Spot the difference, not so easy in the jar perhaps, but certainly evident on the plate. The lighter one is quince jelly, the darker quince and apple. The latter was inspired by a comment a few days ago that spoke about their making a batch of the quince and apple and how delicious it is. … Continue reading A Tale of Two Jellies

The breads of isolation - time for some experimentation.   I had someone ask me if you could use brewers yeast to make bread. The mental picture I had was of powdered or tablet form of brewers yeast, an inert product used as a vitamin supplement - I'd come across it decades ago.   Therefore … Continue reading Breads of Isolation – experimentation

I am SO pleased about Georgetown Seafood's coming to New Norfolk every second Saturday wherever possible. It's been ages since I've been able to access such wonderful quality fish. When ordering this week, owner Greg asked if I'd tried using Boarfish. (No, I hadn't.) He told me it is an excellent baking fish, and recommended … Continue reading When Seafood comes to the Valley

It's no secret that we are very fond of the menagerie we have here around us. Recently our darling pet pig Cilla has seemed depressed. She's used to lots of company when visitors and family come to call, loves being the centre of attention. It occurred to us that she might be feeling sad and … Continue reading Cilla the Pig in the time of Social Isolation

Standing proud in the morning sun - just one of the many jars of quince jelly made yesterday. Those beautiful quinces of Molesworth provided the basis for developing wonderful colour and flavour. This, combined with the slow simmering on the wood heater in the first stages of the preparation, made it what it is - … Continue reading Quince Jelly – the taste of autumn

The quince marmalade is done, cooked on the top of the wood heater.. I concocted the recipe as I went, and will certainly be making it again. And so to lunch - homemade bread toasted over coals of the wood heater, topped with the butter made yesterday and the still-warm quince marmalade - served with … Continue reading Later the same day….. with recipe for quince marmalade

No power here for a few hours today. There's produce to process - beautiful quinces for instance, a gift from a friend. That poem made mention of marmalade (which the king considered to be a very unsatisfactory alternative to butter). However, now I really, REALLY want some. I have no oranges on hand though, so … Continue reading When the power is lacking

From the ABC Jams and Preserves Talkback yesterday, there was a listener request for a lighter version of muffins, with a more cake like texture than some tend to be, so here is my Multi-purpose Muffin recipe, very adaptable. I've included a number of tips and hints for baking and flavouring them. The texture of … Continue reading Multi-purpose Muffins – from ABC Jams and Preserves talkback yesterday

The feta worked!! I had serious doubts when I saw the thawed goats' milk was a bit curdly and gloopy at the outset. In actuality it performed admirably, as you are not supposed to make bread and cheese in the same area. I had 3 loaves of different experimental bread doughs on the go. To … Continue reading Goat Feta – result!

Rub-a-dub-dub - three geese in a tub. There were four in the repurposed old bath, but as I walked past Winnie climbed out to greet me - perhaps not so much from affection but ever hopeful I'd brought her a kale leaf to nibble on.