Countdown To The Wedding

If I appear a little quiet....fear not for I am busily putting together the wedding decorations. My eldest gets married in just under three weeks and I am trying to coax the flowers to ignore the sweltering heat and keep coming towards fruition.

Maybe there will be a lot of foliage and seed heads....

Working with living things and trying to plot their course on a calendar....isn't it exciting!!!

I'm gathering together pieces to interpret her "Boh-ho" vision. Her brief "Not really a colour theme, sort of Turkish rugs and candles, not cottagey, a bit Lux....vague...mutterings and hand flingings....

oh and we'll be in a paddock don't you know.

I've been watching a lot of floristry tutorials to learn how to do really large scale event pieces. Fingers crossed.

I just found out we also want bunting for the marquee....

again, a bit vague on a colour story so I have chosen to pull out the accent colours within the Persian style rugs that we are scattering everywhere with straw bale seating.

The upside is that the stash is getting a really good bust-a-long and thank goodness for the invention of cutting mats and wheels. My very clever man also zipped out to the shed and knocked up a template for me in lovely acrylic so I can cut accurately and quickly.

Big Love.

All the while it is coming into preserving season and I am pressure canning lots of vegetable soups, curries and casseroles for shelf storage to try to use up the zucchini glut.

So I am still here, just reeaaalllyy busy.

#markandtedwed

The Humble FV Clip

The trees are blossoming and everyone is talking about tomato seedling varieties in great anticipation with this warm humid weather that has sprung upon us in Tasmania.

As everyone starts looking at their preserving supplies one of the most overlooked items would have to be the clips.

These clamp the lid into a correctly seated position. As the contents expand in the heating process, air is expelled, then, as the contents cool and retract, the lid is seated onto the rubber band and a suction and seal is created.

Though they are a simple item used over and over, they do become stressed over the years and lose their spring and flexibility. I'm betting many of us have inherited or acquired these second hand and they could probably use a critical eye.

(CLIPS available below rrp)

 It is important that the clips remain on for 12-18 hours after processing. So you need to have at least a couple of dozen of each size because when you are in the thick of the season and preserving every day, you'll find that yesterdays tomatoes will still be clamped and you are hanging to do another batch. 

They are handy in the gift giving too!

(Fowers Vacola Accessories below rrp)

So before you begin another season, run an eye over ALL your supplies, don't get caught short and may you have a blissful and abundant preserving season.

Help or House Guest

The kitchen is in full swing at our house, late February and March being the busiest time, and any house guests are welcome to pull up a chair, don an apron and select their knife of choice.

We prepped jalapenos and pickled.

Made a simple spinach and cheese filling seasoned with freshly grated nutmeg - oh divine! Rolled pasta sheets and made fettuccine too. 

We have had a pasta maker for years but last weekend at the market we spotted a deluxe pack version of our Atlas machine which included the ravioli roller.

$10 for the lot and used probably once!

With fresh ripe Roma tomatoes avalanching  on the benches, aromatic green basil in abundance and Craig's homemade Parmesan cheese...

Mama Mia!

Be our guest....

Around The Block...

It all started with a couple of buckets of Greengage plums that were given to me as the strong winds gripped Campbell Town yet again. 

"I'm just returning these buckets" I called out to the shearer 

"I'll see you in a minute"

Well Greengage gardener wasn't home so I left the buckets and spied another neighbour on his front veranda, so I stopped for a bit of a netter and next minute...

I had a bag of delicious juicy pears!

Around the next street I saw another keen fellow gardener mowing his lawn and he waved me in...

Next minute....

Ripe perfect plums all golden inside with a halo of red.

Well if I've got this many plums I'm going to need some apples to make sauce and chutney,

So around the corner....

To my next dear and generous neighbour.

We had a delightful time wandering the garden from apple tree to apple tree, sampling and selecting and 

Next minute....

"Don't go without some of these golden cherry plums, they're perfect for chutney!"

My car smelt like the most divine fruit shop and it was certainly more than a couple of minutes later. I had the best time dwelling with my neighbours over small talk and basking in their gardens. I find that the most amusing thing about living in the country, everything is small scale and so close I could walk everywhere but even a trip to the shop,the library and the petrol station takes at least a couple of hours!

The stove has been going full pelt all day and I've bottled pears and tomatoes, made a double batch of plum chutney and a double batch of Worcestershire style plum sauce, all with the help of a 3 year old and thankfully a "Poppy" as well!

Quinoa and Black Bean Bake

It's not a great "foodie shot" so please take my word for it, this is delicious and if you are a bit stumped about what to do with quinoa (kee-NOO-ah) here is a good recipe to try. (If you are looking for a good dried bean recipe...also a good one to try!)

I had to buy the quinoa, capsicum, spice and cheese but even so this costed out for us at about $4.25 and would feed 4-6 people.

Quinoa is high in protein and contains iron, calcium and phospherous, B vitamins and vitamin E. 

Quinoa and Black Bean Bake

3/4 cup of white quinoa

1 onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic crushed

2 med carrots chopped

1/2 a red capsicum chopped

approx 400g of prepared black beans*

approx 600g of chopped canned tomatoes

1 cup of water

generous seasoning of salt and pepper

1/2 teas cayenne pepper

1 tabs of smoked paprika

a handful of chopped parsley

grated cheese for the top

Wash the quinoa well to remove saponins and then soak in a bowl well covered with cold water overnight if possible. Rinse and drain. 

Place the quinoa in a saucepan with about twice the amount of water and chopped carrots. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer till the quinoa is translucent and looks like it has little sprout tails and the carrot is tender.

In a baking dish, combine all the ingredients except the cheese.

Bake in a moderate oven covered for about 30 mins then remove the cover and top with grated cheese. Cook till melted and golden.

*By "prepared black beans, I mean dried beans soaked overnight and rinsed and cooked till tender or use canned or tinned beans. 

I grow and can my own using a pressure canner.

Consequences and Green Salsa

The consequence of a bigger garden ....

Is more food.....

Piles of it in fact! Everywhere I look!

Many people have asked us in the past why we chose to move the country? Our short answer is "that we wanted to grow more food" 

(Carrot weighed in at 1.2kg and was sweet and tender)

And the shearer hasn't failed me. 

More food takes more time for preserving and that's pretty much what we've been doing the past month since I saw you last.

(Blackberry picking down by the river)

And of course there is the associated time taken by the garden and harvesting itself.

But we are having a ball and nearly every jar is filled for the year ahead.

This is a new to me recipe this year and one I'll be making EVERY year if I get the opportunity with a glut of green tomatoes. It's "Green Tomato Salsa" and the recipe is from The Healthy Canning site here. You'll want to pin this one! It doesn't look real pretty but, oh my, the flavour AND what a brilliant way to use green tomatoes. It's delicious as an accompaniment to corn chips and sour cream or topping for nachos or as a pizza topping or part of a cheese board. Sensational!

And in the midst, the grandson turned three and had a Toy Story party. Can you believe it!

Where does the time go?

Storage Ideas For Bottling Accessories

As you would imagine, at this time of year we are busy harvesting and preserving the bulk of our food for the next twelve months. It takes a bit of time to build a jar collection and along with it comes a lot of accessories. In order to streamline the bottling process it is a good idea to put some thought into your storage as this can streamline the whole process and save you time and frustration.

Over the years I have collected many sizes so that I can bottle food into jar sizes that are practicle for their purpose. It can sound a bit mystifying when you hear bottlers talk about jar sizes and lid sizes.

The Fowlers & Vacola system is quite old and from the time before Australia converted to metric. The jar number relates to the ounces a jar holds and the lid/clip/ring numbers relate to the inches across the mouth of the jar. Therefore a #31 bottle takes a #4 lid. Once you understand this it all becomes a lot easier.

So here is how I have devised a storage solution for all those rings, lids and clips. I have a kitchen cupboard with stacked plastic tubs that fit the space beautifully and I have clearly labelled them. One of the other boxes holds assorted lids from saved and recycled commercial jars. The #1 box contains the seals for the old fashioned pint/juice bottles and has spare clip seals and labels as there is spare room.

And this is typical of what each box contains. I use stainless steel lids and though they cost extra in the beginning, they are far more cost effective than the tin being more resistant to corrosion from acidity. I ALWAYS have a few packets of rubber rings at all times as there is nothing worse than having a glut of food to deal with and the shops being sold out during bottling time which happens EVERY year. I have found the most reliable supplier for me has been the smaller retailers like my local IGA here in Campbell Town and The Log Cabin Nursery in Youngtown are more than happy to order in quickly and more especially they get me the rare #2 and #1 seals.

Keep everything clean and dry and remember to always store your thermometer upright, that's what the handy hole in the top is good for.

So what's your system? Have you got a clever idea for storage? 

A Preservers Apology

I know it's been a while but I have some stuff to deal with...

Wheelbarrow loads of stuff.....

The frosts are about to hit

Gotta' go, be back soon with more reno ragings

xxx

Peaches

The kitchen has arrived just in time for 

PEACHES

This is a very old white peach tree and it hasn't had much loving for the past many years. The lack of pruning has made the tree lanky and weak limbed, especially laden as it is in high winds. I love a white peach variety but this season the fruit flavour is average. I'm sure with some proper feeding and pruning next years' crop will be outstanding. 

You can see why we bought this size oven. Both pots going at the same time, no problem!

The white peach is a free stone variety and tends to go a bit soft with the preserving but the flavour is great. No need to peel the skin of this variety, just a good wash. Remember, peaches don't ripen after picking so only select ripe fruit from the tree. Remove them with a gentle sideways twist.

Hot, Hot Savings

.... in the vicinity of $700 in chilli products alone!

As you know from previous posts, we grow and preserve most of our food for year round eating right here on our ordinary suburban block. In addition to all the varieties this year, the Shearer planted 50 chilli bushes of more than 10 varieties. This might sound excessive, and indeed I thought it was, but when you preserve the harvest and do the sums, it's a very wise and fruitful thing for our household.

Louisiana Style Hot Sauce

recipe here

So far he has fermented more than 4kg of chillies into a Tabasco style sauce. This makes approx 9lt of sauce, some of which will be given as gifts but much will be gradually consumed over the next 12 months. 

Given that the commercial sauce sells for $6.60/100ml, that means ordinarily if we purchased 9lt it would cost us $594.00.

The total cost of the ingredients was about $12.

A saving for the year of $582.00

Pickled Chillies

try this recipe here

In addition to the sauce he also pickled 7 pint jars/ approx 500g each of jalapeno peppers with more to come. We use these on our pizzas every Friday night. The commercially canned ones sell for a unit price of $1.89/100g which works out so far to about $66.00. The cost to make these jars was a mere couple of dollars at most for ingredients and probably the same for rubber rings. So the savings have us way out in front. 

A saving so far for the year of $62.00

Fresh Chilli

Even if you were calculating savings for just harvesting and eating fresh chillies the savings are enormous given that they sell on average for $20-$25/kg. We have even been harvesting the jalapenoes at the mid stage and chopping them into chunks and eating them steamed alongside our other vegetables. They have a slight bite but still a fresh capsicum flavour.

A saving of let's say $25

And I have also made several jars of chilli paste too but I think you get the idea...

While chillies may not be everyone's cup of tea, if you were to add up all the chilli condiments you might purchase over a year you might be surprised.

At a conservative estimate we have saved ourselves $669.00 just in chillies alone. Perhaps the Shearer is not as mad as I thought him to be. By learning to preserve your harvest and value add to create product, you save hundreds with every crop variety that you grow.

The Pee-Wee Pot

Just Look!

I found a half size Fowlers pot to match my big Bertha one.

I ummed and aahhed about buying it, wondering if I was just bringing more "stuff" into the house but it has turned out to be a wonderful buy.

It is perfect for doing small batches at the start of the season, for instance if I only have enough for bottling six #27 of tomatoes instead of the 12-13 that I can fit into the big one.

It is also PERFECT for processing my #10 bottles which I use for tomato paste, chilli sauce and pickled nasturtium seeds.

And for the height of the season like this morning...

I have both of them going at once!

Hand Made Gifts for 2015

This year my gift bags contain Rhubarb and Vanilla infused Vodka that I made some months ago. Assorted cordials include, Wild Nettle, Rhubarb and Blackcurrant.

These are lovely with chilled sparkling water but can also be used as syrups for desserts. The blackcurrant is particularly good with hot water for a bedtime soother.

As for last year, I have used the chalkboard look labels and very sorry to say that I have sourced the last of these bottles. I love being able to keep everything uniform in the goodie bag.

I made some "Tranquillity" room sprays for a soft calming fragrance (sometimes Christmas gets a little tense don't you find). These atomisers are about 50ml. I filled 3/4 of the way with witch hazel and added 9 drops of my blend (lavender, bergamot, ylang ylang, geranium and chamomile) and then topped with distilled water.

Last month I made a series of soy wax candles and named their different fragrances for local areas that they inspired. 

I can make jam but I bow down before Miss Kate, a true artisan of preserves, and I am so excited to share some of these creations with loved ones and colleagues. As you can tell from the labels, she sources local produce and blends the most incredible flavours. But even beyond the flavours, she works with the textures of the fruit and the moisture contents that vary from season to season and even the weather on the day plays a part in her delicious science. 

Her label name is...

JustAddMoonshine

My all time favourite is Blue Raja and to be honest I even just eat it off the spoon!

Kate's creations were also in keeping with a natural and black colour theme so I kept carrying that through with stamped tags and plain brown bags and silky black cord.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that.

They are not created overnight and are the product of seasonal selection and preserving. 

Made with thought and love.

I have done several posts on cordial making and you can find them all by simply typing "cordial" into the search box on the right somewhere over there.

All Kate's contact info can be read easily from the labels in the pictures above. 

You can re-read last years' gift bag post here

So what have you made for gifts this year? I'm looking already for new ideas for next year... 

When Life Gives You Leftovers...

This is what the other side of the market looks like.

We resumed our growers' market yesterday with a soft opening.

I returned home with a few bunches of spinach and a bunch of beetroot.

For those of you who looked at our seasonal offerings of greens, beets, herbs and eggs and scratched your heads, here's what you could have made....

Simply substitute a couple of eggs from your pasta recipe for some puree.

Simply steam your beet and puree or blanch the greens and drain and pat dry before pureeing. 

If you have a Thermomix, place the beets whole in the thermo steamer with 1500g of water and cook for 25mins, varoma temp speed 3. Then place the washed and chopped greens into the top tray and varoma for a further 8 mins speed 3.

I pureed the veg in the thermomix and added 3 eggs, a splash of olive oil and 500-600g of flour. Process at 2min on interval knead. It should look a bit breadcrumby. 

It's not an exact science when working with puree, be prepared to add a little flour to get your dough right. Let it sit. Then a couple of minutes later as the gluten works it wants to come together into a ball so gather it together and place in the fridge covered for anywhere up to an hour. I find this gives a lovely elastic and silky dough.

Next make lots of lovely shapes and styles. You can leave to thoroughly dry and it will store in an air tight jar for ages. 

My favourite is "bow ties" 

Cook in boiling water till soft but still firm then drain and toss in butter and herbs, maybe add some chorizo, broad beans, mushrooms...

OR

make a sensational spring nettle pesto...

but that's another story....