Small green vase from Decorate

I think it is time again for sharing a photo with you of a recent new addition to my collection of green ceramic vases, which I again have located in the local shop Decorate. The price is just as small as the size of the vase, the vase costs 49 DKK (6.50 €).

Rhubarb and ginger chutney

Besides from the more traditional jams like this strawberry & apple jam we also learned how to cook chutney at the Summer preserves course.

Making chutney is another very time consuming process in your kitchen in many ways. First you spend approx 2-3 hours cooking the chutney followed by a 2 months storage time, before you actually can the chutney with your food.

While you spend the time making this chutney,  you can at the same time just as well make a "vegetable" jam of tomato, ginger and chilli, at this takes just as long time to make. And you can easily have two cooking pots simmering on your stove.

You could not cook your chutney in a metallic cooking pan, stainless less is good. And the cooking spoon should not be metallic either, so use a wood or plastic spoon.

Rhubarb and ginger chutney:  4-6 glasses

• 1 kg rhubarb - trimmed and leaves discarded - cut into 3 cm pieces
• 250 g onions - peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic - peeled and finely chopped
• 100 ml water
• 1 lemon- only the zest
• 2 oranges - only the zest
• 7 g salt
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground spice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 375 ml distilled malt vinegar or white wine vinegar
• 30 g stem/pickled ginger - finely chopped
• 450 g sugar

1. Start by adding the onion and garlic into a large cooking pan together with the water. Let the onions simmer with the lid on, until they are softened, approx 10 minutes.
2. Put the rhubarb pieces, lemon & orange zest, spices, salt and vinegar. Bring it to the boil, and let it simmer gently until the mixture is pulpy, approx 45 minutes. Stir regular during the cooking process to prevent sticking.
3. Add the finely chopped ginger together with the sugar to the pan. Carefully dissolve the sugar. The addition of the sugar really turns the chutney very, very liquid.
4. Simmer the chutney gently again, until it is thick and there is no excess liquid on the surface. Stir regular during the cooking process.
5. You can check, that the chutney is right by, pulling the spoon the top of the surface. The "hole" should remain without the chutney running together. The tutor Vivien Lloyd described it as Moses dividing the Red Sea !
6. Pour the chutney into warm and clean glaaes and seal with vinegar proof lids. Store for 2 month, before you start to eat the chutney.

Tomato and chilli jam

Besides from the more traditional jams like this strawberry & apple jam we also learned how to make a "vegetable" jam like this tomato  at the Summer preserves course.

This "vegetable" jam requires, that you have plenty of time, approx 2-3 hours, so it is not a fast think to make !!! Anyway, I see this "jam" as a great way to use any surplus tomatoes, which you can have from your garden.

While you spend the time making this "vegetable" jam, you can at the same time just as well make this rhubarb chutney rhubarb chutney, at this takes just as long time to make. And you can easily have two cooking pots simmering on your stove.

Tomato and chilli jam: - 4-5 glasses

• 1.14 kg ripe tomatoes
• 6 red chillies
• 9 cloves of garlic
• 45 g root ginger - without skin
• 60 ml Thai fish sauce
• 225 ml red wine vinegar
• 675 g sugar

1. Blend the chillies incl the seeds, garlic and ginger finely in a food processor.
2. Add into a large cooking pan.
3. Blend the tomatoes in a food processor.
4. Add in the tomatoes together with the fish sauce and vinegar. Simmer gently until the content is pulpy. Do not use use too much heat, as this is make the jam more brown/caramelic. This takes approx 1 hour to get the right pulpy/mashed texture. Stir regular.
5. Add in the sugar. The addition of the sugar gives a very water texture to the jam.
6. Continue to cook the jam, until the texture is thickened under gentle/low heat.This takes another 1 hour. Stir regular.
7. Pour into glasses.
8. Store for at least a month before opening.

Gooseberry curd

At the Summer preserves course we also learned how to turn gooseberries into a fruit curd, which you can served together with scones for a nice cup of tea.

I have previously been making various fruit curds in my little kitchen such as lemon curd, blood orange curd, apple curd and finally clementine curd. Curds have relative small shelf-life, 4-6 weeks in the refrigerator, so do not make too big a portion, unless you are planning to invite a lot of people around for afternoon tea or you have been invited out quiet often.

As you can seen from the colour this gooseberry curd is made from green gooseberries. However, you can use also red gooseberries. I will later share a recipe with red gooseberry curd with you.

Gooseberry curd: 3-4 glasses

• 450 g green gooseberries
• 15 ml water
• 60 g butter
• 250 g sugar
• 2 large eggs

1. Wash and clean the gooseberries removed the flower ends and stalks.
2. Place the gooseberries in cooking pan with the water. Simmer gentle until pulped, approx 15 minutes.
3. Rob the pulp through a sieve into a bowl. There should be 300 ml pulp.
4. Place the pulp in a bowl over a saucepan containing barely simmering water.
5. Add in the sugar, stir until dissolved.
6. When add in the sugar, and stir until the butter is melted.
7. Beat the eggs together and strain the eggs through a sieve.
8. Add the beaten eggs into the curd. Stir continuously until the curd thickens, and lightly coats the back of a spoon. It takes around 10-12 minutes.
9. Turn off the heat and leave the curd to stand for 5 minutes.
10. Meanwhile prepare the storage glasses by filling them with boiling water.
11. After 5 minutes stand still, the surface of the fruit curd should have a slightly firmer/thicker surface, which can be pushed together using a cooking spoon. If not, when cook the fruit curd again.
12. Strain the fruit curd through a sieve into a jug.
13. Pour the curd into a clean glass to the top of the glass. Close the glass with a lid.
14. Store the fruit curd in the refrigerator for up to 4-6 weeks.

Green apple bowl in ceramic

It is time again for me to share a photo of the latest addition to my collection of green ceramics ! It is NOT a green ceramic vase, but it is green ceramic bowl in a shape of an apple. I imaging, that I can use the this bowl for serving of fruit pieces.

I have brought this apple bowl at the well known Lange keramik in Aalborg.

Herb-scented cordial with geranium

I continue to share recipes with you from my participation in the Summer preserves course, this time is a recipe on herb-scented cordial, which is very, very easy to make.

Instead of geranium leaves mint, lemon balm, lemon balm in combination with rosemary could be used for infusion of cordial.

I will use the basic cordial recipe in my little for some other herb-scented cordial version.

Herb-scented cordial with geranium: - 1bottle

• 300 ml water
• 85 g sugar
• 1 lemon - the juice of it
• 10 scented herb leaves - lemon or orange geranium

1. Bring the water to the boil in a cooking pot. Add in the lemon juice and sugar and stir until dissolved.
2. Remove the cooking pot from the heat and add in the herbs.
3. Cover the cooking pot with a lid, and let the herb leaves infuse for minimum 30 minutes or night over.
4. Sieve the cordial through a sieve lined with thin cotton muslin.
5. Pour the cordial into a clean bottle.
6. Store cold in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.
7. When serving dilute one part cordial with five parts of water.

Strawberry & apple jam

At the Summer preserves course we also learnt how to make strawberry & apple jam. As strawberries has a very low natural content of pectin, the addition of apples in the strawberry jam is used purely for gelling purpose together with the high level of sugar addition.

It is possible for make a strawberry jam on it´s own using gelling powder, and here you can also adjust the sugar addition to your preference. I really love this Midsummer jam made from strawberry with elder flowers.

Strawberry & apple jam: 8-10 glasses

• 1 kg small strawberries (just ripe) - washed and stem removed
• 1 large lemon - the juice
• 450 g cooking apples - peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• 100 ml water
• 1400 g sugar

1. Place the apple slices in a separate cooking pan together with the water part.
2. Cover the pan with a lid and cook the apple over low heat, until the apples is quiet soft and pulpy, should look like apple mash (approx 10 minutes).
3. Sieve the apple pulp, there should be around 340 g in total.
4. Add the strawberries and the lemon juice in a large jam. Bring the content to the boil, let the fruit simmer gently until tender, approx 15 minutes.
5. Mash the strawberries.
6. Prepare the jam glasses either by heating up in the oven or adding boiling water to them.
7. Add the apple purée into the mashed strawberries and mix together to combine the fruit.
8. Add the sugar into the fruit mass and stir until it is dissolved.
9. Bring the jam to a rolling boil and boil hard until the setting point is reached. Stir the jam frequently.
10. Test of set after 5 minutes using the flake test.
11. When the setting point is reached, remove the pan from the heat and leave it to stand for 10 minutes. As the jam settles, push any scums from the surface of the pan to the side and remove it with a metal spoon. The purpose for the waiting step is well to build viscosity in jam, so the fruit pieces will be trapped inside the jam inside of be going to the top of jam.
12. Gently stir the jam after the resting time and pour it into the prepared glasses, fill the glasses up to the brim. Remove any scum for the surface of the jam using a tea spoon. Close the glass with a lid.
13. Leave the glass upright and disturbed to cool and set.
14. Store at ambient temperature.