Homemade Preserves - The Bad The Good The Yummy

The Bad
I have had a glut of Eggplant a few weeks ago and tried to marinate some except I forgot one major step, I forgot to pickle it, I salted & washed it, dried and char grilled it, then placed it in jars with vegetable oil. I tried it about 3 weeks later and it was chewy, no leathery would be a better description. Then I read the process and realised I missed a big bit. Thankfully I have a few eggplants on the go and will be able to try the recipe again and do it correctly.
0/10

The Good
Strawberries were quite cheap this weekend so I bought a few punnet's, thinking Jam time. I had Castor Sugar in the pantry a plenty, I know granulated is best but castor works.
7/10 tasty, sweet, good consistency

The Yummy
I have Eggplant being picked every other day so I tried another recipe, this one a Chutney

Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
500 g strawberry (hulled)
500 g castor sugar
40 mls lemon juice

Method
place all ingredients into a heavy based saucepan and stir over med heat until dissolved - do not boil
once dissolved bring to boil then reduce to simmer for about 30 minutes
test to see if ready but placing a small amount on a cold plate and set in fridge for 30 seconds to see if set
pour hot jam into hot sterilised jars, seal, invert for 15 mins, turn right way up
label ans store in dark cool place for a week
Once opened leave in fridge for 1 week

Notes
Sterilise jars by placing in hot oven (start cold) for 25 mins or in dishwasher on high heat setting, boil lids for 5 minutes
can replace one berry with multiple berries if desired
this made 3 jars @ 150mls per jar

to make more simply double the ingredients

Tomato & Eggplant Chutney
Ingredients
1.5 kgs tomatoes
450 g Eggplant - about 1 (cut to size, salt Eggplant for at least 20 mins) removes excess water & bitterness of seeds
3 Granny Smith Apples
250 mls red wine vinegar
1 cup (220 g) packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 red onions
2 cloves garlic
2 birdseye chilli
60 mls olive oil

Method use a large pot
dry fry the seeds until aroma released, set aside
cut a cross at the base of tomatoes, place in boiling water for a few seconds to soften skin
remove skin & discard, cut in half, remove seeds & discard, cut tomatoes into chunks
cut onions finely as well as garlic & chilli, fry in oil til tender
add Eggplant and cook for about 5 minutes
add tomato flesh, spices, vinegar, sugar & apples to pot, bring to boil
reduce heat & simmer until most of liquid has evaporated

pour hot chutney into hot sterilised jars, seal, invert for 15 mins, turn right way up
label and store in dark cool place for a month before using. Will happily sit in your cupboards for months
will store in fridge once opened for a good while

Notes
Sterilise jars by placing in hot oven (start cold) for 25 mins or in dishwasher on high heat setting, boil lids for 5 minutes


this made 4 jars @ 250 mls per jar

10/10 excellant flavour, just spicy enough, great texture & consistency


I have recently bought some lovely preserving jars from Kitchenware Direct http://www.kitchenwaredirect.com.au in WA (online ordering is my friend) Bormioli Rocco Quattro Stagioni jars in multiple sizes. It is also where the Jam recipe came from. The Chutney came from http://taste.com.au

Mystery Plant.......

A few months ago a vine like plant started growing in one of my veggie beds. Ever curious to see what was growing I let it grow. A small green fury ball started to form from a lovely yellow flower. The flower was much like the one growing from my Burpless Cucumber. I started to think what I had placed in the compost that had decided to germinate. I know a lot of Jack O Lantern Pumpkin seed went in from last Halloween ( yes I like to carve a pumpkin or 3 every October)or perhaps the mountain of watermelon from all the juicing i did over Summer. Maybe a Cantaloupe....

Sure it's easy to tell from the last photo that it is more than likely a Honeydew, but that first photo really had me going. I still had not quite figure it out by the second photo (taken about 3-4 weeks after the first photo) today I'm going with Honeydew.

As it is now Autumn I will only leave it grow for about another 2-3 weeks before it gets too cold. It already has a great hollow sound when I tap it.

Pineapple & Grapefruit Sage

Henry James Byron: "When young, sow wild oats, but when old, grow sage."

I rarely use the botanical (Latin) name of anything I am growing, as I like my blog are a layperson, but here it is Salvia elegans.

Like many avid gardeners I turn to Google for a lot of information. You may have to search a few webpages until you find what you are after or may just hit the jackpot on the first one or two hits. A lot of the pages that come up are blogs, like this, if I refer to them at all I will always add a link to their page. For I do not steal.

After getting home from work I work I do what i do everyday. I go in the back yard and say hello to all my lovelies. Today I was awe-struck by my Pineapple Sage. No it has not flowered, but by God it's big. So naturally I went to Google and searched for Pineapple Sage. They say it can grow to 1.5M, I would have to agree, though mine is in a raised bed about 400mm, it is still quite tall. I'm 5ft 4inches or 1.62M tall and it is almost as tall as me. I am yet to see the pretty & sweet red flowers it is supposed to bare. The plant was bought at my local nursery; Flower Power Mona Vale, when it came in a 50mm pot, Darn should have taken a photo of it as a babe.

Well here it is today..Oh I must admit that there is also a Grapefruit Sage in there, just as tall but not a bushy.
I have been using the Pineapple Sage in all my salads, I just take the tips and first few leaves.
I had try drying it but it went mouldy quite quickly. I did have it in a dark room, plenty of air and not moist at all, but no joy.

Then I stumbled along a website that has 6 recipes from sweet to savoury for Pineapple Sage. I have not tried them so I can not recommend them but they sound good.

I mention Grapefruit Sage in the title, but have only found reference to it as a dog shampoo ingredient & I must say it has no fragrance resembling a grapefruit, so a little more research is required on that plant I think.

Hoping my Sage blooms soon as the seasons are changing and soon the nights will get colder and a good harsh prune will ensue.

www.nefffamilyfarm.com/PineappleSage