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.

Meat-free, Wheat-free, Chinese New Year!

In my family we like an excuse to celebrate, any excuse at all really! Chinese New Year always comes hot on the heels of Christmas and New Year and as we're already in party mode, it's hard to resist! We have a few paper lanterns, decorations and this cute beanie bear that my Mum brought me as a hostess gift the first time we had a Chinese New Year Dinner.

It was a warm evening so these Watermelon Daiquiris from The Hungry Australian blog were a lovely start to our festivities!

We followed the cocktails  with Vegies in Besan Flour Batter with Sweet & Sour Sauce on a bed of Rice, these were really yummy! My daughter who is now vegetarian & Wheat intolerant used to love Sweet & Sour Pork, these vegies were the next best thing!

We finished off with Melon Balls in a Kaffir-Lime Syrup.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

One thing leads to another, leads to another........

When I made a triple-chocolate-truffle-cake recently for my brother's birthday, I needed Bacardi for the truffles, then when I saw Watermelon Daiquiris on The Hungry Australian blog, I knew exactly what to do with some of the left-over Bacardi!
I was planning a Chinese New Year dinner and these colorful, fun fruity beauties seemed like just the thing!

While I was cutting up the Watermelon I remembered a recipe for Watermelon Rind Pickle which I had seen in the December issue of Good Taste magazine, I pulled it out and happily I had everything I needed to make it.

I peeled the dark green tough skin off the rind, sliced it into thin strips and soaked it overnight in 2 and a half cups of warm water with 2 tablespoons of salt dissolved in it.

The next day I drained and rinsed the Rind and added it to a pot with a cup and a quarter of Caster Sugar, three quarters of a cup of Malt Vinegar, half a cup of Water, a few slices of Fresh Ginger,a Cinnamon Stick and half a teaspoon of cloves. This was heated while stirring to dissolve the Sugar and then simmered for 45 minutes, I then spooned it into a sterilised jar.

This is a really lovely Pickle, sweet, spicy and syrupy, my only problem was that it didn't make a lot, I used about 500gms of Rind but it cooks down a lot and this amount only made 1 jar! Next time I will use twice as much rind with the same amount of everything else.


Just perfect with creamy Brie and a Cracker!

Triple Chocolate Truffle Cake...

My big brother turned fifty yesterday, he didn't want a big fuss, just a happy family dinner at a favorite restaurant, I decided that he at least needed to have a big, fussy cake!

This cake is adapted from a recipe I found in The Essential Baking Cookbook by Murdoch Books, it was fun to make but did take a bit of time and patience, nothing but the best for my Bro! First I turned the oven on to 160C, oiled my favorite springform tin and lined it with baking paper.

I creamed 280gms Butter with 500gms Caster Sugar until it was light and fluffy, 3 teaspoons of Vanilla Essence was added and beaten in along with 4 Eggs (one at a time).

I sifted together, 115gms Self-Raising Flour, 340gms of Plain Flour, 3 Teaspoons Bicarb Soda and 135gms Cocoa, this was folded in alternating with 420mls of Milk. I put the mixture into the prepared tin and put it in the oven for an hour.

Once the cake was cool it was glazed with 250gms Dark Chocolate, half a cup of Cream and two thirds of a cup of Caster Sugar, melted together in a small saucepan and simmered gently for a couple of minutes. I let it cool down a bit before spreading it on the top and sides of the cake.

The Truffles were made by blitzing 400gms of Madeira Cake into crumbs, adding 3 tablespoons Strawberry Jam, 4 Tablespoons Rum, 4 tablespoons Cream, and 75gms of melted Butter. 350 gms of melted Dark Chocolate was mixed in and then the mixture was chilled in the fridge for about an hour.

I rolled the chilled Truffle mixture into Walnut sized balls and put them back in the fridge for another hour.














One third of the balls were dipped into White Chocolate, one third into Dark Chocolate and the remaining third into Milk Chocolate, they all went back into the fridge until they were set.

I piled the Truffles on top of the cake using a bit of melted chocolate to stick them on, and there you have it, one very Big, Fussy, Very Chocolatey, Birthday Cake!

 This month’s Blog Hop event, Death By Chocolate, is being hosted by Christina! The Hungry Australian We hope you this fun exploration of Death By Chocolate desserts.  Check out all of the other delicious Death by Chocolate submissions below.

                                              

Meat-free, Wheat-free Monday, Ricotta & Herb Flan...

I love Ricotta! It's so versatile, this is one of my favorite ways to use it, it's so easy and yummy!

I brush some Olive Oil into a flan dish and sprinkle on Sesame Seeds to give the flan a bit of a crust, if the flan doesn't need to be gluten-free you could use breadcrumbs.

I mix about 750gms of Ricotta, 2 Eggs, Salt, Pepper and a big handful of chopped Fresh Herbs, whatever I have growing that I think will go well, this time I used Oregano, Chives and Thyme.

.I also add about half a cup of Shredded Tasty Cheese and a handful of Toasted Pine Nuts sprinkled over the top of the flan.

The flan goes into a moderate oven for about 40 minutes and comes out browned on top and absolutely delicious! It's nice hot, or at room temperature.