Healthy Snacks...

I have been trying to eat a bit more healthily for the past few months and I've worked out that I have no real problem with eating healthily at meal times, I love veggies and I can live without bread and butter, much as I like it.

Where I really struggle is in the after dinner snack department, I adore cheese and crackers, especially with a bit of our homemade Quince Paste. I have been trying out some really healthy dips, I've long been a fan of homemade Hommus and I've made a Roast Pumpkin Dip a couple of times lately.

It's as simple as roasting pumpkin that has been drizzled with Olive Oil and sprinkled with Morrocan Seasoning (my new best friend). Whizz it in the food processor adding a bit of water if it's too stiff. Great for using up some of the glut if you've had a bumper Pumpkin harvest!

I'm back!

I can hardly believe that I haven't posted anything since April! I have still been playing in the garden and the kitchen though and my latest ventures have mainly involved citrus fruit.

The only citrus fruit that has actually come from my garden is this one lonely lemon! I have been given some beautiful Grapefruits and I scored some lovely Lemons and Limes from this month's Food Swap.

My only, lonely Lemon had its peel added to the peel of 9 Food Swap Lemons to be steeped in Vodka to make Limoncello for Christmas gifts, I then juiced the lemons and added the juice of some Limes to make Lemon/Lime Cordial.

I've also made 4 batches of Marmalade and very few meals make it to the table lately without the addition of some sort of Citrus!

Tarragon Chicken

I've had Tarragon growing in our garden for about a year now, I was excited about it when I got a little plant from food swap but it occured to me the other day that I've hardly used it for cooking.
I went in search of a recipe that would showcase the Tarragon and came up with this Tarragon Chicken recipe which not only turned out to be super easy and yummy but I actually had all the ingredients on hand!

First thing was to chop up an onion and gently cook it in a non-stick pan with a little oil and 2 cloves of Garlic, then I added Chicken Thigh Fillets and browned them on both sides. I added half a cup of White Wine, a cup and a half of Chicken Stock and simmered for about 20 minutes.

I mixed 2 teaspoons of Cornflour with a little stock, stirred it into the Chicken mixture and cooked it for about 2 minutes, then I added half a cup of Sour Cream and 2 tablespoons of Tarragon Leaves. Once this has warmed through its ready!

I served the Chicken with Potatoes, carrots and (much to my son's disgust!) Brussels Sprouts, everyone loved the chicken!

CLEAN-UP COOKIES

My pantry is bursting with food, and while I would never complain about having too much food when some others don't have enough, it is getting hard to find things in there! I particularly needed to find a way to use up some of the cereal that had been left in there. These cookies were a delicious and easy solution to my multiplying cereal box situation.

I mixed 125 gms of Softened Butter with 140gms Brown Sugar until pale and creamy. Add 2 Eggs, 1 at a time and a teaspoon of Vanilla Essence, beating well after each addition , until well combined. Fold in 1 and 3quarters of a cup of Self Raising Flour and one cup of Cereal of the flaky fruity kind.

I formed the mixture into balls using 2 spoons and rolled them in more cereal before placing them on a paper lined baking tray , flattening them slightly and baking them in a moderate oven for about 20 minutes.

I made sure I left plenty of room for them to spread which was a good thing because they did!

They didn't last long at all, I think I've solved my problem! If only all problems could be solved in such a tasty way!

APPLE & MINT JELLY

We have a beautiful old Apple tree in our backyard, it's overgrown and we've started to prune it but it's going to take at least a couple of years to get it back into shape. In the meantime it is still producing many apples each year, they do have Codling Moth but not as much as last year.

We also have Mint growing well now, it has taken a while to get it established but now it seems to be thriving. I have made Apple Jelly a couple of times but thought I'd have a go at Apple & Mint Jelly, the sort you put on Roast Lamb.

To make any kind of Apple Jelly I start by washing the Apples and then chopping them into chunks leaving in the skin, seeds and core  I keep going until my biggest pot is nearly full, cover the Apple with Water andsimmer gently for about four hours, if it is cooking too hard you may need to top up the Water a bit.

When the Apple is cooked to a pulp I let it cool a little and hang it in a double layer of Muslin over my Nanna's old mixing bowl. I leave it least overnight, preferably a bit longer.

I then take a cup and a half of the Apple Liquid (jelly works better made in small batches) put it in a pot with two and a half cups of sugar, one cup of White Vinegar and a cup of chopped Mint Leaves. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the Sugar, continue to boil stirring occasionally for about 15-20 minutesthen test it on a cold plate to see if it sets, if it doesn't, give it a few minutes and test again.

Pour the jelly into sterilised jars and stir it a couple of times while it is cooling to stop all the Mint from gathering at the top. Leave the lids off until Jelly is cold and then seal tightly.

Cookie Love

I have a whole bunch of Cookie Cutters and it's a lot of fun to make cookies that suit a particular occasion like these Love Hearts, perfect for Valentines Day!








I always use Nigella's Cut Out Cookie recipe, it's easy and works perfectly every time:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Cream 6 tablespoons of soft butter with half a cup of Caster Sugar, beat in 1 egg and half a teaspoon of Vanilla Extract. Add a cup and a half of flour and half a teaspoon baking powder, shape into a fat disk, wrap in cling wrap and let rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Roll the dough out and cut into shapes, place the cookies a little apart on cookie sheets lined with baking paper.

Bake for about 10 minutes;  swapping trays after about 5 minutes. When they're ready they wil be golden around the edges; they'll be soft still in the middle, but will harden as they cool, then they are ready to ice!

This post is part of the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop!

Sweet Adventures is a monthly, dessert-themed blog hop organised by JJ from 84th & 3rd, KC from The Capers of the Kitchen Crusader, Jennifer from Delicieux, Nic from Dining with a Stud, and Christina from The Hungry Australian. 

This month’s Blog Hop event, Love At First Bite, is being hosted by Nic from Dining With A Stud. Check out all of the other delicious Love At First Bite submissions below.

For detailed instructions on how to join this fun event, check out Nic’s blog.

February Food Swap...

Being the first Saturday of the month, it was Food Swap morning, as usual I mainly took preserves, it's lovely to be able to swap them for some fresh vegies as I don't seem to be producing a great deal of anything other than Corn right now!

I took:

2 Tomatoes
2 jars of Pickled Zucchini
1 jar of Peach & Ginger Chutney
1 jar of Apricot Relish
1 bunch of Roses
Rosemary, Mint & Bay Leaves

I came home with:

6 Sweet Yellow Peppers
2 Beetroot
2 Fairytale Eggplants
1 Lemon
1 Cucumber
2 Green Zucchinis
1 Goldrush Zucchini
1 jar of Olives
1 Sage plant
1 Spaghetti Squash
Basil & Thai Basil



I had a refreshing cuppa and chatted with some interesting people, it was a great way to start the weekend.