A continuation on our introduction to home-preserving. Here we’re talking about canning / bottling fruit & vegetables. Luckily the first few preserves I made were from Mrs Beaton’s All About Cookery. These Victorian recipes assume the cook knows the basics of preserving and general hygiene in the kitchen. They didn’t scare me into not trying, which many books I’ve read since might well have done. Here I want to share some of the basics about methods of preserving foodstuffs that should help you in your kitchen. What Is It? There are a myriad of ways to preserve fruit and vegetables […]
Compost – How to Compost
How to Have a Useful Compost Heap Lots of people wonder why their compost heap doesn’t do much or worse still turns to a pile of evil smelling slime. Usually this is due to a lack of stuff , or a lack of variety of stuff ending up on the compost heap. We need to add as much to our compost heaps as possible. It means we get more benefit from a bigger heap of finished compost. We also save time and money as we’re not sending so much stuff to landfill. It’s our own waste so why not sort […]
Compost – What to Compost?
What Can You Compost? Compost ANYTHING which was once alive. That’s what nature does so why don’t you? This list shows you many of the things you could be composting, whether you feel you should depends on your lifestyle. Try to at least add one more thing from the list to your heap and you’ll be throwing away less and getting more for yourself from your own waste. Add all of the things on the list and I promise you’ll have very fast acting, super rich compost and a happy healthy garden. I know as that’s what we’re lucky enough […]
Preserves – Basics Part 1 – Utensils & Stuff
The main thing to know is that people have always preserved food in times of glut. That means its possible to do so without any fancy equipment or scientific knowledge. Here though are a few pointers – things you should know if starting to make jams, chutneys, pickles and so on. we should all try to store as much produce as we can vie preserving/canning. Food preservation does not need to be overly complicated and it can be done with a minimum of equipment. Preserving Pans are expensive. You don’t need one – what you do need is a heavy, […]
Make Your Own Easy Peasy Piccalilli
Yes, as you can tell I have gone a little preserve crazy. But hey if there is spare food around we should do something with it. Here’s how to make piccalilli. As ever there are no fancy skills or equipment required and the end result is vibrant and tasty so go on have a go yourself! As with most pickles and chutneys this one adores strong cheese but personally I think its fab with jacket potatoes and cottage cheese. Easy Peasy Piccalilli Recipe A traditional pickle from the days of the British rule in India this is exotic looking but […]
Beetroot And Orange Chutney Recipe
Simple Pink Beetroot And Orange Chutney A great way to preserve the beetroot glut and a bit more interesting than just pickling the roots in vinegar which can get a bit repetitive. This is great with bread and cheese or to liven up a salad with some feta too. The salty cheese is balanced brilliantly by the sweet chutney. Ingredients for Beetroot And Orange Chutney Recipe 350g raw beetroot, scrubbed and cut into 1cm dice 350g eating apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1cm dice 300ml red wine vinegar 200g sugar 225g onion finely chopped 1 garlic clove crushed finely […]
Spicy Eggplant / Aubergine Pickle
Simple Spicy Indian Eggplant Pickle This is a great way to deal with a glut of Aubergines (Eggplant) in the summer. Scale the recipe up or down depending on how much of a glut you’ve got! We love this as a chutney side served with curry and poppadoms but is also good (perhaps surprisingly) with cheese sandwiches too. Ingredients for Aubergine Pickle 2kg aubergine / eggplant cut into 2cm dice 125g green chillies chopped 2 garlic cloves crushed 600ml white wine or cider vinegar 2 tbsp chilli powder 2 tsp ground turmeric 310ml sesame oil 1 tbsp cumin seeds 1tbsp […]