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Today the temperature outside is dropping significantly.  Didn’t notice for a while but a friend who came to visit had to rush off to chop firewood.  Now I know what he meant – it has turned from cool to positively freezing.

So what to cook for dinner I thought?  Now there are only two of us left at home it’s a bit more challenging.  I’ve decided on a pot roast, a staple of our household especially when the children were growing up.  I remember when I was young it was my favourite dish Mum used to make.  

 The only slightly fiddly part is making a stuffing and cutting a pocket in the meat.  It really makes for a delicious roast into which the flavours of the herbs and onion have infused incredibly well.  The meat is cooked in a combination of sherry or port and tomato sauce (ketchup style).  You can cook it in the slow cooker if you want – the meat will be tender and flavoursome, as will the gravy, but today I think I’ll cook it on top of the wood heater.  Whichever way you choose to cook it, the aroma in the house will be amazing.

 You can use a really inexpensive cut of meat for this –  the one I am using today is a blade roast.  With the long slow braising, it comes out beautifully tender.  The meat is delicious in sandwiches of course the next day, which for me is vastly preferable to buying expensive and mostly additive laden deli meats.

 This is how it goes (this recipe will serve 4):

 1.5kg (approximately) piece roasting beef

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (about 2 slices bread, crumbed)

½ teaspoon dried mixed herbs (or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs such as sage and thyme)

1 onion, grated

1 tablespoon sherry (any sort)

2 tablespoons plain flour

1 tablespoons oil

1 cup tomato sauce (i.e. ketchup)

1 cup sherry

½ cup water

 Trim any excess fat from the beef and cut a pocket in the middle (not all the way through).    Mix together the breadcrumbs, herbs, onion and the one tablespoon of port.  Press mixture into the pocket in the meat and close with skewers or sew with butcher’s string.

 Roll the meat in the combined flour, salt and pepper.  Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large pot and cook the  meat, turning until all surfaces are browned.  Pour over the combined tomato sauce, sherry and water.  Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for approximately one and a half to two hours until the meat is very tender. (Check occasionally to see that the sauce has not boiled away – if it is starting to do this add extra water, about ¾ cup).

 Remove the meat from the pot, cover with foil and leave to stand for at least 10 minutes before cutting int0 slices to serve.

 By the time the meat is tender a delicious gravy will have formed in the saucepan.  Strain this if you want a smooth gravy, than add salt and pepper to taste.  If there is too much, cook over medium heat until it reduces to s sauce-like consistency.

 Serve the pot roast with its gravy along with creamy mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables.

 HINT:

(If you want to cook this dish in a slow cooker, you need not brown the meat if you prefer, and reduce the sauce ingredients to ½ cup each of sherry or port and tomato sauce and don’t add the water.  Cook on High for 5 to 6 hours or Low for 10 to 12 hours).

Well, I have been told to remove onion and garlic from my diet, not to mention gluten.  Oh my goodness.  Gluten is fine, can deal with that after writing “From My Kitchen to Yours”, but onions and garlic are a mainstay of my cooking for adding flavour to all sorts of savoury dishes; rarely do I make one without them.  It has called for a total rethink.

 Apparently there are many people who either don’t like or cannot tolerate onion and garlic so I have now developed a few everyday recipes.  However, I really, really miss home-made savoury sauces and pickles because I add those to many dishes as well.  Finally I could stand it no longer and so this morning invented a tomato sauce.  It is really a ketchup in the true sense of the word as traditionally they should only contain one fruit or vegetable (as in mushroom ketchup for example).

 Secretly I held out little hope of success but used some tomatoes from the garden that had plenty of flavour.  I was truly astounded at the result – it is really tasty with a lovely rounded flavour.  I only made a small batch, so sceptical was I of the quality of the end result, so just double it if you want and boil it for a bit longer.

 Licking the spoon after I finished bottling it, I think it would make a really good tomato topping on a pizza.  I’ll certainly be trying that out. 

 Tomato Sauce (ketchup style) without onions or garlic

 The sauce should keep well for at least a year.

 1.5kg tomatoes, chopped

1½ cups white vinegar

250g sugar

4 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons mustard powder

1 teaspoon curry powder

 Place all the ingredients into a saucepan and bring to the boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes.  Strain through a sieve or food mill.  Return to heat and cook over medium-low heat until a sauce-like consistency forms (about 20 to 30 minutes).  Pour into warm sterilised bottles and seal immediately.

Recently I have had many requests for recipes for egg free recipes, especially for cupcakes.  I approached it with trepidation thinking that the cakes would be really heavy and doughy in texture.  In actuality quite the opposite has proven to be the case.  In this blog there are recipes for vanilla, orange or lemon and chocolate cup cakes.  I’ve provided recipes for icings for them just in case they are needed.   There is also a recipe for a boston bun.

If you want to make a large cake instead of the cup cakes, simply pour the mixture into a 20cm round or square deep sided cake tin, that has been greased and lined with baking paper.  Cook at 160 degrees C for approximately 40 minutes until a metal skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Leave to stand in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

Egg-free Vanilla Cup Cakes

 You could add sultanas or choc chips to this basic vanilla cup cake recipe.  You could also dice an apple finely and add to the mixture.  It is ideal for making butterfly cakes as well.

 The cakes can remain un-iced or iced with vanilla icing (recipe to follow).  I often brush the tops of cup cakes with a little melted butter, then sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

 Makes 12 large cup cakes.

 2 ½ cups self raising flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

¼ cup sugar

125g butter, melted

395g tin condensed milk

1 cup water

1 ½ tablespoons white vinegar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

 Heat oven to 170°C.  Line 12 x ½ cup capacity muffin tins with muffin papers.

 Sift together the flour and bicarbonate of soda, then stir in the sugar.  Mix the condensed milk into the melted butter, then stir in the water, vinegar and vanilla until well combined.  Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the milk mixture.  Whisk until smooth.

 Vanilla Icing

(for pinki icing add a few drops of cichineal)

180g pure icing sugar

1½ teaspoons butter, softened

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Boiling water.

Sift the icing sugar, then add the butter and gradually enough boiling water to make spreading consistency.

 Orange or Lemon Cup Cakes

 Makes 12 large cup cakes

 2 ½ cups self raising flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

¼ cup sugar

125g butter, melted

390g tin condensed milk

¾ cup water

¼ cup orange or lemon juice

Finely grated rind of one orange or lemon

1 ½ tablespoons white vinegar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

 Sift together the flour and bicarbonate of soda, then stir in the sugar.  Mix the condensed milk into the melted butter, then stir in the water, orange or lemon juice, rind, vinegar and vanilla until well combined.  Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the milk mixture.  Whisk until smooth.

 Spoon evenly into the prepared muffin paper lined tins.  Bake for 15 minutes or until a metal skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

 Orange or Lemon Icing

180g pure icing sugar

Grated rind of half an orange (or lemon)

1 teaspoon butter

The juice of an orange (or lemon)

 Sift the icing sugar and add softened butter.  Gradually add the orange juice until a spreadable consistency is reached.

 Egg Free Chocolate Cup Cakes

 Makes 10

375g stewed apple (not too wet) – warmed but not hot

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

125g butter, melted

250g self raising flour

2 tablespoons cocoa

200g sugar

2 teaspoons white vinegar

½ teaspoon vanilla

 Heat oven to 170°C.  Line 10 x ½ cup capacity muffin tins with muffin papers.

 Mix together the apple and bicarbonate of soda, then whisk in the rest of the ingredients until smooth.  Pour into the prepared tins and bake for 15 minutes or until a metal skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

 Chocolate Icing

30g butter, softened

1 ½ cups icing sugar

1 ½ tablespoons cocoa

2 tablespoons boiling water, approximately

Mix the butter, icing sugar, cocoa and enough boiling water to make a smooth spreadable icing. 

 Boston Bun

 1 cup smooth mashed potato

1 cup milk

1 cup sugar

1 cup mixed dried fruit (or a combination of sultanas and currants)

1½ teaspoons mixed spice

1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 cups self raising flour

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind

1 tablespoon lemon juice

 Turn oven to 170°C.  Grease a deep sided 20cm cake tin and line base with baking paper, grease again.

 Whisk the potato, milk and sugar together until smooth.  Fold in the rest of the ingredients.  Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes or until a metal skewer when inserted into the middle comes out clean.

 Allow to stand in tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

 Icing:

 2 cups icing sugar

30g butter, softened

2 tablespoons boiling water, approximately

A few drops cochineal, optional

¼ cup coconut, optional

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional

 Sieve the icing sugar and mix in the butter and enough boiling water to make a smooth spreading consistency.   Add cochineal if desired. Spread over bun and sprinkle with coconut or omit cochineal and sprinkle the icing instead with cinnamon.

 

Today I went to make a small batch of tomato sauce with the last of the tomatoes from the garden.  Tomatoes haven’t done well here this year, so I had only 1.5kg when it actually came to weighing them up.  I topped up the weight with a couple of apples I found in the  fruit bowl but still needed more to make up the 2kg required.  We had just picked quinces from our trees, which thankfully produced abundantly this year.  I added a couple of those, figuring it would add a new dimension of flavour – if it didn’t work I could use it up in cooking.

I am so pleased with the result – the quince makes the sauce even tastier, in a good way.  Here is the recipe – you can vary the proportions of the tomatoes to apples to quince.  Just use what you have at hand.

Speaking of which, if you have “A Year in a Bottle”,  try varying some of the fresh fruits in the recipes – for instance, try making apricot chutney using mangoes, zucchini pickle using pineapple (and a couple of long red chillies for a boost),  and so on.  The recipes have that flexibility built into them.  Let your imagination go wild and make the most of what you have in the garden, what is in season and/or available at farmers’ markets and farm gate stalls.

Tomato Sauce with Apple and Quince

1.5kg tomatoes, chopped

250g apples, peeled and chopped

250g quinces, peeled, cored and chopped

500g onions, peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons salt

3 teaspoons mustard powder

3 teaspoons curry powder

500g sugar

3 cups white or cider vinegar

 Place the tomatoes, apples, quince, onions, salt, mustard powder, curry powder, sugar and the 3 cups of vinegar into a large saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved and continue to simmer for one and a half hours, stirring occasionally.  Puree with a stick blender or in a food processor or push through a food mill or sieve.

Return to heat and cook until it reaches a sauce-like consistency.

Pour into sterilised jars and seal immediately.  Store in a cool, dry, dark place.

Makes approximately 2.5 litres

 

Here it is autumn and I’m wondering where summer actually was.  Never mind, there still seemed to be an abundance of fruit which is ongoing – we still have plenty of plums and quinces that are ripening all over the countryside – down hidden laneways, out in paddocks, often with fruit falling to the ground for the heavily laden branches.  People who own the trees are generally very generous with the excess fruit so I’m soon to head to the stove to make this year’s quince jelly and quince cheese from a boxful I was given a couple of days ago.

However, in the meantime there seems to be an abundance of pears about.  I love to pickle and spice them such as  I have written about in an earlier post, but many people have asked about preserving (bottling) them, so this post deals with the process for doing so.  I love preserved pears for breakfast with cereal and yoghurt, for dessert with custard or ice cream or in a pear tart (with caramel sauce). 

Pears can tend to discolour once they are peeled and cored and waiting to go into the bottles.  You can help prevent this by soaking them in water that has a little lemon juice added.  Try using 2 tablespoons lemon juice per litre of water.  I find the best way to avoid this discolouration is to fill one jar at a time with the pears, covering them immediately with the preserving syrup.  I then don’t need to bother with the lemon juice/water soaking.

 Here is the method for actually preserving them:

•  Peel and core the pears, then cut in half lengthways 
• Place rings on clean preserving jars 
• Choose and make the selected preserving syrup (see below), adding 1 teaspoon citric acid to every 8 cups of preserving liquid 
• Layer the pear halves neatly and firmly in bottles 
• Pour the preserving liquid over the pears right to the brim 
• Place lids on jars and secure with clips, or if using screw top jars, screw lids on, then release half a turn 
• Place in preserving outfit and fill the preserver with cold water to just under the lid of the bottle 
• Bring to 90°C, making sure that this takes at least 45 minutes and hold at this temperature for one hour for jars containing up to 12 cups of product, an extra 30 minutes for larger 
• Remove from preserver and place on a wooden board.  If using screw top jars, screw lid on tightly now 
• Leave to stand for 24 hours 
• Remove clips (if used).  Check that lids are concave (this means that they have been preserved effectively)

 Preserving liquid

** The liquid can be water, fruit juice or sugar syrup.  Sugar quantity in syrups can vary according to personal taste:

 Light Syrup: one part sugar, four parts water

Medium Syrup: one part sugar to two parts water

Heavy Syrup:  equal parts sugar and water.

I make this syrup up in a plastic jug.  For a heavy syrup half fill the jug with sugar, add enough boiling water to dissolve the sugar, then fill the remainder of the jug with cold water, then stir in the citric acid.  The syrup is then ready to use.

 

 

I have made it my mission today to make a range of fruit jellies.    I have so many requests for spreads that don’t contain pips, seeds or skins by people who have diverticular disease or similar, or even people who have false teeth – truly.

Quite apart from any dietary or dental considerations, jellies are outstandingly tasty.  The yield is not so good as jam obviously, but the flavours are instensified.  They are delicious on scones with whipped cream and a gravy or jus or a casserole style dish is much enhanced by the addition of a very small amount.

Owing to the generosity of friends  and their giving me fruit from their gardens, I’m able today to make raspberry jelly, blackcurrant, crabapple, blackberry and plum.

One thing to remember is not to try to make your jelly in huge batches.  I make batches of no more than 6 cups of the fruit liquid plus sugar.

Making  jelly is really simple.  Just put the fruit in a large saucepan and barely cover with water.  Bring to the boil and simmer until the fruit is really soft, then pour the mixture through a colander, capturing the juice underneath.  Pour this liquid through a sieve lined with 2 thicknesses of muslin or a thin cloth.

To each cup of the resulting liquid, add one cup of sugar. Put back on the heat, bring to the boil, stirring and then cook over medium heat until the settng point is reached.  This will depend on the fruit – anything from 12 minutes to 30.

To test for set place 2 teaspoons of the hot mixture on a cold saucer, place in fridge for a few minutes.  Run your finger through the cold jelly; if the surface is quite firm and wrinkles when you pull your finger through it, the jelly has reached setting point.

 Pour into warm sterilised jars and seal immediately.

 (To sterilise the jars, wash in hot soapy water, rinse and place upside down on a clean cloth or dish drainer to drain.  Place on a tray in a cold oven.  Turn oven to 110°C .  When the oven reaches this temperature, turn off the heat and leave the bottles for 10 minutes.  To make sure lids are sterile, wash and dry.  When lid is placed on jar of hot jelly, turn briefly upside down – the heat of the jelly will sterilise the lid)

 Store in a cool, dry, dark place

 

Well the experiment I spoke about in my last blog worked!  I used the dregs from the stout barrel (called “Trub” I am told by a brewing expert) as the only raising agent in a loaf of bread.  Quite truthfully I had my doubts, but mixed up a batch or bread minus the dried yeast I normally include, and used the “trub” that I’d mixed with 1 cup of flour the day before.  I then left the dough on the bench, in the cold, on a cold day as well.  I went out to the kitchen some hours later and saw that the tea towel over the bowl was bulging.  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  I quickly kneaded it and put it in the bread tin to rise.  Sure enough, it rose again and made a beautiful loaf- well 2 actually – a large one and a smaller.  Not only did it rise well, but its texture is wonderful (moist and light) with a sensational flavour.

I am exceptionally pleased at this small victory.  I really hate wasting food and to my mind the “trub” had to have at least some valuable vitamins, so it would be a shame just to send it to the compost heap.  For anyone who’d like to try it, here is the recipe:

1 cup dregs from the brewing barrel (trub)

1 cup plain flour

Mix together on day 1, cover with a cloth and place outside (bring it in at night).

Next day, mix up the dough as follows:

4 cups plain flour

2 scant teaspoons salt

2 teaspons sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil (or vegetable oil)

the trub/flour mixture and enough warm water to make a soft dough.  Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave to rise until doubled (about 3 hours).  Turn out and knead on a floured surface for about 3 minutes, then cut off two x 600g portions.  Shape each into a ball and place side by side in a greased 13cm x 21cm (approximately) loaf tin.

The other piece of dough I shaped into a smaller loaf and placed in a greased small loaf tin (21cm x 9cm -this resulted in a french stick type loaf that I last night used, topped with cheese and grilled) in Fench Onion Soup.

Cover tins with a tea towel and leave to rise until the larger loaf almost reaches the top of the tin.  Meanwhile heat oven to 200 degrees C.  When bread is risen bake for 40 minutes, removing smaller loaf from the oven after 20 minutes.  Be careful not to slam the oven door when you take it out or it may make the larger loaf sink.

Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Robert (husband) has taken to brewing his own beer and stout.  He’s not much of a drinker mind you, but loves playing around with the brews.  There is however, a great quantity building up in the shed.  Last night he left half a stubbie of stout sitting on the bench.  We needed bread so I threw it in as the liquid and was quite pleased with the result.  This morning he told me he had kept a jar of the sludgy dregs from the base of a keg of stout.  Now, that had potential!  I quickly mixed up a batch of bread, incorporating a cupful of the brew.  It worked really well – made a delicious dark loaf.

I remembered he had a stubbie of his beer down here in the house fridge, so made some bread with that also.  It’s about to come out of the oven and looks amazing.  I know it tastes good because I kept back a small piece to make into a bread roll for lunch – so good with pesto and roasted red capsicum.

I still had some of the keg stout dregs left, so decided to see how if t would perform as a raising agent for bread dough, thus eliminating the need to use commercial dried yeast.  I mixed up one cupful of the liquid with 1 cup fo flour and have left it to its own devices.  A couple of hours later it is bubbling away happily and I have great hopes for making a loaf of bread out of it tomorrow.  I think it would be nice if I incorporated some rye flour into it, along with some caraway seeds.

All this works well for me as I hate waste so using the dregs from the home brew keg  is great.

Anyway, here are the recipes for both the beer bread and the stout bread I have made so far.  Both have a lovely yeasty sweetness that is not overpowering.  The colour of the stout bread is astounding. 

One final thing – you could add some dried fruit and spices  if you wanted, make it into foccaccia, use it as pizza dough or make bread rolls with it – you are only, as they say, limited by your imagination.

Beer Bread

4 cups plain flour

4 teaspoons dried yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil

375ml beer (any sort) – or dregs from the keg

125ml hot water

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, yeast, sugar and salt.  Make a well in the centre and pour in the oil.  Mix together the beer and hot water – the mixture should be lukewarm; if it’s not, heat on the stove or in the microwave until it is.  Pour into the well in the flour and mix to a soft dough.  Mix well and leave to rise until doubled in size (an hour or two).  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 3 minutes.  Cut into two even sized balls and place side by side in a greased loaf tin (13 x 21cm approximately). 

Heat oven to 200 degrees C and, when bread is ready, bake for 40 minutes.  Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Stout Bread

4 cups plain flour

4 teaspoons dried yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil

1 cup stout (or dregs from stout barrel)

1 cup hot water

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, yeast, sugar and salt.  Make a well in the centre and pour in the oil.  Mix together the stout and hot water – the mixture should be lukewarm;  if it’s not, heat on the stove or in the microwave until it is.  Pour into the well in the flour and mix to a soft dough.  Mix well and leave to rise until doubled in size (an hour or two).  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 3 minutes.  Cut into two even sized balls and place side by side in a greased loaf tin (13 x 21cm approximately). 

Heat oven to 200 degrees C and, when bread is ready, bake for 40 minutes.  Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

 

 

 

 

Another weekend has passed with a frenzy of preserving, so wonderful!  The mustard fruits are almost made, just waiting for them to cool before adding that liquid gold, mustard essence.  In Angela Hartnett’s book (“Cucina”) she says that they are delicious served with meats and cheese.  Can’t wait to try them out.

I had fun preserving peaches and plums as well, but my weekend favourite turned out to be blackberries.

Our dear friend Richard brought blackberries that he’d picked from the fields around the Tasman Peninsula.  I couldn’t decide whether to make them into jam or a pie (a rather large pie, seeing as there was a whole bucketful).  They looked so delicious, glistening in all their glory in the pot.  It suddenly occurred to me that I could have the best of both worlds.

Often when on radio I am asked about making jellies by people who can no longer eat seeds or pips (as is the case for people with diverticular disease).  Therefore, I heated the blackberries gently until the juices were flowing well, then poured them through a sieve, collecting the juice underneath.  The blackberry pulp mixture that was left was poured into a pot for making the pie later.  The juice I proceeded to make into jelly – what a treat for scones and toast and fresh baked bread.  My Nan used to eat fresh bread and jam and cream.  She was thin as a whippet but could eat up to 6 slices of jam spread thickly on bread, topped with a generous amount of sweetened whipped cream.  It is beyond delicious, and certainly worth a try maybe just once or twice.  Pity I didn’t inherit her slim genes.

You could use virtually any type of berry instead of blackberries, though I don’t think strawberries would be so good.

Here is how I made the jelly:

 Blackberry Jelly

4 cups juice drained from gently heated blackberries

4 cups sugar

 Heat the juice and simmer one minute.  Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.  Bring back to the boil and simmer 20 to 25 minutes until setting point is reached.*

 *Place 2 teaspoons of the hot mixture on a cold saucer, place in the fridge for a few minutes.  Run your finger through the cold jam; if the surface is quite firm and wrinkles when you pull your finger through it, the jam has reached setting point.

 Blackberry Pie

 To make the blackberry pie, you can simply add sugar to taste to the blackberries and heat the mixture until boiling.  Mix together some cornflour and a little over an equal amount of water and stir enough into the blackberries to thicken it.  Cool.

 Of course if you don’t want to make the jelly from th jucie, just cook up blackberries normally, still keeping the all the juice in the mixture – either way, it’s going to be delicious.  You will need about 500 to 600g blackberries.

 For the pastry:

125g butter

125g sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon lemon rind

110g plain flour

110g self raising flour

30g custard powder

A little egg white, lightly beaten

 Cream together the butter and sugar, then whisk in the lemon rind and egg until well combined, then fold in the combined flours and custard powder.  Wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

 Heat oven to 180°C fan forced (20° more if not).  Grease a 20cm pie dish.

 On a lightly floured surface, roll out two thirds of the pastry to fit the base and sides of the pie dish.  Brush all over with the egg white.  Pour in the blackberry mixture.  Roll the other piece of pastry for the top and fit into place.  Crimp the edges together.  Prick in several places with a fork.

 Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the pastry is golden.

 The pie cuts out better if left to cool for 20 minutes or more.

 Serve with whipped sweetened cream or ice cream.

This week has been incredibly fruit-full, literally.  Despite the chill in the air that feels like autumn rather than summer, I’ve been able to access excellent tomatoes and basil.  I’ve made three types of chutney and have tomato segments processing to semi-dried in the oven and dehydrator.  They will later today be dipped in vinegar, then covered with olive oil – wonderful to have on hand for a whole range of dishes and breads. Iit’s essential to dip them in vinegar to increase the acid level to extend their shelf life)  I keep them in the fridge – if the oil solidifies a little, just remove the jar from the fridge an hour or so before they are needed- the oil will quickly liquify again.

A friend gave me a huge basketful of tiny little pears which I am absolutely delighted with.  For years I have been wanting to make Angela Hartnett’s Mustard Fruits which calls for just such small pears.  Also necessary is mustard essence which can only be purchased in Italy.  I tried making mustard fruit with mustard oil  but it just wasn’t quite right.  Son Alistair worked with Angela at the Connaught  in London and he told me that mustard fruits are beyond sensational.  So  now with all the required tools at hand I am able to make them properly at last.  Given the luxury of so many tiny pears, I think I’ll make a quadruple batch.

Plums are pouring through the door – blood plums, yellow plums of several varieties and tomorrow there will be more.  There are damsons to come as well.  There’s a busy time ahead and already the preserving bottles are full, all 300+ of them.  Never mind – there are always sauces, pickles, sauces and fruit pastes and cheeses, not to mention cordials to be made.  And then there’s worcestershire sauce of course. 

Pesto has been made by the bucketful – so delicious that I can’t resist the temptation to make more, lots of it as it freezes really well for later use.  The recipe for that is to follow.

Fruit pastes are a really good way to use excess fruit - especially the much undervalued crabapple and excess plums.  You simply cook the fruit with just a little water until soft, then sieve it or pass it through a food mill.  For each cup of pulp you add one cup of sugar.   Bring it to the boil, stirring, then cook until it’s really thick, stirring often and almost constantly towards the end of cooking time - until a spoon scraped through the middle leaves a definite line.    You can either pour it into small jars, or if it’s really thick into a foil lined baking tray.  In the case of the latter, it can later be cut into squares, rolled in castor sugar, then stored in an airtight container between sheets of baking paper.  You can serve it with cheese, as a confectionery.  Often I skip the rolling in castor sugar and roll the squares in melted chocolate instead.  Very nice.

In the case of plum paste, try adding a  little port – about 2 tablespoons to 400g of paste, or more if you like it – delicious!  Incidentally, it is equally delicious in a paste made with figs.

So there is a bit to be going on with.  My favourite of the month is pesto and basil seems to be abundant almost everywhere, so here is the recipe.    Freeze it in small containers if you make a great deal, in which case it is not necessary to cover the surface of the finished product with oil.  This recipe is made in the food processor which is quick and easy, but you can make it in a mortar and pestle as many people prefer to do.  I use light olive oil so that the flavour does not overpower that of the basil and pine nuts.

 2 cups fresh basil leaves

½ cup pine nuts

2 gloves garlic, peeled

½ cup light olive oil

1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice, optional

½ cup shaved or shredded parmesan

¼ to ½ teaspoon salt

Place the basil leaves, pine nuts and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth.  With the motor running, gradually add the oil, then the lemon juice (if using) and parmesan.  Add salt to taste.

Pour into a container and cover surface with a little olive oil.  Cover with a lid.   Refrigerate.