom.  ;o)  I found the bulghur lurking at the back of a shelf in the pantry so that was whipped out for using up purposes.  The stew I found, unlabelled, at the back of the freezer and hoiked it out in the hope it was savoury!  ;oD  I'm so bad at chucking stuff in the freezer and thinking to myself that I'll remember what it is but, of course, I never do!  I just put it down to my taste for living an adventurous life!  lol  The broccoli and mushroom didn't come under the using up banner as they arrived in my organic veg box this morning.  The Halloumi, well, I just adore it and never need an excuse to break it out of the fridge!  ;o)  I have a goodly heap of leftover bulghur which I plan to use for lunch tomorrow, I'm selling my work at Mildenhall air base for the rest of this week and all the food places there (Burger King, a pizza place, Taco Bell, Baskin Robbins and Cinnabon) aren't very compatible with my healthy eating campaign!  If I don't take lunch and snacks I can wander off the path of healthy eating with alarming ease!  Tomorrow I will be packing some carrot soup (made for lunch today and using up some sad, floppy carrots from the bottom of the fridge!), some bulghur with veg and possibly some beans thrown in, Marmite rice cakes and some fruit.  That lot should see me through til 6pm.  ;o)

Baking and Basics

 

Yesterday I was in need of some seriously therapeutic baking time so I set to in the kitchen and made some iced fairy cakes for starters.  Nothing special about them except that I used these pansy icing decorations.  I'd like to say I knocked them up in a spare few moments but alas I didn't!  They were sent to me recently in a baking swap I participated in on Swap-Bot.  I rarely buy this sort of thing but it was fun to use them for a change.  My buttercream was meant to be a nice coordinating bluey purple but it went a bit awry!  They've gone down well though despite my lackadaisical icing attempt!  ;o)  

 

 
 
Then I made some Builder's Tea Bread from Mary Berry's book, One Step Ahead.  This is a nice simple recipe (albeit involving overnight soaking of dried fruit so not one for spontaneous baking urges!) and I had some Earl Grey leaf tea to use up from the pantry so my fruit was all plumptious from it's overnight sojourn in the brew.  This makes a huge loaf and always takes longer to bake than the hour mentioned in the recipe.  I think it would probably fare better in two smaller loaf tins or a larger rectangular tin.  It freezes like a dream and I always bung half in the freezer to prevent us gobbling it down in a flash!  It's fatless too so is quite kindly in the calorie stakes as well.

Earlier this week I came across a blog called A Year of Inconvenience.  Blogger, Pam Mehnert, is giving up convenience food for a year and cooking everything from scratch.  How inspiring is that?  I think it's a fantastic project and I will be following Pam's progress with interest.  I decided several years ago to reduce the amount of processed food we eat and have had a goodly amount of success I would say, although it is very easy to slide back into the convenience food trap sometimes!  Reading some of the posts on Pam's blog has made me question what I term basics foods when cooking from scratch.  She mentioned making pizza sauce using fresh tomatoes and I realised that I think of tinned tomatoes as a basic ingredient when in fact they are, of course, processed!  And, frozen peas!  I love frozen peas and never considered them a processed food!  I'm sounding a bit odd methinks!  lol   Anyway, rambling aside, the blog (along with something of a fincancial doldrums episode) has prompted me into one of my periodical "use it up" missions!  This entails using the ingredients I already have in my fridge, pantry and freezer as much as possible and only buying essentials when I need to.  I've had a Quorn Roast in the freezer for a while (I have to admit that I quite like Quorn even though it's processed!) so I hauled it out for dinner this evening.  I wanted to have sage & onion stuffing with it but had none of the packet variety in the pantry so I found a recipe for it in one of my favourite vintage cookbooks.  As you would suspect it involved onion, breadcrumbs, sage, salt and butter.  With my usual disregard for recipes, I didn't follow the method entirely as written but it was jolly tasty!  Even my daughter, who loves the packet variety of stuffing, ate it all up and enjoyed it!  ;o)  While I was waiting for dinner to cook I had a rummage about in the pantry seeing what I had available and decided to make some muesli as we're quite low on breakfast cereal (husband's daily breakfast is always cereal).  I used millet flakes, oats, plain puffed rice, pumpkin & sunflower seeds, mixed nuts, raisins, currants and dates.  I was busking it with no recipe so I will await husband's verdict in the morning!  I have to say that cooking from scratch and improvising with available ingredients is a real blast for me, I love the challenge and culinary creativity.  Let's do it!  ;o)